2025 NCAA Tournament: Bracket info for Arkansas, St. John’s and other schools with UK ties

The 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket is out.

The potential paths to a national championship are clear for all 68 schools named to this year’s men’s March Madness field.

Kentucky, a 3 seed this year, will obviously garner the lion’s share of the attention in this part of the world. But there are several other schools in the NCAA field with strong connections to the commonwealth.

This is led by the “ReviVILLE” going on in the Derby City. First-year head coach Pat Kelsey is leading the Louisville Cardinals into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, and the Cards are going dancing with plenty of momentum at their backs.

Former UK and U of L head coach Rick Pitino is having significant success in his second season as the head coach at St. John’s, and the Red Storm are a legitimate national title contender as March Madness begins.

Elsewhere, a former lightly used ex-Cat will be at the helm of an NCAA Tournament squad. Former Kentucky guard Dwight Perry has guided Wofford to the NCAA Tournament after the Terriers won the Southern Conference Tournament as the 6 seed.

And we can’t forget Coach Cal now, can we?

John Calipari’s first season as the Arkansas head coach has been generally viewed as a disappointment, but Cal’s Razorbacks have won five of their last seven games entering the national postseason.

You probably already know what the Kentucky Wildcats are seeded and where they’re headed to begin the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a look at the tournament draw for Arkansas, Louisville, St. John’s and Wofford, and what lies ahead in each school’s NCAA Tournament path.

Schools are listed in alphabetical order.

Arkansas, John Calipari prepare for first NCAA Tournament together

Arkansas Razorbacks

▪ Record: 20-13.

▪ NCAA Tournament: No. 10 seed.

▪ Round of 64 opponent: No. 7 seed Kansas (21-12) at 7:10 p.m. Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.

▪ Notable: John Calipari’s first season with the Hogs started slow, but it will end with the Hall of Fame coach making his 24th trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Despite losing star freshman guard Boogie Fland in January to a right thumb injury, the Razorbacks rallied to win eight games in the rugged SEC this season.

When he departed Lexington for Fayetteville last spring, Calipari took plenty of former Kentucky players and recruits with him. Fland was one of them, but others have also stepped up for the Arkansas cause.

Players with Kentucky connections who have been contributors for the Razorbacks this season include ex-Cats junior Adou Thiero (15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals) and sophomores Zvonimir Ivisic (9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks) and D.J. Wagner (11.1 points and 3.5 assists).

Additionally, former UK recruits Karter Knox (7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds) and Billy Richmond III (5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds) have answered the bell as freshmen. These former Kentucky players and recruits all played a key role in Arkansas’ win over UK on Feb. 1 at Rupp Arena.

Something to watch for with the Razorbacks in the NCAA tournament is the health of Thiero, who hyperextended his knee during a Feb. 22 home win over Missouri. Thiero hasn’t played for Arkansas since, missing the team’s last six games.

On the other side of the injury coin, there’s optimism that Arkansas will get Fland back for the NCAA Tournament. In 18 games this season, Fland is averaging 15.1 points and 5.7 assists per contest. He last played on Jan. 18.

The Razorbacks will open NCAA Tournament play against the Kansas Jayhawks, another team that’s disappointed relative to preseason expectations. Kansas was No. 1 in the preseason AP poll, before slumping to a 12-loss season that included nine losses in Big 12 Conference play.

If Arkansas is able to defeat Kansas in the opening round, then 2 seed St. John’s — coached by Rick Pitino — would potentially be next on Saturday in the round of 32.

Arkansas is one of 14 SEC teams in this year’s NCAA field, a record number of schools from one conference.

Pat Kelsey leads Louisville to first NCAA Tournament since 2019

Louisville Cardinals

▪ Record: 27-7.

▪ NCAA Tournament: No. 8 seed.

▪ Round of 64 opponent: No. 9 seed Creighton (24-10) at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.

▪ Notable: After suffering through a glut of injuries to begin the season, Pat Kelsey’s first team at Louisville hit its stride during ACC play, as the Cardinals went 18-2 in conference games.

Kelsey — who was named the ACC Coach of the Year — retooled the U of L roster last offseason, with the biggest addition being senior point guard Chucky Hepburn. A former three-year starter at Wisconsin, Hepburn is averaging career-bests in points (16.2), assists (5.8), steals (2.5), shooting percentage (43.5%) and minutes (34.6) while leading the way for Louisville at both ends of the court.

The Cardinals — who will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 — have gotten scoring boosts this season from fifth-year James Madison transfer Terrence Edwards Jr. (16.6 points) and senior Reyne Smith (13.4), a sharpshooter from deep who previously played for Kelsey at Charleston.

For the first time as a member of the ACC, Louisville reached the championship game of the conference tournament. The Cardinals lost in the title game to top-seed Duke — the Blue Devils were without both superstar freshman Cooper Flagg and junior forward Maliq Brown for the championship game — by 11 points.

Louisville last won a game in March Madness in 2017.

Now, the Cardinals will attempt to break that streak in Lexington, where they’ll face Creighton on Thursday afternoon at Rupp Arena. Louisville and Creighton will be playing in the first round of 64 game in this year’s March Madness.

The winner of that contest will likely play Auburn — the tournament’s top overall seed — in the round of 32 on Saturday.

Rick Pitino and St. John’s could win the NCAA title in 2025

St. John’s Red Storm

▪ Record: 30-4.

▪ NCAA Tournament: No. 2 seed.

▪ Round of 64 opponent: No. 15 seed Omaha (22-12) at 9:45 p.m. Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.

▪ Notable: In just his second season as the St. John’s head coach, 72-year-old Rick Pitino has built the Red Storm into a national title contender.

This season, St. John’s won its first outright Big East Conference regular-season championship since 1985 and its first Big East Conference Tournament crown since 2000. It all adds up to a favorable NCAA Tournament seed for the Red Storm, who haven’t won a March Madness game since 2000.

St. John’s has lost its last five NCAA Tournament games, a trend that’s expected to change this year.

Three St. John’s players average double-figure scoring for the Red Storm: Juniors RJ Luis Jr. (18.4 points) and Zuby Ejiofor (14.6 points), and fifth-year Kadary Richmond (12.7), the top transfer portal pickup from last offseason.

Pitino’s squad will also enter the NCAA Tournament as the top defensive team in the nation, per KenPom.

Pitino, the revered former Kentucky and Louisville coach, is also making some personal history with this year’s edition of March Madness. He is now the first head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history to lead six different schools — Boston, Iona, Kentucky, Louisville, Providence and St. John’s — to the Big Dance.

If St. John’s is able to get past Omaha in the round of 64, then the Red Storm will face either 7 seed Kansas (21-12) or 10 seed Arkansas (20-13) on Saturday in Providence. This means Pitino would coach against either Bill Self or John Calipari for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Ex-cat Dwight Perry coaches Wofford back to the NCAA Tournament

Wofford Terriers

▪ Record: 19-15.

▪ NCAA Tournament: No. 15 seed.

▪ Round of 64 opponent: No. 2 seed Tennessee (27-7) at 6:50 p.m. Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.

▪ Notable: Mark Pope isn’t the only former UK men’s basketball player who is coaching an NCAA Tournament team this year.

Dwight Perry — who played 19 games as a walk-on at UK from 2006-09 — is at the helm of Wofford as the Terriers make a surprise NCAA Tournament appearance. Chaos reigned in the Southern Conference Tournament this year, as 6 seed Wofford topped 5 seed Furman to win the league tournament and secure the SoCon’s automatic bid to the Big Dance.

Perry is in his third season as the head coach of the Terriers. He was elevated from an assistant coach to Wofford’s interim head coach in December 2022. Perry was named the school’s full-time head coach in March 2023.

Wofford has gone 48-42 under Perry’s stewardship. This year, the Terriers will be making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

In its most recent March Madness trip in 2019, Wofford was a 7 seed that defeated 10 seed Seton Hall in the first round. The Terriers then lost to 2 seed Kentucky in the second round. That victory gave UK its most recent appearance in the Sweet 16.

Perry is best remembered in UK basketball lore for his surprise start in a 2007 NCAA Tournament round-of-64 game against Villanova. Then a freshman walk-on with the Wildcats, Perry only started that game because Kentucky accidentally listed him in the starting lineup instead of normal starter (and Dwight Perry’s cousin) Bobby Perry.

Now in a full-circle moment, Perry will get to return to Rupp Arena with his Wofford team for his first NCAA Tournament game as a college head coach.

This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 6:46 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription