March Madness Bracket 2015: Odds, Predictions for Sweet 16

The first two Sweet 16 games have tipped off Thursday, with two more games to round out the day's slate.

The top-ranked, unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers, with the Xavier Musketeers vs. Arizona Wildcats to follow.

Here's a look at the bracket as things stand now and a brief preview for Thursday's later Sweet 16 matchups.

Updated Bracket

Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV Info	Odds	Pick
Thursday
7:15 p.m.	No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	CBS	WICH (-1.5)	Wichita State
7:47 p.m.	No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Wisconsin	TBS	WISC (-6.5)	Wisconsin
9:45 p.m.	No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 1 Kentucky	CBS	UK (-13)	Kentucky
10:17 p.m.	No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 1 Arizona	TBS	ZONA (-12)	Arizona
Friday
7:15 p.m.	No. 11 UCLA vs. No. 2 Gonzaga	CBS	GONZ (-8.5)	Gonzaga
7:37 p.m.	No. 8 NC State vs. No. 4 Louisville	TBS	LOU (-3)	Louisville
9:45 p.m.	No. 5 Utah vs. No. 1 Duke	CBS	Duke (-5.5)	Duke
10:07 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Oklahoma	TBS	MSU (-2.5)	Michigan State

Breaking Down Thursday's Later Games

No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 1 Kentucky

According to KenPom.com, West Virginia is the second-fastest team remaining in the NCAA tournament, with the Mountaineers sitting 29th in adjusted tempo.

One of the biggest questions surrounding this game is whether the Kentucky Wildcats can handle West Virginia's full-court defense. The Mountaineers look to create early steals and harass their opponents right from the inbound. According to Sports-Reference.com, they rank first in opponent turnover percentage.

If Kentucky can beat that press, West Virginia might find itself getting regularly hammered down low by Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein.

The other concern is whether the Mountaineers can score against the best defense in the country, a problem that ESPN's Jeff Goodman thinks will sink Bob Huggins' team:

With the nature of Kentucky's victory over Cincinnati, some are starting to see chinks in the Wildcats' armor. Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz and Adam Lefkoe discussed the potential implications of that game on Team Stream Now:

Although West Virginia's defense might give UK some problems, the Mountaineers will have too many problems offensively to truly challenge the Wildcats. They rank just 273rd in three-point field-goal percentage. Points in the paint will be hard to come by, and if WVU is shooting well from outside, then it's doomed.

No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 2 Arizona

This game will be a bit bittersweet for Arizona head coach Sean Miller. He spent the first five years of his coaching career at Xavier, helping the Musketeers reach the Elite Eight in 2008 and Sweet 16 in 2009.

He admitted that he'll have some conflicting emotions when the game tips off, per Shannon Russell of The Cincinnati Enquirer:

"

I'm proud of just looking at where their program is. It's done nothing but just increase and get better. Chris (Mack) has done just a great, great job. The hardest part for me, and I try not to think about it, is I coached a lot of players at Xavier.

There are a lot of players that you grow to love that perform, play in big games, give everything like Stanley Johnson gives to me in Arizona. There are so many guys that I watched through four or five years give their heart and soul to make the program what it is.

"

In addition, Xavier head coach Chris Mack was an assistant under Miller before taking over when Miller left for Tucson. Turner Sports' Rachel Nichols snapped a photo of the two catching up before they face off:

You can bet, though, that the sappy sentiment will halt when the game starts. Too much is on the line for either coach to get wrapped up his emotions.

Simply put, Arizona is one of the best teams in the country and could've very easily been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. According to KenPom.com, the Wildcats are seventh in adjusted offense and third in adjusted defense.

In Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona also has two talented wings combining to average 25.3 points and 13.5 rebounds a game. They're capable of changing a game on both ends of the floor and are bound to give the Musketeers trouble.

It would be foolish to blithely disregard Xavier as challengers to the Wildcats. With that said, it's hard to see how it will have enough to upset Arizona.

Note: Sweet 16 odds are courtesy of Odds Shark.