March Madness Bracket 2015: Printable 2015 NCAA Tournament Page and Predictions

The Super Bowl is great. So is the World Series, the college football national championship and every other major sporting event in between.

Still, only one event on the entire sports calendar is deemed "Madness."

The emotional roller coaster that is the NCAA tournament, which captivates the attention of the entire nation for three weeks, is about to begin, and now fans have to decide which teams will be this year’s Cinderella stories, which teams could actually challenge mighty Kentucky and which teams will reach the Final Four and ultimately compete for the title. 

With that in mind, here is a look at some key schedule and bracket information, as well as a few early predictions.

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Bracket

Schedule

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

Predictions 

Wisconsin is Best-Suited Team to Challenge Kentucky

The overarching theme of this year’s tournament may very well be the field against Kentucky.

After all, the Wildcats steamrolled their way through the regular season and conference tournament, and looked like an NBA team at times competing against college kids. So who is best suited to actually hang with Kentucky?

Wisconsin.

Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

The Badgers have been among the highest-ranked teams all season, so this isn’t exactly going out on a limb. What’s more, they battled Kentucky in last year’s Final Four and lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds when Aaron Harrison buried a three-point dagger through Wisconsin’s season. 

The Badgers should be plenty motivated if a rematch actually happens in this year’s Big Dance.

It’s about more than just motivation, though. Wisconsin presents an interesting challenge for Kentucky because every player on the floor for Bo Ryan can shoot from three-point range, including big men Frank Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes, and stretch forward Sam Dekker. The Badgers will be able to pull Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns away from their comfort zone in front of the rim, which could open up the lane for dribble penetration. 

ESPN commentator Jay Williams has the Badgers on his short list of national title contenders:

It is difficult to envision anyone taking home the championship without going through Kentucky. Wisconsin is uniquely built to challenge the Wildcats because of its perimeter shooting across the board, experience from last season’s Final Four run and superstar player (Kaminsky) who can make winning plays when the game is on the line.

Kentucky Will Win the Title

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

While the Badgers may very well challenge Kentucky, the Wildcats will win the title.

There is just too much to like about John Calipari’s squad on paper, be it the way it eviscerated quality opponents in the nonconference schedule or the combination of sheer talent and actual experience this time around. Cauley-Stein and the Harrison twins have been through this dance before, and Aaron Harrison hit a number of cold-blooded shots in last year’s tournament to win games in the final moments.

It also helps having a roster full of NBA talent with outside shooting and dominant big men who will clean up the glass and control the lane with impressive shot-blocking ability.

The Wildcats will have multiple future NBA players on the floor and bench at any single moment in a tournament field that is primarily made up of teams that won’t even have a single pro. The talent disparity is simply too much between Kentucky and the field, and the result will be a national championship.

Virginia, not Duke, Will Advance the Deepest From the ACC

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Duke may have beaten Virginia in the only regular-season matchup between the two teams, but the Cavaliers will have the better NCAA tournament.

Virginia is simply built to thrive in the type of grind-it-out, defensive-first games that often come with the tournament. Many postseason contests will come down to possession in the final minutes, and the Cavaliers are efficient on offense and overwhelmingly stifling on defense. That will set them up for success.

Head coach Tony Bennett discussed his team’s defense-first system, via Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post:

"

There is kind of a battle being waged. When they can’t quite get looks when they come down and then you can come down on the offensive end and kind of move that ball and get them chasing and get a couple looks, that can do a lot for you.

"

As for Duke, the talent is there to win a national title. 

However, the defense has let it down a number of times this year, including in losses to Miami, North Carolina State and Notre Dame. The defense even struggled in victories over Virginia Tech and North Carolina, and ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the problems against the Tar Heels:

All it will take in the one-and-done NCAA tournament is one poor showing from the Duke offense because its defense is not consistent enough to rely on in the postseason. If the offense fails to keep up with the occasional defensive lapses, the Blue Devils will be sent home earlier than expected.

The Cavaliers will be the ACC team advancing deep into the bracket thanks to their much more reliable defense.