Printable NCAA Bracket 2015: Downloadable Bracket and Picks Advice

The best month on the sports calendar every year is March thanks to the NCAA tournament. It's the one time of the year when fans come together in the quest for bragging rights by filling out bracket sheets. 

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Unfortunately, most of the drama has been sucked out of this year's predictions because Kentucky is going to be the overwhelming choice to win a title. The Wildcats were in the championship game last year as a No. 8 seed, returned several key pieces from that team and added star freshmen like Trey Lyles and Devin Booker. 

In other words, barring Kentucky losing and someone predicting that correctly, the only way to win your bracket will be to accrue a lot of points in the early rounds. It's easy to take those games for granted because there's typically more at stake as you get into the Elite Eight and Final Four, but one random upset can change everything. 

Here's a look at the bracket, as well as a link so you can print one out for your own use. 

Pick Advice

Don't Focus on No. 1 Seed with Easy Path

Harry How/Getty Images

One thing that can get fans into trouble early in the NCAA tournament is focusing too much on which teams have an easy path to the Final Four.

Here's a dirty little secret that no one tells you: No top seed with the "easiest" path to the Final Four has made it that far since Duke won the national title in 2010. 

The last four victims of the perceived easiest-path curse were Pittsburgh (2011), North Carolina (2012), Gonzaga (2013) and Arizona (2014), which all lost before making it to the Final Four. The only notable caveat in that group is North Carolina, which lost to an excellent Kansas team in the Elite Eight. 

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

This idea that there is an easier path to a title is ridiculous. As we have seen in college basketball recently, with smaller schools being able to develop chemistry with three- and four-year starters, the gap between the haves and have-nots isn't as significant as it used to be. 

Just look at the last few years, with teams like Dayton (2014), Wichita State (2013) and VCU (2011) all making it to at least the Elite Eight, to know that mid-major programs aren't intimidated by the national stage. 

As noted by Terrence Payne of NBC Sports last October, discussing Dayton's tournament run the previous season, a conference like the A-10 is able to recruit differently and is getting national recognition:

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In the 2013-2014 season, eight teams were listed in the RPI top 100, the same number of teams in kenpom.com’s 2014 ratings. The league has secured commitments from recruits in the Rivals150, such as four-star prospects Terry Larrier and Jared Terrell, and has been a destination for transfer students, like Sibert, Dayton’s leading scorer.

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Kentucky didn't get a bad draw, having already defeated Kansas this year and getting a soft No. 4 in Maryland, but Notre Dame is an intriguing No. 3 in the Midwest because it can shoot from the perimeter as well as anyone in the country. 

Villanova is looking at the softest path, with Virginia looking lost with Justin Anderson at less than 100 percent. Oklahoma has a good duo with Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins, but the Sooners don't have much beyond them. Louisville can't score, so the defense has to be on point every single night. 

Providence, with the duo of Kris Dunn and LaDontae Henton, looks like the second-best team in the East Region on the No. 6 line. 

Just when you think the selection committee has set things up for an easy tournament, you get the insanity that happened last year. Don't be so quick to let an easy path make you determine that a No. 1 seed is guaranteed a Final Four spot. 

Bet on a Low Seed

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

In keeping with the theme of not eyeballing No. 1 seeds, keep an eye on the lower seeds. Specifically, look at teams on the No. 7 through 11 line. At least one team seeded seventh or lower has made the Elite Eight since 2011. 

If you want to go a little higher, Tennessee made the Elite Eight as a sixth seed in 2010. There are trends to look for within this particular trend, if I may use Inception logic for a moment. Connecticut and Kentucky weren't your typical No. 7 and 8 seeds last year, as they had won titles recently and are regarded as two of the best basketball programs in the country. 

In 2013, Keith Lipscomb and Chris Fallica of ESPN also pointed out that the Sweet 16 has been fruitful for double-digit seeds:

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If you like upsets, the past three years have been fun, as 10 double-digit seeds have reached the Sweet 16 (three in 2010, four in 2011, three in 2012). There has been at least one double-digit seed to survive the first weekend in 26 of the 28 years since the field expanded to 64, and at least two double-digit seeds have done so in 13 of the past 16 years.

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To keep things more current and up-to-date, in 2013 and 2014, six double-digit seeds have made it to the second weekend. There are going to be a few teams in the No. 10 through 12 range, most likely, that are hanging around longer than expected.

While there aren't any really low seeds to fall in love with, Providence is a nice sleeper because it has two true superstars capable of carrying an otherwise solid roster of contributing role players. 

Even though I don't have the insight to tell you which teams that will be—if I did, I would be living in a mansion on a sunny island—the trends are clear and will help you win a bracket challenge. 

Bet on Kentucky

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

It's not exactly breaking news to say the Wildcats are going to win the national championship, but that doesn't mean it's bad advice either. 

This time of year, as anyone who has ever filled out a bracket knows, is when you like to get cute. Being the one person to pick that upset no one in their right mind would is either going to give you bragging rights or make you look foolish. 

There's no bigger upset in 2014-15 than Kentucky losing, especially in March. The Wildcats have had their share of close calls this season, yet John Calipari always puts the right pieces in place to get a victory. 

As Dan Wetzel noted on Twitter, what separates this Kentucky team from everyone else in the country is the variety of ways it can beat you:

Opponents can't zone in on one player to stop, because they spread the ball around so well. Opponents have been unable to score against this team because it plays tough defense, not to mention it has six players listed at 6'9" or taller (h/t ESPN), so good luck rebounding against the Wildcats. 

Paul Biancardi of ESPN believes he may have found two teams with the right combination of talent to defeat Kentucky:

There is a formula out there to beat Kentucky, but no one has found it because the magic ingredient that Calipari has that no one else can match is depth. The Wildcats go at least nine deep, and the bench players would be starting for most teams. 

If you want to be that person who picks against Kentucky just because you don't like the program, or you are hoping to get the upset of all upsets right, that's certainly within your rights. Just don't be angry when the Wildcats make you look like a fool.

Check out B/R's Free Bracket Challenge once the field is set for 2015 March Madness.