The Athletic has live coverage of 2025 Men’s March Madness

CLEVELAND — Trailing by one with less than eight minutes remaining, Robert Morris guard Amarion Dickerson swatted a shot attempt by Alabama guard Mark Sears, sending the first-team All-American to the floor and the ball caroming out of bounds. Then Dickerson, the suddenly not-so-anonymous Horizon League defensive player of the year who scored 25 points on Friday, stepped over Sears, a la Allen Iverson over Tyronn Lue, and flexed for the crowd.

Thousands roared back their approval, a throng of Robert Morris diehards who made the trek from Pittsburgh buoyed by an arena of new fans who had adopted the underdog.

Seconds later, the 15-seed Colonials harnessed that momentum, taking a one-point lead over the 2-seed Crimson Tide. And for a moment, the game felt destined for a classic David-over-Goliath upset, the stuff March Madness montages are made of.

Instead, Alabama ripped off a quick 6-0 run and never looked back, muscling its way to a nine-point victory.

It was the story of the round of 64 in this year’s NCAA Tournament. For the first time since 2017, no team seeded lower than No. 12 made it to the Saturday of the first weekend.

Only five double-digit seeds advanced over the past two days: two No. 10s, one No. 11 and two No. 12s. (And of those 12-seeds, Colorado State was a betting favorite.) That ties for the fewest first-round wins by double-digit seeds since 2007. The 2023 tournament produced the same number, but that first weekend featured No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson toppling No. 1 Purdue and No. 15 Princeton reaching the Sweet 16. Prior to that were similarly chalky first rounds in ’17 and ’15.

The fact that most of the games weren’t particularly close didn’t help this year’s early shortage of March magic, either: Only four of the 32 first-round games were decided by two possessions or less, the fewest since 1997. We did get a couple thrillers at the First Four in Dayton, but Thursday and Friday were noticeably light on madness.

So what’s the deal? Is it a one-year, one-round aberration? Or is it — like everything else in college sports these days — a referendum on the power-hungry power conferences, or the pernicious impact of name, image and likeness money and the transfer portal fully taking hold?

The Athletic’s own C.J. Moore and Brendan Marks actually predicted this could happen in their bracket picks earlier this week, getting out in front of any commenters looking to skewer them for playing it safe. As both explained, the advanced metrics pointed to a top-heavy group of No. 1s and other high seeds, which manifested on the court.

This could end up being a good omen for the second and third weekends, setting up some high-wattage matchups. And recent history, including a comparably top-heavy 2015, suggest this is simply a product of the natural cycles of college basketball. But it’s still kind of a bummer.

The joy and beauty of the NCAA Tournament lie in those unpredictable early-round upsets, the ones we can all rattle off from memory. FDU over Purdue. UMBC over Virginia. Lehigh over Duke. Saint Peter’s over Kentucky. Bucknell over Kansas. Cinderella is what makes March so special, making this one feel a tad hollow in the early going.

“Sometimes I hate them,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who lost to 15-seed Middle Tennessee in 2016. “But most of the time, I love them. … Everybody loves Cinderella. Everybody loves the underdog. Everybody loves the small school. This is the difference with the NCAA basketball tournament compared to just about any other tournament there is.”

Minutes after the clock struck midnight, literally and metaphorically, on the first round, Izzo avoided another of those memorable moments he’d rather forget. His 2-seed Spartans turned a narrow five-point halftime lead over 15-seed Bryant into a 25-point blowout, a fitting capper to the round of 64. Asked afterward about the predictability of the first round overall, Izzo, coaching in his 27th straight tournament, mostly shrugged, and pointed to those 12 seeds that prevailed over 5 seeds. The man has seen it all this time of year, and he’s not ready to sound any alarms just yet.

He’s probably right. March Madness remains one of sports greatest gifts, even if the glass slippers didn’t quite fit this time around. Perhaps the rest of the bracket will make up for it, too.

But it won’t change the fact that one of this tournament’s most electrifying moments came a few hours before Michigan State took the court in Cleveland, when Robert Morris — America’s new favorite team — had mighty Alabama on the ropes.

And almost something more.

(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)

President Donald Trump has arrived for the final rounds of the 2024-25 NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia on Saturday. 

Trump walked into the Wells Fargo Center and was greeted by a raucous crowd from the wrestling fans, who cheered “USA! USA!” amid the president’s presence. A few fans booed when Trump walked in. 

Elon Musk, OutKick founder Clay Travis, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Education Secretary and former WWE executive Linda McMahon, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and several other Trump allies were in the front row stands to greet the president as well.  

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, U.S. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), U.S. Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) and his wife Dina Powell attend the NCAA men’s wrestling championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 22, 2025.  (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

For the president, it marks another stop on his tour of major sporting events in what has been a sports-focused presidency. 

Trump is there to potentially witness sports history. Penn State is looking to extend its streak to four straight national titles. It would be the third time Penn State has won four straight championships since 2011. Only Iowa and Ohio State have interrupted the Nittany Lions’ run of dominance. 

The Penn State Nittany Lions pose with the trophy after winning the NCAA Wrestling Title at the T-Mobile Center.  (Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports)

And Penn State is firmly in the driver’s seat to do it, leading with 169 points, 60 points ahead of second-place Nebraska. 

Attendees cheer as US President Donald Trump arrives to watch the men’s NCAA wrestling competition at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 22, 2025. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“We’re going to the big fight. … They have the NCAA, world, wrestling for college. And I’ve always supported the wrestlers,” Trump told reporters outside the White House Friday. “So, I want to support them. These are the great college wrestlers from the various schools. I think Penn State is leading, and Nebraska is in second place right now. And a lot of good things.”

Travis broke the news Tuesday that Trump would attend the event when he said in an X post that he would be traveling with the president on Air Force One to the championships.

The White House confirmed Friday that Trump would attend the event.

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Jordan was a wrestling champion in high school and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he won an NCAA Division I men’s wrestling title twice. He was later an assistant coach with Ohio State University’s wrestling program from 1987 to 1995.

McCormick previously confirmed that Trump would be in attendance at the event in the senator’s home state of Pennsylvania.

“I’m thrilled to be in Philadelphia this weekend with [Trump] for the [NCAA Wrestling] Championship,” McCormick wrote on X. “I grew up wrestling in small towns across PA and at West Point. It taught me grit, resilience, and hard work.”

US President Donald Trump speaks with Senator Dave McCormick sitting next to Tesla and SPaceX CEO Elon Musk and US Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) as they watch the men’s NCAA wrestling competition at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 22, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

This will be the second time in three years President Donald Trump has attended the NCAA wrestling championships. He also attended in 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Trump has been seen at a few different sporting events since winning the election in November.

Trump attended the Daytona 500 in February and became the first sitting president to attend two Daytona 500 races at Daytona International Speedway. He first attended the race in February 2020.

Trump participated in prerace festivities, riding in “The Beast” for a lap before the race, and he had a special message for drivers that was broadcast on their radios.

Earlier in February, Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. When Trump was shown at the stadium, a raucous cheer was heard on the FOX broadcast from the crowd.

US President Donald Trump next to Senator Dave McCormick, Tesla and SPaceX CEO Elon Musk, US Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles watch a player celebrate his victory during the men’s NCAA wrestling competition at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 22, 2025.  (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

In December, Trump attended the 125th edition of the Army-Navy game with Vice President JD Vance, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Trump attended the annual rivalry game throughout his first presidency, first attending in 2016, shortly after winning that year’s election. He was also at the game during each year of his presidency, including in 2020 at West Point.

A couple of weeks after Trump won the election over Vice President Kamala Harris in November, he attended UFC 309.

Trump sat cage-side alongside Elon Musk, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump Jr. and others.

Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic via knockout and did Trump’s signature dance move, pointing to Trump and giving his UFC heavyweight championship belt to Trump to hold.

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All Nike-sponsored schools playing in the NCAA tournament wear different colors of the same warmup shirt. The now-ubiquitous long-sleeve white shirt has “Nothing Easy” printed on the front in bold letters. An emphatic period punctuates the sentence and each school’s logo is printed underneath.

What makes UCLA’s otherwise cookie-cutter postseason look stand out is on the back: “We” printed over a horizontal bar and “me.”

During the tournament that transforms careers and makes stars, UCLA is recommitting to its mantra of “we over me” to lift the program to new heights.

“We’re only playing for the letters on the front of the jersey,” coach Cori Close said. “And trusting that when you play fully committed to only playing for what’s on the front of your jersey, that usually it comes back to the letters on the back of your jersey 10-fold.”

The top-seeded Bruins host No. 8 Richmond on Sunday at 7 p.m. (ESPN) at Pauley Pavilion in the second round of Spokane Regional 1. UCLA (31-2) is trying to return to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.

While selflessness has been a pillar of UCLA’s program under Close, the Bruins lost sight of the goal toward the end of the regular season. Graduate student Charlisse Leger-Walker pointed it out during a team meeting after the Bruins lost to USC at home in their regular-season finale.

UCLA started reemphasizing “we over me” going into the Big Ten tournament. The tactic worked perfectly as the Bruins won their first conference tournament title since 2006. Basketball director of operations Pam Walker then had the “we over me” symbol added to the backs of UCLA’s shirts for the NCAA tournament.

“Throughout the season we’ve had highs and lows, and it’s just a reminder of if we stick together, we can achieve what we want to happen,” forward Angela Dugalic said.

Dugalic, a former five-star recruit who played for the Serbian national team during the Paris Olympics, is one of nine former McDonald’s All-Americans on UCLA’s roster. The roster bursting with talent makes it even more important — and difficult — to find players who are willing to buy into UCLA’s abundance mentality, Close said.

Instead of those who fret about how coaches will split up the 200 minutes of playing time available in each game, Close is looking for players who want to sign up for the “most impactful growth experience.” When forward Janiah Barker came through the transfer portal, Close wondered if the Texas A&M star really understood the assignment.

Barker, another former McDonald’s All-American recruit, averaged 26.5 minutes per game as a sophomore at Texas A&M. She was an established starter averaging 12.2 points per game. The Bruins, who were returning the core of a talented junior class that took the team to the No. 2 ranking in the nation, would not have a large role for her.

She was more interested in what she could bring to the Bruins.

Close called the athletic 6-foot-4 forward a “missing piece” for the Bruins’ hopes to reach their first NCAA Final Four.

“She brings great energy on the court,” junior Gabriela Jaquez said. “We really feed off of her. And the way she rebounds and jumps so high to grab those boards and fights down there is really huge. The level of physicality she brings is really important to our team.”

Barker, who was chosen Big Ten sixth player of the year and averages 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, was one of six scorers in double figures for the Bruins during their opening-round rout of Southern on Friday as she came off the bench for 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Bruins overwhelmed the No. 16-seeded Jaguars, who were two days removed from their first NCAA tournament win in program history, by dishing 23 assists on 26 field goals.

Naturally, the team that emphasizes the group’s success over individual accolades led the Big Ten in assists per game this season.