2025 college basketball 3-point and dunk contest preview and participants

The State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships are set to take place Thursday night in San Antonio. This event is the perfect lead-in to Final Four weekend and the field is loaded with notable college basketball stars from both the women’s and men’s side.

Assuming format remains the same, the 3-point contest will have five spots to shoot from with five balls at each station. Four of those balls are worth one point, and the fifth is the bonus ball, which is worth two. The top two scores from the first round will advance to the final, where a winner will be crowned. Then, the winner of the men’s division will take on the winner of the women’s division in the Skechers Battle of the Champions.

In the dunk contest, all participants will get a chance to complete two dunks. The two highest combined scores will then advance to the championship round. Scores will be given by judges which include Jay Bilas, Grant Hill, and former San Antonio Spurs George Gervin and Sean Elliott. While the NBA dunk contest has been a dud recently, the college event has been electric and in my opinion much better than what we have seen at the professional level as of late.

The event will begin at 7p.m. ET and will air on ESPN. Here are this year's participants along with my picks for who will win.

Women’s 3-Point Contest

• Sarah Andrews, Baylor (81-221, 36.7%)
• Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, Grand Canyon (124-267, 46.4%)
• Lauren Jensen, Creighton (72-199, 36.2%)
• Ioanna Krimili, Cal (97-262, 37%)
• Aaliyah Nye, Alabama (111-244, 45.5%)
• Temira Poindexter, Kansas State (92-230, 40%)
• Sammie Puisis, USF (106-266, 39.8%)
• Ivy Wolf, Dayton (73-193, 37.8%)

Pick: Sammie Puisis, USF

Men's 3-Point Contest

• Steven Ashworth, Creighton (110-294, 37.4%)
• Cam Carter, LSU (80-204, 39.2%)
• Caleb Grill, Missouri (78-197, 39.6%)
• Patrick McCaffery, Butler (77-185, 41.6%)
• Tyler McGhie, UCSD (117-310, 37.7%)
• John Poulakidas, Yale (87-213, 40.8%)
• Payton Sandfort, Iowa (84-247, 34%)
• Jalen Sullinger, Kent State (88-228, 38.6%)

Pick: Steven Ashworth, Creighton

Dunk Contest

• Lakeem McAliley, East Stroudsburg (Division II)
• Christian Ings, Norfolk State
• DeMarr Langford Jr., Albany
• Kylen Milton, Murray State
• Christian Shumate, McNeese
• Tevin Smith, Cleveland State

Pick: Christian Shumate, McNeese