March Madness is going strong, and there are 16 teams left, all hoping to take home a national title.

There weren’t really any big upsets in the first games of the 2025 NCAA tournament, but that doesn’t mean surprises aren’t ahead.

So, which teams remaining are the strongest?

Duke

Pretty much everyone has Duke a favorite to go all the way this year. Sports expert Jeff Eisenberg has Duke as No. 1, stating, “It wasn’t that long ago that critics labeled Tyrese Proctor an underachiever after an underwhelming, injury-plagued sophomore season. Now he’s rewriting his legacy one clutch 3-pointer at a time.”

He adds, “What Quinn Cook was for Duke’s freshman-laden 2015 title team, Proctor is for this year’s Blue Devils. The junior has provided defense, leadership and deadeye shooting, taking advantage of the defensive attention his teammates draw to hit nearly 40% of his threes.”

The New York Times adds, “With the opening line of Duke’s Sweet 16 hovering near double digits, the Blue Devils are heavily favored in their matchup against No. 4 Arizona. Displaying dominant two-way play through two games, it’s easy to see why Duke currently sits at No. 1 entering the second weekend.”

Florida

Many experts have Florida ranks No. 2. Could we see a Florida vs. Duke final game? Perhaps.

“Two-time reigning national champion UConn wasn’t going to give up its crown easily,” notes Eisenberg. “Florida had to wrest it away. Walter Clayton Jr. put the Gators on his back after they fell behind by as many as six points deep into the second half.”

The Others

Not to lump everyone else into one section, but many analysts have Duke and Florida as their top two teams, so why not?

This Spartan thinks this is the year MSU and Tom Izzo could upset Florida and go to the final game.

“The first half of that game, that was as good of a barrage as we’ve had hit us,” Izzo said after the team’s win over New Mexico on Sunday, March 23. “I thought we got our break going when we got our defense going, and we rebounded the ball pretty well. I’m happy we showed a little character after we got down and weren’t playing very well.”

He added, “Anytime you can accomplish something with your team and your coaches that some of the most respected guys in college basketball have achieved, I guess it’s a privilege and an honor. But I just never see any kind of banners hanging for those kinds of things, and I’m kind of a banner guy. So until that happens, I’ll enjoy it, but I won’t do cartwheels over it.”