The 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 4, 2024. The regular season ended on March 16, 2025, with the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament that began with the First Four on March 18 and ended with the championship game at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, on April 7.

Rule changes

On May 2, 2024, the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee proposed a few rule changes for the 2024–25 season. These changes were approved on June 6 by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel. * Officials will be able to review whether a player's foot last touching the court was inbounds on a made shot before time expired. If a player's foot is determined to be out of bounds, officials would put the exact time of the violation on the game clock. However, if the shot is made and time remains on the game clock, a video review would not occur. * A one-game suspension has been added to the ejection of any player, coach, or bench personnel who "disrespectfully contacts an official or makes a threat of physical intimidation or harm, to include pushing, shoving, spitting or attempting to make physical contact with an official". * An experimental rule for the 2025 NIT will allow a coach to appeal out-of-bounds calls for video replay review in the last two minutes of games, pending NIT board approval.

Season headlines

*April 10, 2024 – Longtime head coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

left

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

after 15 years and was named the head coach at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. * May 29 – Stephen F. Austin announced it would leave the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

on July 1 to rejoin the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

after a three-year absence. * July 1 – IUPUI's athletic teams renamed to Indiana University Indianapolis (IU Indy) after the

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

university systems split the university into IU Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis. * September 12 – The

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

, which had been reduced to two members after its remaining ten schools left for other power conferences, began a rebuilding process by announcing that

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

would join the Pac-12 in 2026–27. * September 24 – The Pac-12 Conference's rebuilding continued as Utah State would join the other Mountain West defectors in 2026–27. * September 30 – Gonzaga announced it would leave the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

to join the Pac-12 Conference for all sports except for football in 2026–27. * October 1 – UTEP announced it would join the Mountain West Conference from

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

in 2026–27. * October 9: ** The NCAA Division I Council approved a proposal that reduced the duration of the transfer portal to 30 days. Going forward, the window opens on the day after the completion of the second round of the Division I men's tournament. ** The Council also abolished the

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

(NLI) program effective immediately. Written offers of athletics aid will replace the NLI. ** The Council introduced a proposal that would shorten the transition periods for schools wishing to reclassify from Division II or Division III to Division I. If approved at the Council's January 2025 meeting, the transition periods for D-II and D-III schools would drop by a year, respectively, to three and four years. * October 15 – The Mountain West Conference announced that Hawaiʻi, which has been a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

-only member of that conference since 2012, would leave the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

in 2026 to become a full MW member. * October 21 – The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

released its preseason All-America team.

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

guard Mark Sears was the leading vote-getter (54 of 55 possible votes), joined by guard R. J. Davis of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

(51 votes), center Hunter Dickinson of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

(42), center Johni Broome of Auburn (34), freshman forward Cooper Flagg of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

(24), and guard Caleb Love of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

(24). A tie in voting between Flagg and Love created a sixth spot on the preseason team. * October 24 –

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim died unexpectedly at the age of 43. * November 1 – The Mountain West Conference announced that

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

would join the conference no later than 2026 for all sports except for football. Grand Canyon's official announcement stated that it would not compete in the West Coast Conference, which it had previously been scheduled to join in July 2025, and that if MW bylaws allowed, it would join that conference in 2025. * November 7 – The

Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's seven independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a ...

Board of Regents approved the name change of the former Texas A&M University–Commerce to East Texas A&M University. * December 10 – The Mountain West Conference announced that

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

would leave the Big West alongside Hawaiʻi to join in 2026 for all sports except for football, where they will remain in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

as an affiliate. * January 15, 2025 – The Division I Council adopted new criteria for divisional reclassification. Schools moving from Division II or III must meet objective measures of academic success and athletic financial aid. Reclassification periods are now three years for moves from Division II and four years for moves from Division III, contingent on schools meeting these new criteria. * February 27 – The

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

announced that

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

would join the conference in 2026–27, coinciding with the football team's departure from the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

to the MW. * March 19 - The

announced that California Baptist would join the conference in 2026-2027. * March 25 – Saint Francis announced that it would reclassify to

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

starting in 2026–27, when it will leave the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

for the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Milestones and records

* During the season, the following players reached the 2,000-career-point milestone:

guard Rayshon Harrison,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

guard Jamal Mashburn Jr., Saint Louis guard Gibson Jimerson, Baylor forward Norchad Omier,

forward Trey Townsend, Villanova forward Eric Dixon, Saint Joseph's guard Erik Reynolds II, Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner,

guard Rayshon Harrison,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

guard Walter Clayton Jr.,

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

guard Jahmyl Telfort,

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

guard Atin Wright,

guard Zeke Mayo,

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

guard Jordan Sears,

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity theology, Prosperity Gospel Theo ...

guard Issac McBride,

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

guard Keaston Willis,

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

guard Wade Taylor IV,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

forward Dawson Garcia, Eastern Kentucky forward Devontae Blanton, Marquette guard Kam Jones, Boise State forward Tyson Degenhart, Florida guard Alijah Martin and

guard Chris Youngblood. * November 12 –

Bill Self Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Self has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level an ...

became

' all-time leader in wins after recording a 77–69 win over

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. The win was his 591st with the Jayhawks, surpassing

Phog Allen Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen (November 18, 1885 – September 16, 1974) was an American basketball coach and physician. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching,"UNC Wilmington. Prior to Kansas, Self coached at

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. * November 13 – Creighton coach

Greg McDermott Greg McDermott (born November 25, 1964) is an American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball, Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach a ...

defeated Houston Christian 78–43 to became the school's all-time leader in wins with 328. * November 18 –

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

defeated local NCCAA member

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

119–19, setting several school records, including most lopsided win and fewest points allowed. With the Roos having defeated another local NCCAA school, Kansas Christian, 124–36 on November 8, they became the first Division I men's team with two wins by 85 or more points in a single season. * December 18 – Following a narrow 62–61 win at home against Davidson,

became the sixth college basketball program in history to earn 2,000 all-time wins, joining Kansas,

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. * January 7 – Following a 62–55 win at home against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

became the seventh college program in history to earn 2,000 all-time wins. * January 11 – Kansas basketball coach Bill Self won his 600th career game after a 54–40 defeat of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl became the school's leader in all time wins with 228 after a 66–63 defeat of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. * January 22 – Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd won his 100th career game becoming the tenth-fastest coach to do so in a Power Conference after his 126th game. * February 15 – Michigan State basketball coach

Tom Izzo Thomas Michael Izzo (, ; born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has le ...

surpassed

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

to become the winningest coach in conference games in Big Ten history with 354, following a 79–65 win on the road over

. * February 23 –

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

basketball coach Greg Kampe surpassed Perry Watson to become the winningest coach in conference games in Horizon history with 132, following a 91–86 win on the road over Cleveland State.

Conference membership changes

A total of 23 schools joined new conferences for the 2024–25 season. Of these, 20 moved within Division I, two began reclassification from

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

, and Chicago State ended its two-year stint as an all-sports independent to join the Northeast Conference. The 2024–25 will be the last season in their respective conferences for at least four Division I schools and 1 Division II school.

Arenas

New arenas

* Georgia Southern left the Hanner Fieldhouse, after 55 seasons, for the new Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. The team played its first game in the Hill Convocation Center on December 7, 2024 against

North Florida North Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regi ...

, despite playing their first three home games at the Hanner Fieldhouse. * St. Thomas played their final season at Schoenecker Arena, where they have played since 1981, before moving to the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, which will open in the 2025–26 season. * Tarleton State played their final season at Wisdom Gym, where they have played since 1970, before moving to the new Tarleton State Event Center, which will open in the 2025-26 season. *

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

was originally slated to open their new arena, Tarrant Event Center, as a replacement for the current arena, Patrick Gym. Construction was to continue in 2021 but it has been delayed indefinitely.

Arenas of new D-I teams

* West Georgia began a transition from Division II to Division I, playing at its home since 2000, The Coliseum on the school's

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Georgia, United States. It is within western Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line, and is included in the Atlanta metropolitan area. It is ...

campus. The Wolves will be ineligible for NCAA-organized postseason play until 2028. * Mercyhurst also started a transition from Division II to Division I, playing at its home since 1977, Mercyhurst Athletic Center on the school's

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

campus. The Lakers will also be ineligible for NCAA-organized postseason play until 2028.

Arena name changes

* September 2024: ** The name of PNC Arena, the home arena of NC State, was changed to the Lenovo Center. ** Tom Gola Arena, the home arena of La Salle, was renamed to John Glaser Arena after renovations were completed. * October 2024: ** The Greensboro Coliseum, home arena to UNC Greensboro, was renamed to First Horizon Coliseum. ** Southern Indiana's Screaming Eagles Arena was renamed to Liberty Arena, Home of the Screaming Eagles following a sponsorship deal with

locally In mathematics, a mathematical object is said to satisfy a property locally, if the property is satisfied on some limited, immediate portions of the object (e.g., on some ''sufficiently small'' or ''arbitrarily small'' neighborhoods of points). P ...

based Liberty Federal Credit Union. The renamed arena is not to be confused with Liberty Arena at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

Other arena changes

* Bellarmine announced on August 28, 2024 that home games would return to campus at Knights Hall for the first time since 2019–20. The Knights had played in the interim at Freedom Hall on the grounds of the

Kentucky Exposition Center The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with of indoor ...

Seasonal outlook

The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaching polls

Pre-season polls

Final polls

Top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP poll Top 25.

Regular season

*Nov. 4, 2024 **No. 6 Gonzaga defeated No. 8 Baylor, 101–63 ( Spokane Arena,

Spokane, WA Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

) *Nov. 8 **No. 1

defeated No. 9

, 92–89 (

Allen Fieldhouse Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas (KU) campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks men's and women's basketball teams. The arena is named after Phog Allen, a former player and head coach for th ...

, Lawrence, KS) *Nov. 25 **No. 4 Auburn defeated No. 5 Iowa State, 83–81 ( Maui Invitational –

Lahaina Civic Center The Lahaina Civic Center is a sports, convention and entertainment complex located at Ka'a'ahi Street and Honoapi'ilani Highway in Lahaina, Hawaii, on the island of Maui. It is the site of the annual Maui Invitational Basketball Tournament, ...

, Lahaina, HI) *Nov. 26 **No. 9

defeated No. 6

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 85–80^OT ( Players Era Festival –

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena within the MGM Grand Las Vegas, MGM Grand resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The venue opened on December 31, 1993, with a concert by Barbra Streisand, and s ...

, Paradise, NV) *Dec. 4 **No. 6 Iowa State defeated No. 5 Marquette, 81–70 ( Big East–Big 12 Battle –

Hilton Coliseum James H. Hilton Coliseum, is a 14,267-seat multi-purpose arena located in Ames, Iowa. The arena opened in 1971. It is home to the Iowa State University Cyclones men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball teams. Over ...

, Ames, IA) **No. 9

defeated No. 2 Auburn, 84–78 ( ACC–SEC Challenge –

Cameron Indoor Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke Duke Blue ...

, Durham, NC) *Dec. 7 **No. 4

defeated No. 7 Gonzaga, 90–89^OT (Battle in Seattle –

Climate Pledge Arena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ...

Seattle, WA Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

) *Jan. 4, 2025 **No. 10 Kentucky defeated No. 6

, 106–100 (

Rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

–

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...

, Lexington, KY) *Jan. 7 **No. 8 Florida defeated No. 1

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, 73–43 ( O'Connell Center, Gainesville, FL) *Jan. 11 **No. 5 Alabama defeated No. 10

, 94–88 (

Reed Arena Reed Arena is a sports arena and entertainment venue located at the corner of Olsen Boulevard and Kimbrough Boulevard in College Station, Texas. This facility is used for Texas A&M University basketball games and commencement ceremonies, concerts, ...

College Station, TX College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin, ...

) *Jan. 15 **No. 2 Iowa State defeated No. 9 Kansas, 74–57 (Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA) *Jan. 18 **No. 4 Alabama defeated No. 8 Kentucky, 102–97 (Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY) *Jan. 25 **No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 6 Tennessee, 53–51 ( Neville Arena, Auburn, AL) *Feb. 1 **No. 8 Tennessee defeated No. 5 Florida, 64–44 ( Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN) *Feb. 8 **No. 6 Florida defeated No. 1 Auburn, 90–81 (Neville Arena, Auburn, AL) *Feb. 15 **No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 2 Alabama, 94–85 (

– Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, AL) *Feb. 22 **No. 6 Tennessee defeated No. 7 Texas A&M, 77–69 (Reed Arena, College Station, TX) **No. 5 Houston defeated No. 8 Iowa State, 68–59 ( Fertitta Center,

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

) *Feb. 24 **No. 4 Houston defeated No. 10

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

, 69–61 ( United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, TX) *Mar. 1 **No. 5 Tennessee defeated No. 6 Alabama, 79–76 (Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN) *Mar. 5 ** No. 5 Florida defeated No. 7 Alabama, 99–94 (Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, AL) *Mar. 8 **No. 7 Alabama defeated No. 1 Auburn, 93–91^OT (Rivalry – Neville Arena, Auburn, AL)

Conference tournament

*Mar. 15 **No. 8 Tennessee defeated No. 3 Auburn, 70–65 ( SEC tournament –

Bridgestone Arena Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predat ...

Nashville, TN Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

) **No. 4 Florida defeated No. 5 Alabama, 104–82 (SEC tournament – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN) *Mar. 16 **No. 4 Florida defeated No. 8 Tennessee, 86–77 (SEC tournament – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN)

Postseason tournament

* Mar. 29 ** No. 3 Florida defeated No. 9 Texas Tech, 84–79 (Elite Eight – Chase Center,

San Francisco, CA San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of 2024, San Francisco is the fourth-most populous city in the ...

) ** No. 1 Duke defeated No. 7 Alabama, 85–65 (Elite Eight –

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

, Newark, NJ) * Mar. 30 ** No. 2 Houston defeated No. 6 Tennessee, 69–50 (Elite Eight –

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...

Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork o ...

) ** No. 4 Auburn defeated No. 8 Michigan State, 70–64 (Elite Eight –

State Farm Arena State Farm Arena is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It also served as home to the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hock ...

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...

) * Apr. 5 ** No. 3 Florida defeated No. 4 Auburn, 79–73 (Final Four –

, San Antonio, TX) ** No. 2 Houston defeated No. 1 Duke, 70–67 (Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, TX) * Apr. 7 ** No. 3 Florida defeated No. 2 Houston, 65–63 ( National Championship Game – Alamodome, San Antonio, TX)

Regular season

Early-season tournaments

Head-to-head conference challenges

Upsets

In addition to the above listed upsets in which an unranked team defeated a ranked team, there were six non-Division I teams that defeated a Division I team during the season. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes).

Conference winners and tournaments

Each of the 31 active Division I

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

s ended its

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

with a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

. The team with the best regular-season record in each conference received the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers used as needed in the case of ties for the top seeding. Unless otherwise noted, the winners of these tournaments received automatic invitations to the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Postseason tournaments

The NCAA tournament tipped off on March 18, 2025 with the First Four in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, and concluded on April 7 at the

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas. A total of 68 teams entered the tournament. Thirty-one of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

' tournaments. The remaining 37 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

Final Four –
Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...
in
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Texas

Tournament upsets

Per the NCAA, an upset occurs when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least two seed lines better than the winning team.

National Invitation Tournament

After the NCAA tournament field was announced, the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

invited 32 teams to participate. Eleven teams were given exempt bids based on a ranking index, and 21 other teams were invited for winning their conference regular seasons or at-large bids. The first three rounds were played at campus sites, with the semifinals and final taking place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Semifinals and final

College Basketball Invitational

After the NCAA tournament field was announced, the College Basketball Invitational invited 11 teams to participate at the Ocean Center in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

Semifinals and finals

College Basketball Crown

After the NCAA tournament field was announced, the College Basketball Crown tournament invited 16 teams to participate at the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

Semifinals and finals

Conference standings

Award winners

2025 Consensus All-Americans

Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award: Cooper Flagg,

* Naismith Award: Cooper Flagg, Duke * Associated Press Player of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Duke *

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball across the three largest college athletic associations in the United States. Th ...

: Cooper Flagg, Duke *

Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...

( USBWA): Cooper Flagg, Duke * ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: Johni Broome, Auburn * Lute Olson Award ( Collegeinsider.com): Cooper Flagg, Duke

Major freshman of the year awards

* Wayman Tisdale Award ( USBWA): Cooper Flagg, Duke *

NABC Freshman of the Year The NABC Freshman of the Year is an annual college basketball award presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and sponsored by Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel ...

: Cooper Flagg, Duke

Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Auburn &

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

, St. John's *

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...

( USBWA): Rick Pitino, St. John's *

NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...

: Bruce Pearl, Auburn *

Naismith College Coach of the Year The Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (officially known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Ladder Naismith College Coach of the Year) is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate c ...

: Rick Pitino, St. John's * ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson,

* Jim Phelan Award ( Collegeinsider.com):

Chris Beard Christopher Michael Beard (born February 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's coach at University of Mississippi ( Ole Miss). He also previously served as head coach at Texas, Texas Tech, Little Rock, Angelo State, a ...

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

Other major awards

* Naismith Starting Five: **

Bob Cousy Award The Bob Cousy Award, sponsored by the College of the Holy Cross, is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. It is named after six-time National Basketball Assoc ...

(best point guard): Braden Smith,

** Jerry West Award (best shooting guard): Chaz Lanier,

** Julius Erving Award (best small forward): Cooper Flagg, Duke ** Karl Malone Award (best power forward): Johni Broome, Auburn **

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate center. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded sinc ...

(best center): Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton *

Pete Newell Big Man Award The Pete Newell Big Man Award has been awarded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) since 2000. It is presented to the best low-post player each season. The award is named after Pete Newell, the coach who ran the Pete Newell ...

(best big man): Johni Broome, Auburn *

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is a college basketball award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top men's defensive player in NCAA Division I competition. It has been given since 1987 a ...

: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton * Naismith Defensive Player of the Year: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (top player in

Philadelphia Big 5 The Philadelphia Big 5, known simply as the "Big 5", is an association of six college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’ ...

): Eric Dixon, Villanova *

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the top men's college basketball player from an NCAA Division I school in the New York metropolitan area. The Haggerty Award is presented by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MB ...

(top player in NYC metro area): RJ Luis Jr., St. John's * Ben Jobe Award (top minority coach): Chris Crutchfield,

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

* Hugh Durham Award (top mid-major coach): John Groce,

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

* Lefty Driesell Award (top defensive player): Joseph Tugler,

* Lou Henson Award (top mid-major player): Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State * Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award (coach with moral character): Mark Byington, Vanderbilt * Academic All-American of the Year (top scholar-athlete): RJ Luis Jr., St. John's * Elite 90 Award (top GPA among upperclass players at Final Four): Bennett Andersen,

* Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award: For the first time in nearly 50 years, this award and its corresponding women's award were not presented to college basketball figures. The awards went to the boys' and girls' teams of Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles, which both posted winning seasons in the wake of the

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

that destroyed much of the campus as well as the homes of multiple players on both teams.

Coaching changes

Many teams will change coaches during the season and after it ends.

Attendances

The top 30 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams by average home attendance:

Television viewers and ratings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2024-25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Rule changes

Season headlines

Milestones and records

Conference membership changes

Arenas

New arenas

Arenas of new D-I teams

Arena name changes

Other arena changes

Seasonal outlook

Pre-season polls

Final polls

Top 10 matchups

Regular season

Conference tournament

Postseason tournament

Regular season

Early-season tournaments

Head-to-head conference challenges

Upsets

Conference winners and tournaments

Postseason tournaments

Tournament upsets

National Invitation Tournament

Semifinals and final

College Basketball Invitational

Semifinals and finals

College Basketball Crown

Semifinals and finals

Conference standings

Award winners

2025 Consensus All-Americans

Major player of the year awards

Major freshman of the year awards

Major coach of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

Attendances

Television viewers and ratings

See also

References