March Madness fever is quickly crescendoing as the opening tipoff between the Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers in the 2025 Final Four approaches. The two top-seeded Southeastern Conference schools fought through four rounds of NCAA Tournament play so far and are looking to move onto the championship game with a victory on Saturday evening.
The betting lines have been tight all week, while the expert predictions have generally been divided. Todd Golden's team seems to have a slight edge heading into the Alamodome, but this matchup is about as even as they come.
The morning prior to the big game, CBS Sports' college basketball crew offered their predictions and picks for the Big Dance affair, leaning ever so slightly toward the guys from Gainesville. Take a look below at how things shook out among the group.
CBS Sports' consensus prediction
"Auburn has had a run of slow starts recently, except when they faced another slow-starting team in Michigan State. The Tigers are 1-7 against the first half spread in the last eight games and 4-11 in their last 15, a span that stretches back to the loss to Florida on Feb. 8. The Gators, meanwhile, have tied or led at halftime in each of their last 10 games and can get their bench involved early to test Auburn's depth," they note.
"The Bruce Pearl-Todd Golden familiarity could produce a bit of a stalemate first half — the First Half Under 76.5 is also worth a look — but I'm counting on Auburn to pivot to its best play and counter-punches after halftime. Florida has closed well at the end of the 1st half a few times in this postseason run, 'winning' the final 10 minutes of the second half in five out of seven games between the SEC and NCAA Tournament, and those habits should power a halftime lead for the Gators."
The group picked Florida by 1.5 at the end of the first half.
Breaking down CBS Sports' predictions
- Garry Parrish: Auburn
- Matt Norlander: Auburn
- Jerry Palm: Florida
- Chip Patterson: Auburn
- Kyle Boone: Florida
- David Cobb: Florida
- Cameron Salerno: Florida
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Final Four predictions ahead of Florida vs Auburn in NCAA Tournament
