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NCAA Tournament runs are built on momentum, and 10 teams in this year's field enter March Madness with plenty of wind under their sails. From the Florida Gators, riding a six-game winning streak behind Walter Clayton Jr.'s heroics, to the North Carolina Tar Heels, which made Tournament history in their dominant First Four win over San Diego State, these teams are poised to keep its spark burning in the first round.
Few teams are hotter than UC San Diego, which enters its first NCAA Tournament berth riding 15 straight wins — the longest active streak in Division I basketball. Cinderella candidates High Point and Drake also enter March Madness with plenty of momentum. The Panthers have won 14 straight, while the Bulldogs are winners of 18 of their last 19.
Since the Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 14 of the last 25 national champions won their conference tournaments, evidence peaking at the right time matters in March. In the past 10 Tournaments, teams with at least a five-game winning streak entering as 1-4 seeds combined for a 78-12 record (.867) in the Round of 64.
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Here are the 10 hottest teams entering the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Drake Bulldogs
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
The 11-seeded Bulldogs enter the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game win streak, which included a Missouri Valley Conference championship, and have won 18 of their last 19 games. Ben McCollum has his team humming as it looks to start a Cinderella run against six-seeded Missouri on Thursday. The Bulldogs boast the top scoring defense in the nation (58.4 points allowed) and went 2-0 against power conference teams in non-conference play, securing double-digit wins over Miami and Vanderbilt.
High Point Panthers
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
High Point clinched its first NCAA Tournament berth in program history thanks to a dominant run through the Big South Tournament that featured an 11-point win over Gardner Webb in the first round and a 12-point victory against Winthrop in the championship game after overcoming a 15-point deficit. The Panthers rank No. 7 in the nation in field goal percentage (49.4%) and enter their matchup with No. 4 seed Purdue on a 14-game win streak and have become a popular upset pick.
Houston Cougars
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Houston earned its third straight No. 1 seed behind a dominant 31-4 season and a Big 12 Tournament championship. The Cougars are playing defense as well as any team in the nation, ranking No. 3 in opponent field goal percentage (38.3%) and No. 2 in points allowed per game (58.5). Houston doesn't take a lot of deep but is extremely effective when it lets the ball fly from beyond the arc, ranking No. 4 nationally in three-point percentage (39.8%). Kelvin Sampson's squad is among the most experienced in March Madness, with its sixth leading scorers all juniors or seniors.
UC San Diego Tritons
(Photo: UC San Diego Athletics)
UC San Diego charges into its first-ever NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed in the South Region. The Tritons are riding a 15-game winning streak — the longest in Division I — and sit at 30-4 season with a Big West Tournament title under their belt. Led by Big West Player of the Year Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and one of the nation's best shooters Tyler McGhie, the Tritons look like a handful for No. 5 seed Michigan in the first round.
Maryland Terrapins
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Maryland won 11 of their final 13 games and reached the conference tournament semifinals under third-year coach Kevin Willard, a run fueled by the nation's highest-scoring starting five and KenPom's No. 6 defense. Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski called the four-seeded Terrapins a "sleeper" in the West Region.
"I think a sleeper in the region is Maryland," Krzyzewski said Tuesday on Basketball & Beyond with Coach K. "They're in the Big Ten, but I don't think they get the exposure they would have in the ACC. They have a hell of a coach."
Duke Blue Devils
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
The 10-year anniversary of Duke's last national championship appearance arrives on April 6, but the Blue Devils are one of the most popular picks to take the 2025 national championship on April 7. Jon Scheyer and Co. have lost just once since the start of December and beat Louisville in the ACC Championship by 11 without star freshman Cooper Flagg and rotational big man Maliq Brown. Brown is out for the season, but Flagg returns for Duke's first round matchup.
Michigan State Spartans
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Michigan State storms into the NCAA Tournament, riding a 27-6 season and their 17th Big Ten regular-season title under Tom Izzo. The Spartans won eight straight games before losing to Wisconsin, 77-74, in their second Big Ten Tournament game. Michigan State ranks No. 13 in the nation in rebounding (39.8 per game) and is led by a steady backcourt presence in senior guard Jaden Akins. The SportsLine prediction model has Izzo and Co. making their second Sweet 16 berth of the last five seasons.
Tennessee Volunteers
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Tennessee is chasing its first Final Four run since 2010 and is surging ahead of its 2025 trip to March Madness, capping conference play with a 14-4 mark in SEC play, which tied for the league's best. The Volunteers boast the No. 11 scoring defense in the nation, allowing 63.0 points per game, and leads the country in opponent three-point percentage at 27.8%. Senior guards Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler lead a capable offense that can catch fire at any time.
Florida Gators
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Florida dominated Missouri, Alabama, and Tennessee in the SEC Tournament to clinch its first conference championship since 2014 and earn its first No. 1 seed since that same season. At 30-4, the Gators will finish with no more than five losses for just the third time in the last 50 years. Lead guard Walter Clayton Jr. is built for big moments, evidenced by a 33-point outburst against Kentucky on Jan. 4 and a 22-point, eight-assist night against Alabama at the end of the regular season.
North Carolina Tar Heels
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
North Carolina looked like a lock to miss the NCAA Tournament during the start of ACC play, but a move to a bigger starting lineup started a huge run to end the regular season. The Tar Heels have won eight of their last 11 games and have plenty of momentum heading into the first-round matchup against No. 6 seed Ole Miss after their 95-68 win over San Diego State in the First Four. UNC became the first NCAA Tournament team in history to score 95+ points while shooting 50% or better from the field and 3-point line and 85% or better from the free throw line against the Aztecs.