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Basketball reigns supreme in March with the start of the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments, and fans of all ages are filling out brackets to predict the eventual champion.
Some celebrities have gone online to share their brackets, and some had the Iowa teams competing in the tournament going far, while others had them getting eliminated quite early.
Here are the brackets for celebrities and how far they have Iowa teams going.
Iowa State and Drake are the two teams representing the state in the men's tournament.
The Cyclones enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will play No. 14 Lipscomb Bisons in the first round. The No. 11 seed Bulldogs face a fellow Midwest school in the No. 6 seed Missouri Tigers in the first round of the men's tournament.
Recent Super Bowl winner for the Philadelphia Eagles, DeVonta Smith and Baseball Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, both predicted that Drake would reach the Sweet 16 of the tournament, a feat the team hasn't accomplished since 1971.
Sabathia, a World Series-winning pitcher for the New York Yankees, even has Iowa State reaching the Elite Eight, which hasn't happened since 2000 when it lost to that year's National Champion Michigan State.
Another prominent former professional athlete predicting Iowa State to reach the Elite Eight is eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard. He doesn't think as highly as Drake, however, as the former NBA Champion has them losing to Missouri in the first round.
Like Howard, San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle also has Drake losing in the opening round. Unlike Howard, however, Castle predicts a huge upset happening in the form of Lipscomb beating ISU in the first round.
Iowa State has experienced both sides of NCAA Tournament upsets in recent years. In 2022, the No. 11 Cyclones made it to the Sweet 16 after knocking off a No. 6 and No. 3 seed. A year later, Iowa State was the one being upset after losing to No. 11 Pittsburgh Panthers in the first round as a No. 6 seed.
Here are the Iowa State and Drake predictions from other professional athletes according to their brackets
Grant Williams, NBA
Maxx Crosby, NFL
Paolo Banchero, NBA
Quinshon Judkins, NFL prospect
Bobby Witt Jr., MLB
While someone like Stephon Castle doesn't believe Drake and Iowa State will do much this March Madness, two individuals who know a thing or two about playing high-level basketball have faith that these two schools will at least make it out of the first round.
I'm, of course, talking about Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, who — with the help of little-known NBA player Michael Jordan — took down the 'Monstars' back in 1996 in a game for the ages. (We won't talk about the follow-up that took place in 2021)
Both Daffy and Bugs have Iowa State and Drake making the Sweet 16 and the Round of 32, respectively.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: March Madness: Which celebs are betting on Iowa State to the Elite 8?
Continue reading...
Some celebrities have gone online to share their brackets, and some had the Iowa teams competing in the tournament going far, while others had them getting eliminated quite early.
Here are the brackets for celebrities and how far they have Iowa teams going.
What Iowa teams are in the NCAA men's basketball tournament?
Iowa State and Drake are the two teams representing the state in the men's tournament.
The Cyclones enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will play No. 14 Lipscomb Bisons in the first round. The No. 11 seed Bulldogs face a fellow Midwest school in the No. 6 seed Missouri Tigers in the first round of the men's tournament.
NBA, NFL stars have Drake and Iowa State winning their first-round games
Recent Super Bowl winner for the Philadelphia Eagles, DeVonta Smith and Baseball Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, both predicted that Drake would reach the Sweet 16 of the tournament, a feat the team hasn't accomplished since 1971.
Sabathia, a World Series-winning pitcher for the New York Yankees, even has Iowa State reaching the Elite Eight, which hasn't happened since 2000 when it lost to that year's National Champion Michigan State.
CC Sabathia's bracket!️
Alabama
Drake Sweet 16
Colorado State > Memphis #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/Qgy47FYuIz
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2025
Another prominent former professional athlete predicting Iowa State to reach the Elite Eight is eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard. He doesn't think as highly as Drake, however, as the former NBA Champion has them losing to Missouri in the first round.
Like Howard, San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle also has Drake losing in the opening round. Unlike Howard, however, Castle predicts a huge upset happening in the form of Lipscomb beating ISU in the first round.
Iowa State has experienced both sides of NCAA Tournament upsets in recent years. In 2022, the No. 11 Cyclones made it to the Sweet 16 after knocking off a No. 6 and No. 3 seed. A year later, Iowa State was the one being upset after losing to No. 11 Pittsburgh Panthers in the first round as a No. 6 seed.
Here are the Iowa State and Drake predictions from other professional athletes according to their brackets
Grant Williams, NBA
- Drake: Round-of-32
- Iowa State: Round-of-32
Maxx Crosby, NFL
- Drake: Round-of-32
- Iowa State: Sweet 16
Paolo Banchero, NBA
- Drake: Round-of-32
- Iowa State: Sweet 16
Quinshon Judkins, NFL prospect
- Drake: First round
- Iowa State: Sweet 16
Bobby Witt Jr., MLB
- Drake: First round
- Iowa State: Sweet 16
Legendary cartoon characters pick Iowa State, Drake winning first-round games
While someone like Stephon Castle doesn't believe Drake and Iowa State will do much this March Madness, two individuals who know a thing or two about playing high-level basketball have faith that these two schools will at least make it out of the first round.
I'm, of course, talking about Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, who — with the help of little-known NBA player Michael Jordan — took down the 'Monstars' back in 1996 in a game for the ages. (We won't talk about the follow-up that took place in 2021)
Both Daffy and Bugs have Iowa State and Drake making the Sweet 16 and the Round of 32, respectively.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: March Madness: Which celebs are betting on Iowa State to the Elite 8?
Continue reading...
