2025 NCAA Tournament: Staff Championship Picks as of the Final Four

Welcome to the Final Four! It is only the second time that all four No. 1 seeds have reached the Final Four, with Florida, Auburn, Duke and Houston set up for a fantastic pair of games this weekend. Our FTN staff gives their best picks for a legendary matchup.

Here are our updated FTN national champion picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

FTN Staff Picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament Champion

Marshall Gershon

National Champion: Duke Blue Devils

I’m choosing Duke over Auburn in the Final Four, even though my heart wants the Tigers. Auburn will secure their spot by narrowly defeating Florida in a hard-fought game. Florida’s offense will get theirs — especially Walter Clayton, who could be the MVP of the tournament — but Auburn, led by Johni Broome with back-to-back first-half double-doubles, simply has too many weapons and will eventually pull away. On the other side of the bracket, Duke’s balanced attack will overpower Houston’s defensive schemes. With top NBA prospect Cooper Flagg leading the team in points and rebounds, and Khaman Maluach’s imposing presence in the paint, the Blue Devils have the talent and depth to control the game. Unless both Flagg and Tyrese Proctor have uncharacteristically cold shooting nights, Duke should advance comfortably. In the championship game, both teams boast immense talent. Auburn will put up a valiant fight, but Broome may find it difficult to dominate against Duke’s size — particularly with Maluach anchoring the interior.

Ryan Coleman

National Champion: Duke Blue Devils

The elite O vs. elite D Duke-Houston game is going to be awesome, but Duke has been so unbelievably dominant that it’s hard to doubt them. Two of the Blue Devils’ losses came against top-20 defenses, but three of Houston’s four losses came against top-five offenses. Seeing how these two teams have played in this tournament, Duke is the easy pick. Their ability to break down defenses and their sizing will limit Houston.

Considering Florida was up 21 at one-point without Alijah Martin in their first bout with Auburn, it’s easy to go back to them. Walter Clayton Jr. has some sold-his-soul-to-the-devil type magic going on and Auburn’s defense seems lackadaisical at times where Florida can exploit, especially on the glass. The Gators should limit Broome down low and take a dub.

Duke just feels like the team of destiny, and Florida’s had some lucky late-game shooting to keep them afloat. Their remarkable shooting is unsustainable and against the No. 1 team in any metric you look at this year or historically for the most part, it’s easy to have Duke cutting down the nets.

Jay Felicio

National Champion: Duke Blue Devils

I struggled with this one, taking my time to ensure my Duke fandom didn’t cloud my judgment. The Gators match up well with Duke, and Florida has the experience advantage. But the Blue Devils have Cooper Flagg and fellow projected first-rounders Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel. Jon Scheyer cements his place as the rightful successor to Mike Krzyzewski and becomes the first to win a National Championship as a player and head coach for the same school.

Adam Young

National Champion: Houston Cougars

My original Final Four was pretty busted. After a lackluster first and second round of games, I recognized that this tournament is all about chalk. But with all No. 1 seeds left, how do we predict a Final Four that is already chalk? It’s actually simple.

Walter Clayton Jr. is an assassin. It doesn’t matter how well or how poorly he plays in the first 35 minutes — he’s going to kill you in the last five minutes if the game is close. Florida has the size to deal with a banged-up Johni Broome, and if the game is tight late, Clayton will sink all the necessary threes to push the Gators into the final. It’s like having Mariano Rivera on your team with a lead in the ninth inning. I simply don’t trust anyone on Auburn like I trust Clayton.

On the other side, I’m most likely going to be contrarian. Duke is the most complete team in all of college basketball. But the Houston defense is something else. The Blue Devils will really have to work for their buckets against the Cougars, who possess an underrated offense as well. LJ Cryer and Milos Uzan is a backcourt I can trust in the Final Four. And the best part about Houston is, missed shots are actually a good thing at times. No team crashes the offensive glass like the Cougars, so an off shooting night won’t punish them like it does other teams against Duke.

Will Clayton’s magic run out in the final against the Cougars? I don’t think so. I believe the Florida star will hit a game-tying three with under a minute left. But Houston’s J’Wan Roberts will secure an offensive rebound on the game’s final possession and kick it out to Cryer for the game-winner. Cryer wins his second national title with two different teams, and Kelvin Sampson finally gets his elusive national championship.

Walter Waddell

National Champion: Florida Gators

For the first time since 2007, all four No. 1 seeds have made the Final Four, which can be seen as boring but analytically speaking, this group of teams are some of the best in the history of college basketball. Needless to say, we are in for a treat with these matchups.

While I could see each team cutting down the nets, it’s the Florida Gators and Duke Blue Devils that I expect to face off in the title game. Duke’s defense is otherworldly right now and they’re smacking teams even when future #1 draft pick Cooper Flagg isn’t at his best. However, he will have to play his best game yet for a chance to beat the Gators which is no easy task.

The Gators have depth at each position, toughness in the front court and Walter Clayton. The star guard is what this tournament is all about and his performance against Texas Tech was legendary. He simply will not let this Gators team lose and I’m here for it as I’ve got multiple futures on Florida from back in January. Go Gators!

Daniel Kelley

National Champion: Duke Blue Devils

My championship game prediction from the start of the tournament is still my championship game prediction as of the Final Four — Duke over Florida. No, it’s not innovative, but it’s hard to be innovative when the Final Four is all 1 seeds anyway. Duke is the best team in the country, full stop, with the best player in the country. Florida probably isn’t as good as Houston, but the bracket shaped up that Houston gets Duke and Florida gets an Auburn team that hasn’t had an overwhelming win since their first-round matchup with Alabama State. Florida showed gumption in holding off UConn and Texas Tech and rolled Maryland, showing they can win multiple ways. But really, the rule of life is to stick to your initial take until it’s impossible, and my initial take is still on the board. Lock it in.

Final Tally

Duke 4
Houston 1
Florida 1
Auburn 0