NCAA Tournament 2015: Early Predictions, Championship Odds for March Madness

Depending on where you live and who you root for, this year's NCAA tournament will either be one of the best or worst in a long time. There have been many great teams in the recent past that have failed to win a championship, but 2015 could be something special. 

All eyes will be on John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats. They have the chance to enter the big dance with a 34-0 record, depending on what happens in the regular-season finale against Florida and the SEC tournament. 

Even though Wichita State entered last year's tournament undefeated before losing to Kentucky, this year's Wildcats are a different story because of how they are winning and the fact this is one of the most historic programs in all of college sports. 

In a good year with a lot of strong contenders—Duke, Virginia, Arizona and Gonzaga—Kentucky is so far ahead of everyone else that a loss in the tournament would be one of the biggest upsets in a long time. 

So is there a challenger for the Wildcats? How much do the oddsmakers love Calipari's team? Here are the answers to those questions with predictions and odds with just over one week before Selection Sunday. 

Team	Odds to Win Title
Kentucky Wildcats	1-1
Wisconsin Badgers	7-1
Duke Blue Devils	9-1
Virginia Cavaliers	9-1
Arizona Wildcats	11-1
Villanova Wildcats	15-1
Kansas Jayhawks	20-1
Gonzaga Bulldogs	33-1
Wichita State	66-1

Full odds can be found at Odds Shark

NCAA Tournament Predictions

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

After hyping up Kentucky earlier, the big question that everyone will be asking is which team has the best chance to upset the Wildcats in the tournament. 

This isn't a flawless Kentucky team, by any stretch. There have been games Calipari's team could have lost, most notably against Mississippi, Texas A&M, LSU and Georgia. 

Looking at those games, the one thing that stands out is opponent's shooting percentage. Here's how well those teams shot against Kentucky's defense:

Opponent	FG%	3-pt FG%
Mississippi (Jan. 6)	49.2	52.9
Texas A&M (Jan. 10)	33.3	13.3
LSU (Feb. 10)	47.5	30
Georgia (Mar. 3)	47.3	17.6

With the exception of Texas A&M, the other games all featured opponents shooting over 40 percent from the floor. None of them fared particularly well from three-point range, besides Ole Miss, so in order to attack the defense, it has to be from inside the arc. 

As good as Kentucky's defense has been all year, ranking second in efficiency by Team Rankings, it's not an impenetrable unit. 

Among good shooting teams, Gonzaga, Notre Dame and Duke immediately stand out because they rank first, second and third in shooting percentage (h/t ESPN). 

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

However, there has to be some defense played by the opposition. Going back to Team Rankings, those three teams are mediocre defensively. Gonzaga is the best of the bunch, ranking 18th in defensive efficiency, followed by Duke at 82 and Notre Dame at 141. 

While the Bulldogs' ranking is hardly mediocre, they are a hard team to pin down because with the exception of a December loss against Arizona, they haven't played a difficult schedule. Their strength of schedule ranks 86th, which is the lowest for any team in the RPI top 10. 

Plus, it's dangerous to pick teams carried by offense. Shooting can take a night off, so having a great defense is essential to making a deep tournament run. 

In that regard, Virginia looks like the biggest threat to Kentucky if the two happen to meet. The Cavaliers aren't a dynamic offensive team, but they lead the nation in defensive efficiency. Their inability to score has led to more close games than you want to see, especially against the likes of Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. 

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

One bad blow for Virginia is the school announced on Thursday that Justin Anderson, who is the best shooter on the team and ranks second with 13.4 points per game, will be out for at least one more game after undergoing an appendectomy. 

If Anderson's absence lingers into the tournament, like the second game, the Cavaliers could be ripe for an upset. 

Wisconsin also fits into the Virginia mix, though it's more like a lighter version. The Badgers score more but also give up more points. 

Ultimately, Kentucky has earned the right to be called the overwhelming favorite to win the national title. Even in games where the Wildcats didn't play their best, they have found ways to win. That's the hallmark of a great team and why the national title will return to Lexington.