The Men's 2025 March Madness Pain Index

March Madness is one of the best events in the sports community for what it brings us: upsets, storylines and all the magic of three glorious weekends of win-or-go-home college basketball. When "One Shining Moment" plays at the end of the tournament, even the most stoic fans can be moved to tears.

But on the other side of every loss is a fan base with high expectations and the disappointment that their team left the tournament far too soon. On the receiving end of every buzzer-beater is a team left walking off the court stunned, jerseys covering their faces.

Is it possible to truly measure the level of heartbreak a team and its fans feel after a loss in the NCAA tournament? As a Mets, Jets and 76ers fan, I'm well-versed in sports misery and consider myself equipped with enough firsthand knowledge to compile this ranking of just that, from least to most painful.

This year, we're breaking them down even further, into tiers:

• Just happy to be here: Self-explanatory.


• Such a tease: This tier is for the high seeds that made us do a double take at the scoreboard a few times, before eventually landing at the expected conclusion in blowout fashion.


• Here's your participation trophy: These teams were expected to have a reasonable chance to advance, but never really were a threat.


• Silver linings playbook: The loss wasn't ideal, but there's something positive to take from the overall tournament performance.


• So close, yet so far: They were in it for a majority of the game, but the final score didn't show it.


• We're not mad, just disappointed: For the flat-out underperformers.


• Emotional roller coaster: They had us at the edge of our seat and biting our nails.


• If you had one shot or one opportunity: Things came down to the final play.


• ... What just happened?! Reserved for the most painful finishes.

We're basing these rankings on pre-tournament expectations, peak win probability (according to ESPN Analytics), and other notable storylines or circumstances. Every team has now been eliminated, leaving just Florida standing as the 2025 national champion. Time to measure everyone's heartbreak.

Last updated: April 8, 2025

Tiers:br/>Just happy to be here | Such a tease | Here's your participation trophy |br/>Silver linings playbook | So close, yet so far | We're not mad, just disappointed |br/>Emotional roller coaster | If you had one shot or one opportunity | What just happened?!

Just happy to be here

The Mountaineers were never in the game. But they were never expected to be in it. Winning a First Four game brings money to the school and the conference (which is why 16 seeds play in that round instead of only the last at-large teams in the field), so anything beyond that is simply playing with house money.

No shame in losing in the battle of the Cougars. SIU Edwardsville was making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and had a lead against a 1-seed. (For what it's worth, Gonzaga never led against Houston in the next round.) What eventually transpired matters much less than the exposure the school and players got on the sport's biggest stage.

The Spartans are known for their 15-2 upset over Missouri in the 2012 tournament, but they've become the class of the MEAC in recent seasons, having won the conference's auto-bid in three of the past five years. This 26-point loss was actually Norfolk State's closest loss in that span, so things are looking up.