One of the great traditions of March Madness is a No. 5 seed getting upset by a No. 12.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, No. 12 seeds have gone 55-101 (35.3% win rate) against No. 5 seeds and there has been at least one 5-12 upset in 33 of the last 39 iterations of the Big Dance (not including 2025).
The biggest year for the mighty 12-seed came in 2019 when three No. 12’s advanced to the second round.
There’s no mistaking who everyone’s favorite No. 12 is in 2025. You need only to look at the betting market to see that the bracket-filling world has circled Colorado State to get by Memphis on Friday.
The 12th-seeded Rams are a 1.5-point favorite at Bet365 Sportsbook at the time of writing.
Is there any value on backing Colorado State to “upset” Memphis? Or is the market getting carried away? Find out our take on that question and check out an exclusive bonus code from bet365 sportsbook below.
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Memphis vs. Colorado State betting preview
It’s not just the betting market that believes that Colorado State should be favorites in this contest. Two of the most respected college basketball models, KenPom and BartTorvik, have the Rams ahead of the Tigers in their power rankings.
And it’s not just the statistical profile of the Rams that has turned the nation into believers. It’s their form. Outside of the heavyweights, no team is coming into the Big Dance in better rhythm than the Rams. Colorado State has won 10 games on the spin and has covered the spread in all 10 of those contests.

All of this makes it sound like it should be one-way traffic, but the hype around Colorado State is covering up that Memphis also checks into March Madness on a roll.
The Tigers are 9-1 in their last 10 and dispatched a very strong UAB side in the AAC Championship.
Colorado State vs. Memphis pick
There are a lot of similarities between these two teams. They have similar records, they’re both in good form, and they both are decent on both sides of the court.
The one glaring difference is the tempo that these two teams want to play at.
Colorado State ranks 251st in the country in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric, while Memphis is sitting at 28th.
In terms of picking a side, this game looks like a coin flip and seems appropriately priced. But there does seem to be some value on the Under 147.5.
No matter who is able to set the tempo for this game, the opposite team figures to struggle in that environment, which could lead to a scrappy, low-scoring contest.
Pick: Under 147.5 (bet365)
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