March Madness 2025: Top 3 first-round games to watch in men's NCAA Tournament

The much-anticipated men's NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed on Selection Sunday. The four designated No. 1 seeds were the Auburn Tigers as the overall top seed followed by the Florida Gators, Duke Blue Devils and Houston Cougars with the Gators the favorites (+350) to win the national championship, according to BetMGM.

The exciting matchups start in the first round with several intriguing games on offer from the get-go.

Best first-round men's NCAA Tournament games

Below we take a look at three of the most intriguing games in the first round of the men's NCAA Tournament.

#3, Baylor vs. Mississippi State

The No. 9 Baylor Bears (19-14) versus the No. 9 Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-12) is one of the most fascinating games of the first round of March Madness. According to Fox Sports, the Bulldogs are slight 2.5-point favorites.

Baylor coach Scott Drew, who has led the Bears to 13 consecutive NCAA tournaments, spoke about his team's status ahead of the game.

"When you're the 9 seed, you're doing the hunting," Drew said. "At the end of the day, that's reality, and that's facts. If we're blessed to (keep winning), every game we play, people will probably be seeded higher than us. That's the motivation in itself."

The winner of this first-round men's NCAA Tournament will face the No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils, who won the ACC Tournament last week.

#2, Louisville vs. Creighton

The No. 8-seeded Louisville Cardinals will face the No. 9-seeded Creighton Bluejays in the first round of the men's NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, in one of the most explosive games of the tournament. The last time that Louisville was in the NCAA Tournament was in 2019, while the last time that it won a game was in 2017.

The Cardinals (27-7) lost in the ACC Tournament championship game to the Duke Blue Devils, and the Bluejays (24-10) lost in the Big East Tournament championship game to the St. John's Red Storm but both teams have had stellar seasons.

Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey spoke about the first-round men's NCAA Tournament matchup during an interview on ESPN Radio on Sunday.

"An explosive team," Kelsey said. "A dangerous team — extremely well-coached. I'll be completely honest with you; when we were watching the selection show and that popped up, you know, it hurt a little bit. You felt slighted a little bit.

"It is what it is at this point. You have the advantage of no choice; but, in my opinion, we should be playing a No. 12 or a No. 11 seed. … If anything: To a competitor, to our guys and to me, it puts a little fire in your belly and gives you a little added chip on your shoulder."

#1, Arkansas vs. Kansas

The most intriguing game of the men's NCAA Tournament first round will pit charismatic coach John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks against coach Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks.

After the bracket was revealed on Sunday, Kansas coach Bill Self spoke about the matchup in a call with the media.

"Nothing surprised me," Bill Self said. "We I didn't have any anticipation, but I told my staff a week ago, you watch 7 versus 10, we're playing Arkansas. You could ask any of them; I've been saying that for a week.

"I know we're going to have to play really well to win, and I believe they're going to have to play well to win too. So, we bond against each other quite a bit over time, but I don't believe we ever gone against each other, except in two really big games in the NCAA Tournament. So, we split those, so it'll be a much talked about matchup, I assume."

The matchup between Self and Calipari in the first round of the men's NCAA Tournament will be the pair's third meeting after battling it out in 2008, when Kansas beat Memphis in overtime to win the national title. They met once again in the 2012 national championship game, and the Kentucky Wildcats emerged victorious.