Blatant Homerism 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview: West Region
For the first time since Porter Moser was hired as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team, the squad is dancing in March. The oddsmakers believe they won’t be cutting a rug in the West region for too long: OU is a 4.5-point underdog to No. 8 UConn in their first-round tilt on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina. If OU survives the Huskies, a date with No. 1 Florida awaits in the second round.
With that in mind, let’s start this year’s NCAA tournament preview with a look at the West.
Blatant Homerism 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview: West Region
The story: Group of Death
The top seed has arguably played the best basketball in the country since the calendar flipped to 2025. The second seed, which is the best defensive team in the sport, is coached by one of college basketball’s legends. (The same goes for the squads in the seventh and 10th slots.) The third seed ranks seventh nationally in net efficiency. The eight seed is coming off back-to-back national championships.
We could keep going. This quadrant of the tournament is loaded.
The favorite: Florida
Some nasty allegations against head coach Todd Golden may have played a part in the subdued talk about the Gators’ rise this season. The top seed absolutely has the goods, however, and deserves its status as the consensus favorite to win the region.
Led by senior guard Walter Clayton, UF ranks first overall in offensive efficiency and 10th on defense, according to kenpom.com. That high offensive mark reflects a balanced set of scorers who can share the load in the course of the tournament. In fact, it’s tempting to pick this team to win it all.
The dark horse: Maryland
The Terrapins boast one of the most talented starting lineups in the field, led by super freshman Derik Queen in the post. Importantly, they defend well all over the floor, create turnovers and take care of the ball. Depth will likely be the undoing of Kevin Willard’s team – Maryland has one of the lowest rates of bench minutes in the country – but this team will definitely challenge the Gators in the Sweet 16.
Cinderella: Drake
Coach Ben McCollum’s team has lost one game since early January, a testament to the Bulldogs’ consistency. They’re also extremely annoying to play against.
Drake operates at an excruciatingly slow pace on offense, with an average possession length of 22 seconds. The Bulldogs crash the offensive glass, but they rarely allow offensive rebounds on the other end. And despite their hesitance to push the tempo on offense, they thrive on steals and forcing turnovers on D.
If a double-digit seed is advancing out of the first weekend in the West, that team will be Drake.
The pick: Florida over Texas Tech
Even though the region is stacked, don’t count on many upsets in the West. Be particularly careful with popular underdog Colorado State, where coach Niko Medved may already have a foot out the door. OU, on the other hand, looks like a notable exception as an underdog in the 8-9 game against UConn. The Huskies never came close this year to capturing whatever coach Danny Hurley bottled up in the previous two seasons, and they will struggle to keep a lid on OU’s freshman phenom Jeremiah Fears.
The Gators should cruise past OU in the round of 32, unfortunately, and the Terps lack the firepower to oust UF in the following game. That would set up a date with one of the better-coached teams in the field, Texas Tech, for a Final Four spot after the Red Raiders outlast Rick Pitino’s rugged St. John’s squad.
In the end, the UF backcourt should neutralize Tech big man JT Toppin and allow Clayton to control the action. Florida heads to San Antonio with a legitimate shot at winning its first national championship in 18 years.