NCAA tournament Bracket Watch 2025: St. John's, Alabama, Houston make statements

(Comment of the publisher: This article is part of the Bracket Central series, an inside view of the run-up to the NCAA tournaments of men and women as well as analyzes and selection during the tournaments.)

Nashville, Tenn. – Perhaps Friday have the best collection of games of the men's basketball season, although too many of them disappointed – have some of the teams that are storming on the NCAA tournament.

Florida, for example. Are we sure that this is not the best team in the country at the moment? The Gators took another step towards a No. 1 seed man by shredding a very good Missouri team here in the Bridgestone Arena, 95-81. This team has shooting, size, depth, chemistry, everything.

How about Houston? BYU played excellent basketball and quickly moves in the Seeding list, but the southernmost of the two Cougars rolled in Big 12 semi -Semis at 20. When there was an idea of ​​drama about Houston on the top, it is gone.

St. John's throttled Marquette to set up further flashbacks of the 1980s in the garden. Maryland and Wisconsin crushed Illinois and UCLA and reminded us that the Terps and Badgers can look good (and that Illinois is an extraordinarily unpredictable, albeit talented team).

Back to Nashville, Alabama should be a classic against Kentucky, but before the usual #Bigbluenation – but with a respectable presence of Alabama. If not a classic, a banger. A competition game for 30 minutes would have been fine. Instead, we got Alabama 99, Kentucky 70.

Holy Labaron Philon. What can a combo basketball fan/Alabama football fan from Kentucky?

Under a series of huge games on Saturday, including a dozen, the automatic commandments and St. Johns, who may get a No. 2 seed, the SEC has chalk and two semi -finals with four possible No. 1 seeds. This is guaranteed in Auburn and three who pursue a place in Alabama, Florida and Tennessee – what competes against Auburn.

If Tennessee protrudes a defeat against the tigers in the only meetings of the teams this season, a late comeback for Auburn at home, it would not be too much that the committee is very simple on Sunday: The Sec -Turnier champion gets number 1 in the West region.

Maybe shortly before that, we may want to see whether other conferences like the ACC can make some good games.

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(Photo by Rick Pitino: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)