By bypassing the Blue Devils for the title, you can differentiate your entry. Duke’s prowess has made it the most popular title pick in ESPN’s bracket contest ( 25 percent of entries as of Tuesday) as well as CBS’s. Not going with Duke to win is a smart pool strategy Mock outlines here — while still collecting points by riding Duke to the finals.

The Final Four field is set after this weekend's Elite Eight games and it looks like March Madness is heading toward a fantastic finish. Np/1 seeds Duke, Florida, Auburn and Houston are headed to San Antonio,

And in the late game, No. 1 USC is as an underdog against No. 2 UConn, led by star guard Paige Bueckers. The Trojans, despite losing star JuJu Watkins to a season-ending injury earlier in the tournament, managed to survive their Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas State. But UConn will provide a much stiffer test.

The 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament continued on Sunday, with two of the four Elite Eight matchups in the books. South Carolina took down Duke by the score of 54-50 in the first contest, as head coach Dawn Staley's squad clinched a spot in the Final Four for the fifth consecutive season.

How many perfect brackets remain? Here's what to know of perfect brackets across men's and women's NCAA Tournaments so far:

Two tickets to the final weekend of the Big Dance in San Antonio for the 2025 Final Four will be punched on Saturday and nets will be cut down as the focus will be on the West Regional and the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

It's been tough sledding for Ayoka Lee in the Sweet 16 matchup, as the 6-foot-6 center has struggled to counteract USC's two-headed center combo of Marshall and Clarice Akunwafo. Lee has 10 points with three minutes to play but has needed 13 shots to get there.

Women's NCAA Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 19 and runs through Sunday, April 6. See below for everything you need to know about the women's tournament, including the full schedule, scores, tournament sites,

In the late game, No. 1 USC is as an underdog against No. 2 UConn, led by star guard Paige Bueckers. The Trojans, despite losing star JuJu Watkins to a season-ending injury earlier in the tournament, managed to survive their Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas State. But UConn will provide a much stiffer test.