NCAA Bracket 2015: Tournament Schedule, Bracket Predictions for March Madness

The first round of the 2015 NCAA tournament begins on March 17. With the regular season almost over, it's becoming easier to determine how the bracket will shape up.

No matter what happens between now and Selection Sunday, the Kentucky Wildcats figure to be the No. 1 overall March Madness seed—barring the biggest travesty in judgment in the history of college basketball.

Keep reading for the complete NCAA tournament schedule as it stands, in addition to some general predictions as to what the final bracket will look like.

*For complete bracket picture, visit NCAA.com.

Round	Date
First Round	March 17-18
Second Round (Round of 64)	March 19-20
Third Round (Round of 32)	March 21-22
Sweet 16	March 26-27
Elite Eight	March 28-29
Final Four	April 4
National Championship	April 6

Bracket Predictions

As Bleacher Report college basketball expert Kerry Miller references in the video above, BYU's 73-70 victory at Gonzaga will put the Cougars in the tournament.

Jeff Goodman of ESPN likes BYU's potential to play spoiler in the Big Dance:

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they are likely out of the first-seed conversation thanks to that defeat. It was coach Mark Few's chance to prove skeptics wrong, and Gonzaga didn't get it done.

ESPN Stats & Info alluded to how BYU seized control and never let go in its landmark win last Saturday:

This opens the door for Wisconsin to avenge its loss at Maryland by winning road contests at Minnesota and Ohio State to finish off the Big Ten slate. A strong conclusion to the regular season ought to be good enough for the Badgers to be a top seed.

Versatile Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky is the type of player who can take over a game. However, he's flanked by another athletic big man in Sam Dekker and plenty of perimeter scorers to give Bo Ryan's squad a great shot at a second straight Final Four run.

Justin Anderson of Rotowire highlights just how valuable Kaminsky has been in 2014-15:

However, if Villanova runs the table in the Big East tournament, don't be surprised to see Wisconsin knocked down to a second seed.

An explosive Duke backcourt featuring freshman phenom Tyus Jones and senior leader Quinn Cook, not to mention lottery-bound center Jahlil Okafor, gives the Blue Devils an inside-out game that should translate to being a No. 1 seed, especially as the only team to beat Virginia this season.

The Cavaliers have managed to remain among college basketball's elite despite an untimely injury to guard Justin Anderson. Their stupendous defense has been to thank, as coach Tony Bennett has gotten his players to buy in across the board to stifle the opposition.

ESPN's Dick Vitale weighed in on Bennett's prowess leading the Virginia program:

As mentioned before, though, Kentucky is the prohibitive favorite. Its 30-0 record is a testament to the job John Calipari has done at the helm, managing to jell together a bunch of blue-chip players for Big Blue Nation.

The individual players have had a chance to shine—that's where the Wildcats get most of their offense—but extraordinary effort across the board has seen Kentucky emerge as a defensive juggernaut as well. Its defense is second in KenPom.com's rankings behind only Virginia.

Following the team's most recent close call on the road against Georgia, where Kentucky improved to a perfect 30-0, Calipari hinted at the bigger goals ahead.

"It's just the next game," said Calipari, via The Courier-Journal's Kyle Tucker. "I just want the regular season over with. I've been telling the guys for two weeks, 'Just get this over.' The real stuff starts in a week or two. Let's just get this done."

With the way this Wildcats squad has weathered adversity to win every game to date, the depth it boasts and the myriad of go-to options make Calipari's latest batch of stars arguably his best.

It's still on Kentucky to take care of business under the largest expectations imaginable. The historical implications are ridiculous. Should the Wildcats pull it off, though, they'll go down as one of the greatest teams in history.

Something like this is not on display every year.

Calipari is changing the landscape of the sport with the job he does bringing in top-tier talent on such a regular basis. He has the definition of a reloading dynasty that never has to rebuild, and his radical one-and-done philosophy will gain even more merit if he's cutting down the nets in Indianapolis come April 6.

Last year's Wildcats didn't waste a moment before March to finally start clicking. The present Kentucky powerhouse has been firing on all cylinders for most of the season, and will be the NCAA champions as a result.