March Madness 2015: Tournament Schedule, Bracket Predictions for No. 1 Seeds

Welcome to March.

Those words are music to the ears of college basketball fans across the nation, and this year’s tournament figures to be even more intriguing than usual thanks to the presence of big, bad Kentucky.

The Big Dance is always about the underdogs, but everyone outside of the Wildcats will be seen as underdogs in this season’s edition. After all, they are steamrolling their way to an undefeated record and the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.

That won’t mean much on Selection Sunday, though, when everyone’s slates are wiped clean and six consecutive victories are all that stand in the way of a national title. With that in mind, here is a look at the March Madness schedule as well as some predictions for the four No. 1 seeds.

Date	Event	Location
March 15	Selection Sunday
March 17-18	First Round	Dayton
March 19, 21	Second and Third Rounds	Jacksonville, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Portland
March 20, 22	Second and Third Rounds	Columbus, Charlotte, Omaha and Seattle
March 26, 28	Midwest Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Cleveland
March 26, 28	West Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Los Angeles
March 27, 29	South Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Houston
March 27, 29	East Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Syracuse
April 4	National Semifinals	Indianapolis
April 6	Championship Game	Indianapolis

Kentucky

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

This really needs no explanation.

The Wildcats have knocked off every challenger, regardless of whether the game was in Lexington, on the road or at a neutral site. In fact, only six of Kentucky’s 29 victories were by less than 10 points, which is a testament to how overwhelmingly dominant it is on the floor this season. 

There are no glaring weaknesses on the roster, and John Calipari actually has some experience to go along with his superstar freshmen this season in the form of Willie Cauley-Stein and the Harrison brothers. It probably won’t happen given how the season has unfolded, but the Wildcats can even afford a loss or two down the stretch and still be more than secure in their chances at a No. 1 seed.

Virginia

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

While Kentucky has received the lion’s share of the attention this season as the lock for a No. 1 seed, Virginia isn’t far behind.

The Cavaliers were 27-1 heading into Monday’s game at Syracuse and count victories over Maryland (now in the Top 10), Miami, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Louisville, among others, on their resume. The one blemish came against Duke when the Blue Devils caught fire from three-point range in the closing minutes.

Kentucky deserves all the love it receives, but the ACC is stronger at the top than the SEC (at least if you go by the Top 25 rankings). Virginia has to navigate the likes of Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame and North Carolina along with dangerous contests against mid-tier teams in the league, such as North Carolina State, Miami and Pittsburgh. 

The Cavaliers are going to finish atop the ACC standings and only have the one loss. They have a clear path to a No. 1 seed.

Duke

It gets a bit trickier after the top two contenders for a No. 1 seed with Duke, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Villanova and Arizona all in contention.

However, the Blue Devils have the best collection of wins out of that entire group, and that will be enough to give them the nod for the third No. 1 seed.

Mike Krzyzewski’s squad walked into Wisconsin and came away with a critical head-to-head victory over a fellow top-seed contender to go along with wins over Michigan State, Temple, Stanford, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Virginia. That is two potential fellow No. 1 seeds among that group of formidable foes, which will carry even more weight on Selection Sunday.

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

If there is one question with Duke, it is the lack of depth and whether it will stand up between now and the end of the conference tournament when the seeding is announced. Coach K didn’t seem too worried about that, though, via Bill Bender of Sporting News: “They don't get tired from playing minutes, they get tired from over-practice. There's no kid in the world who gets tired from playing. You gotta be kidding me.” 

As long as Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and Quinn Cook stay relatively healthy and don’t hit a wall at the end of the season, Duke will secure a No. 1 seed on the back of its impressive collection of victories.

Villanova

David Kohl/Associated Press

The real race is for the final No. 1 seed, and there is an element of conference pride and mid-major vs. power conference to the entire discussion.

Gonzaga has a sparkling 29-2 record, but its best win may be over a borderline-Top 25 team in SMU. That won't be enough on Selection Sunday.

Villanova and Arizona are both red-hot and playing some of their best basketball of the season down the stretch, and Wisconsin has the opportunity to navigate the Big Ten tournament and make one final statement to the selection committee before it releases the seeds.

However, the Big Ten is not as strong this season as it typically is, and only Maryland is in the Top 20 of the current Associated Press rankings outside of Wisconsin. As for Arizona, only Utah is in the Top 20 in the Pac-12, which means the Badgers and Wildcats won’t have the chance to rack up a ton of head-turning victories in the league tournament. 

If you let ESPN College Basketball tell the tale, Villanova actually has more quality wins than either the Badgers or Wildcats:

"

Wisconsin moved to 26-3 & picked up its third BPI top 25 win. Which team has the strongest case for a No. 1 seed? pic.twitter.com/aPGuoSPXdN

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 2, 2015"

If the Villanova Wildcats win out, that will mean 12 consecutive regular-season victories, a Big East tournament title and a long list of solid wins. That, along with the one less overall loss than Arizona and Wisconsin, will be enough to secure a top seed.

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