NCAA Tournament 2015: Round-by-Round Dates and Schedule Info

March Madness has arrived with the conference tournaments unfolding over the coming days, but that will only set the table for the chaos and insanity of the 2015 NCAA tournament.

The best 68 teams in the nation will be split up between eight different sites during the tournament's opening weekend. After the first round in Dayton, Ohio, teams will have the opportunity to advance to regional finals and the Final Four in Indianapolis. Shocking upsets, buzzer-beaters, unforeseen tourney runs and star-studded showdowns will naturally find their way into the mix.

Nothing in the sports world quite compares to March Madness, but it can make the average sports follower's head spin with 67 games jammed into three weekends of action. Since no game times will be released until Sunday's bracket announcement, let's take a look at the important dates and look closer at three top contenders.

Date	Event
Selection Sunday	March 15
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 Game	April 6

Second- and Third-Round Locations	Game Dates
Regional Locations	Game Dates
Jacksonville, Florida	March 19, 21
Louisville, Kentucky	March 19, 21
Pittsburgh	March 19, 21
Portland, Oregon	March 19, 21
Charlotte, North Carolina	March 20, 22
Columbus, Ohio	March 20, 22
Omaha, Nebraska	March 20, 22
Seattle	March 20, 22
Cleveland	March 26, 28
Los Angeles	March 26, 28
Houston	March 27, 29
Syracuse, New York	March 27, 29

Kentucky

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With three or four games on at a time during the first weekend, it's tough to concentrate on a single matchup. But when the Kentucky Wildcats are playing, it's safe to say millions will be locked in.

Of course, that's because barring an unlikely loss this week in Nashville during the SEC tournament, the top-ranked Wildcats will be sitting on a shiny unbeaten record at 31-0—or 34-0, if you're counting the three wins they're about to add in Nashville. 

The pursuit of perfection has been a storyline since day one of this season, and the team has survived a plethora of close calls, but that won't matter one bit to Kentucky when it prepares for these games. Everyone has the same record in the tournament.

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"Going undefeated in the regular season would be all good," Aaron Harrison told Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein. "But (in the NCAA tournament), everyone is undefeated."

Having already accomplished so much during this dominant regular season, Kentucky's star-studded roster probably feels like the season is just now beginning.

The sense of urgency this time last year was high with Kentucky near the tournament bubble and needing to rediscover its edge. The long run and subsequent crushing loss to Connecticut in the national title game helped set the stage for this memorable season, but it's far from over as the Wildcats chase the second national championship of the John Calipari era.

Duke

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While Kentucky deploys a nine-deep group of young star players to lead the way, the third-ranked Duke Blue Devils have ridden three key freshmen to their 28-3 record as they gear up for a long tournament run.

Duke suffered the upset of the tournament last year to 14th-seeded Mercer, but freshmen Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow weren't around for any of that. Since they've arrived, the Blue Devils have lost all of three times, and the core has combined for more than 40 points per contest.

Along the way, Okafor took home ACC Player of the Year honors and made history in doing so, per SportsCenter:

Duke's lack of size, dependence on Jabari Parker and inconsistent secondary options left the Blue Devils licking their wounds against Mercer this time last year. But the arrivals of Okafor and Jones have significantly helped to shore up those issues, with the only striking worry being the Blue Devils' 69.1 free-throw percentage as a unit.

The Blue Devils have had a couple of slip-ups this season, but had Jones and Quinn Cook (16 points per game) failed to step up in clutch moments throughout, their three losses would be more like six or seven. The sharp shooting of Cook and dynamic driving ability of Jones are game-changers in tight contests, and that type of strength goes a long way come tournament time.

Virginia may have taken the ACC regular-season title from Duke's grasp, but the Blue Devils are in the driver's seat for a No. 1 seed entering the conference tournament.

Wisconsin

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The race for at least one of the No. 1 seeds remains wide open, but it's impossible not to count the Wisconsin Badgers as one of the favorites for the coveted top seed.

The No. 6 Badgers won 13 of their last 14 games to close out the regular season, dominating the Big Ten and leaving no doubt that head coach Bo Ryan is capable of making another national championship run. Doing so might be a bit more manageable from a No. 1 spot, which the Badgers can help to shore up by winning the Big Ten tournament this weekend.

They certainly made a statement for it Sunday against Ohio State, as told by NCAA March Madness:

With Naismith Player of the Year finalist Frank Kaminsky leading the way with 18.4 points per game, the Badgers are loaded with superstar prowess in a star-studded starting lineup that features key components Sam Dekker, Nigel Hayes and Traevon Jackson. More often than not, everyone on the floor can not only shoot the ball but move without it and make the right pass at the right time.

Add Ryan's offensive genius to Wisconsin's natural advantage in length and athleticism over most opponents, and the Badgers present a daunting challenge for anyone who faces them. And with everything seeming to mesh as the season winds down, they could be a perfect match to take down a team like Kentucky.