Men’s March Madness Sleepers for 2025: A Surprise Contender for Each Region

For all of the parity that now exists in men’s college basketball, the team that cuts down the nets in April is often a team that has been considered a contender all season. Plenty of those teams live long in the memories of college basketball fans, but the teams that often really make March Madness memorable are the Cinderella stories and the sleepers that make deep runs.

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The NCAA Tournament frequently features some major upsets, and knowing how to pick March Madness upsets is key to optimizing your chances of success with March Madness bracket contests or making March Madness picks on the 67 games that take place in the tournament every year.

Knowing how to identify sleepers who can potentially make an extended run is also important. Below, we highlight one team from each region that has the potential to outperform tournament expectations.

But who qualifies for sleeper status?

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a mid-major or a potential double-digit seed, though many sleepers fit one or both of those criteria. If a team is not an established name, a top contender, or a likely high seed, a team can be considered a sleeper.

From a betting odds perspective, all teams listed here have March Madness winner odds of +12500 or longer.

Potential March Madness Sleepers for the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament

South Regional: #11 North Carolina

The Tar Heels (23-13) were a controversial inclusion in the March Madness bracket and justifiably so. They had only one Q1 win in 13 attempts in the regular season, and the ACC’s overall weakness further hurt their standing.

But the Heels made a rather resounding statement about their merits with a 95-68 win over San Diego State in the First Four on Tuesday, as they demolished the Aztecs in a way that few have been able to.

Now, can they stick around beyond this weekend? Recent form is noteworthy when evaluating potential March Madness sleepers, and the win over SDSU was UNC’s ninth in 11 games, with the two losses both coming against Duke.

The key to their hopes will be to continue to produce on the offensive end.

After scoring 80+ points nine times in their first 13 games, North Carolina scored 80+ points in only two of their following 12 games. Entering their matchup with the Rebels, the Tar Heels have scored 80+ points in seven of 11 games.

Ole Miss, Iowa State (a potential second round opponent), and potential Sweet Sixteen opponents Marquette, Michigan State, and New Mexico all rank highly in adjusted defensive efficiency, so challenges are ahead. But so did San Diego State and look what happened there.

It is entirely possible that the Tar Heels fall flat against Ole Miss, but the ability is clearly there to build off of their First Four showing and make a run akin to their 2022 run.

West Regional: #7 Kansas

That Kansas is mentioned here is a testament to how much of a disappointment they have been after being ranked #1 for the first several polls this season.

But the Jayhawks’ struggles this season present an outstanding value opportunity if you believe that they can reset and put a difficult regular season behind themselves.

The talent is there, even if it hasn’t performed as expected, and though the West region is led by a Florida team that has lit up some of the best of the best this season, the region is ripe for some sleepers to emerge.

At Bovada, Kansas is +210 to reach the Sweet Sixteen and +550 to reach the Elite Eight. Both of these bets are low-risk, high-reward investments.

East Regional: #13 Akron

The Zips are the only mid-major among these March Madness sleepers, which might be controversial for some.

But a high-scoring (84.6 PPG), deep team that has won 21 of its last 22 games is a perfect candidate to cause a little chaos.

Akron has only two players with double-digit scoring averages, but they have nine players who average 6.3 PPG or more. Six of those players shoot 35.3% or better from three, which is especially noteworthy when you consider that they are in the top ten in Division I three-pointers attempted (29.8) and made (10.9) per game this season.

They will pose a handful for Arizona, who has been inconsistent on the defensive end and overall this season. And the Wildcats earned a #4 seed on the strength of a 13-1 run that is sandwiched between 4-5 and 5-6 stretches.

Get past the first round, and they could face Oregon, who finished strong but is also beatable.

Don’t let the fact that the Zips needed a wild comeback from an 18-point deficit to beat Miami (OH) in the championship game. This is a very good and very dangerous team.

Midwest Regional: #11 Xavier

Like North Carolina, Xavier took the First Four route to the first round. But unlike the Tar Heels, who coasted in their game, the Musketeers had to overcome a 10-point deficit in the final 12 minutes to take down Texas.

But they are here, and they could be here for at least a few rounds. The Musketeers are 8-1 in their last nine games, with their lone loss a Big East tournament quarterfinal defeat to Marquette that they should have won after leading by 14 in the second half.

What lies ahead for Xavier? If you go through the Midwest region, you can find a glaring concern for every potential contender, including their first-round foe (Illinois), their likely second-round opposition (Kentucky), and potential Sweet Sixteen opponents Tennessee and UCLA.

Bovada’s March Madness futures have Xavier at +750 to reach the Sweet Sixteen and +1700 to reach the Elite Eight. That is exceptional value, and both bets demand some serious consideration, at the very least.

More March Madness Information

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