March Madness Bracket 2025: SIUE secures 1st NCAA tournament automatic bid

The 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament field is beginning to take shape as SIUE became the first team to secure an automatic bid.

The Cougars clinched the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championship with a 69-48 victory over Southeast Missouri State, earning their first-ever March Madness appearance.

A total of 31 teams will qualify for the tournament through conference championships, with the remaining 37 spots filled by at-large selections made by the NCAA selection committee. As automatic bids are secured, the full tournament field will be updated accordingly.

Conference tournament schedules and automatic bids

 

The NCAA tournament bracket will be unveiled at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 16, on CBS. Below is a look at the ongoing conference tournaments, including schedules and automatic bid winners:

2025 NCAA Conference Tournament Overview

Conference
Tournament Dates
Automatic Bid Winner
Location
America East
March 8-15
TBD
Higher seed hosts
American Athletic
March 12-16
TBD
Fort Worth, Texas
Atlantic 10
March 12-16
TBD
Washington, D.C.
ACC
March 11-15
TBD
Charlotte, N.C.
ASUN
March 2-9
Lipscomb
Campus sites
Big 12
March 11-15
TBD
Kansas City, Mo.
Big East
March 12-15
TBD
New York City
Big Ten
March 12-16
TBD
Indianapolis, Ind.
Big West
March 12-15
TBD
Henderson, Nev.
Horizon League
March 4-11
TBD
Indianapolis (final rounds)
Missouri Valley
March 6-9
Drake
St. Louis, Mo.
Ohio Valley
March 5-8
SIUE
Evansville, Ind.
SEC
March 12-16
TBD
Nashville, Tenn.
West Coast
March 6-11
TBD
Las Vegas, Nev.
Full schedules, results, and bracket information are available for all 31 Division I men’s basketball conferences.