NCAA Tournament 2015: Get to Know All 68 Teams in the Bracket

The bracket is out, and Christmas for college basketball fans is finally here. 

You may know about Kentucky. You may know about Duke. But let's unwrap all 68 presents and find out who these teams really are. I give to you the SparkNotes of the field. 

This is a quick and dirty look at every NCAA tournament team, how they got here and what you need to know about each squad. 

Like: Did you know Buffalo is coached by former Duke point guard Bobby Hurley? Well, now you do. Give this a quick read and act like an expert around all of your friends.  

Happy Bracket Day to you and yours. Now go on—get educated. 

Midwest: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 16 Manhattan/Hampton

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Kentucky: The Wildcats are title favorites for good reason. Nobody has more talent, and contrary to the John Calipari narrative, Kentucky has actual experience back from last year's national runner-up. UK boasts one of the best defenses in the history of the game, led by 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein, a borderline unfair weapon who can guard all five spots on the court. 

Manhattan: Manhattan is back in the NCAA tournament for the second straight season under Steve Masiello after a very strange offseason. Masiello accepted the coaching job at South Florida last March, but the deal fell through. He had indicated he graduated from Kentucky, but that turned out to be false.

Hampton: The 16-17 Pirates went just .500 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, but they won four straight for the first time all season to take the conference tournament. It's the program’s first NCAA tourney appearance since 2011 and fifth all time. The Pirates have four players who average double figures.

Midwest: No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Purdue

Cincinnati: The Bearcats made a late run to get into the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year, winning five in a row at the end of the regular season. Cincinnati is playing without head coach Mick Cronin, who left the team in late December because of a brain aneurysm. Larry Davis has stepped in as the interim coach.

Purdue: Two months ago, no one would have expected Purdue to be in the NCAA tournament. The Boilermakers started 11-8 with bad losses in the mix including North Florida and Gardner-Webb. They rebounded in the Big Ten, finishing 12-6 and tied for third place. The twin towers of A.J. Hammons (7'0") and Isaac Haas (7'2") make Purdue a tough matchup.

Midwest: No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Buffalo

West Virginia: The Mountaineers have one star (Juwan Staten) and a bunch of no-name guys who play their tails off. Coach Bob Huggins made the decision in the offseason to extend his bench and employ a full-court press. WVU got out to a surprising 14-1 start, ending up at No. 18 in the final AP poll and tied for fourth in the best conference in America.

Buffalo: Buffalo is headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time, and in only coach Bobby Hurley's second year in charge. The former Duke point guard has the Bulls on an eight-game winning streak entering the tourney. Justin Moss, who averaged just 3.8 points last year, leads the Bulls at 17.7 points per game this season.

Midwest: No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Valparaiso

Maryland: Coach Mark Turgeon entered this season on the hot seat, but he's sitting pretty now. The Terps finished in second place in their first year in the Big Ten. The game-changer for Turgeon was adding freshman point guard Melo Trimble, a gifted scorer who, along with senior Dez Wells, gives the Terps a strong one-two punch in the backcourt. 

Valparaiso: The Crusaders are headed to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years under Bryce Drew, who may be an attractive candidate to bigger schools in need of a new coach. Sophomore forward Alec Peters leads Valparaiso in points (16.7) and rebounds (6.8). Eight Crusaders average between 19 and 30 minutes per game.

Midwest: No. 6 Butler vs. No. 11 Texas

Butler: The Bulldogs are back in the NCAA tournament after a year away. They started the season with an interim coach, Chris Holtmann, and he earned the full-time gig by finishing in a tie for second in the Big East. Butler resembles Brad Stevens' team that made back-to-back championship games. They play tough defense and make few mistakes.

Texas: The Longhorns were a Top 10 team early in the season and have the talent to go on a tourney run even after a disappointing year. Texas is huge up front—Kentucky is the only team with comparable size—and is a great shot-blocking team. The issue for Texas all season was perimeter scoring, and it needs point guard Isaiah Taylor to perform. 

Midwest: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Northeastern

Notre Dame: The Irish return to the NCAA tournament after missing out for the first time since 2009 last season. One reason Notre Dame didn't make it was the absence of star Jerian Grant, who missed the second semester because of an academic issue. Grant has had an All-American senior season, piloting one of the best offenses in college basketball.

Northeastern: The Huskies are making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1991 after winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. Northeastern finished in a four-way tie for first in the regular-season league standings. Senior forward Scott Eatherton averages team-highs in points (14.6) and rebounds (6.4) for the Huskies, who upset Florida State in the second game of the season.

Midwest: No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 10 Indiana

Wichita State: The Shockers aren't as stacked as last year's team that entered the NCAA tournament undefeated and ended up losing a classic to Kentucky. But the leftovers, who only have four losses and won the Missouri Valley, are still pretty good. Veteran guards Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton make Wichita State a tough out.

Indiana: The small-ball Hoosiers are fun to watch and can light up the scoreboard, but they went .500 in the Big Ten because they hardly play a lick of defense. Coach Tom Crean spreads the floor with one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation, led by point guard Yogi Ferrell and freshman shooting guard James Blackmon.

Midwest: No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 New Mexico State

Kansas: After getting blasted in the nonconference schedule by Kentucky (by 32) and Temple (by 25), expectations dropped for Kansas. But the Jayhawks bounced back to win their 11th straight regular-season conference title in the Big 12, considered the best league in the country. They're looking for more redemption in March after getting bounced in the round of 32 last year by Stanford.

New Mexico State: The Aggies own the WAC. This is the fourth straight year they've won the automatic bid, but the league is nowhere close to what it once was. This team, however, is used to facing legitimate competition. Marvin Menzies scheduled Wichita State, Saint Mary's, Wyoming, Baylor, Colorado State and New Mexico (twice) out of league. They went winless in those games.

West: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 16 Coastal Carolina

Wisconsin: Bo Ryan has made the NCAA tournament all 14 years he's coached at the school, but this is his most talented team. Wisconsin made the Final Four last season and lost only one starter. The Badgers are led by Frank Kaminsky, a versatile 7-footer and one of the leading candidates to win the Wooden Award. 

Coastal Carolina: After losing to Virginia in their first game of the 2014 NCAA tournament, the Chanticleers are back again after finishing second in the Big South standings and then winning the league tournament. Coastal Carolina ranks sixth in the nation in rebounds per game (39.8). It’s truly a team effort, as six players average more than 3.3 rebounds.

West: No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State

Oregon: The Ducks had an ugly offseason that saw three players kicked off the team over an alleged sexual assault. Not much was expected of this team because of those losses, but Pac-12 Player of the Year Joseph Young led a late-season charge that saw the Ducks win their final five regular season games, including an upset of Utah.

Oklahoma State: It's rare to see a team in the tournament with a losing conference record—OSU went 8-10 in league play—but the Cowboys made it thanks to the strength of the Big 12. This is new life for a team that has lost six of its last seven. The Cowboys rely a lot on two scorers: senior Le'Bryan Nash and sharpshooter Phil Forte.

West: No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 12 Wofford

Arkansas: Coach Mike Anderson brought "40 minutes of hell" back to Fayetteville four years ago, but the first three years were "40 minutes of mediocrity." The Razorbacks were a middle-of-the-pack SEC team until this season. Led by star forward Bobby Portis, they broke through to finish second in the league and are back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2008.

Wofford: The Terriers are in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in six years and have lost just one game since Jan. 15. Wofford upset N.C. State in nonconference play, but Stanford, West Virginia and Duke blew out the Terriers. Senior guard Karl Cochran is a do-everything player, as he leads the team in points, rebounds and assists.

West: No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Harvard

North Carolina: Some nights when the Tar Heels are running, they look like a team that could reach the Final Four. They have great size and good athletes on the wing, and they typically dominate the boards. But for the last two years, UNC has had just one reliable three-point shooter: Marcus Paige. If you can slow Paige, panic usually sets in.

Harvard: The Crimson are back in the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year after knocking off Yale in a one-game playoff to take the Ivy League bid. Harvard has advanced to the round of 32 as a double-digit seed the last two years, and veteran guards Siyani Chambers and Wesley Saunders know what it takes to win in the tourney.

West: No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 BYU/Ole Miss

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Xavier: Xavier has quietly been one of the nation’s most consistent programs over the past decade. The Musketeers have made nine NCAA tournaments during that stretch, including five out of six under Chris Mack. They're getting it done this season in what was thought to be a rebuilding year, thanks to the instant impact of freshman Trevon Bluiett.

BYU: The Cougars play fast and put up a lot of points (83.6 per game). They're led by the school's all-time leading scorer, Tyler Haws, and do-everything wing Kyle Collinsworth, who set an NCAA record with six triple-doubles this season. BYU's signature win came in the regular-season finale at Gonzaga.

Ole Miss: Mississippi is fortunate to be in the NCAA tournament after losing four of its last five games, including a heartbreaker to South Carolina in the SEC tournament. The Rebels are a streaky team that relies on two streaky scorers: guards Stefan Moody and Jarvis Summers. The duo nearly upset Kentucky at Rupp, combining to score 48 points in an overtime loss.

West: No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 Georgia State

Baylor: Coach Scott Drew had a nice trend going where his team made the tournament every other year, a run that started in 2008. No longer. The expectations weren't high for the Bears this season, but they've overachieved and made it back to the NCAAs. Baylor employs an unorthodox zone defense and has the nation's top rebounder in Rico Gathers.

Georgia State: Georgia State is a small school with a big school's backcourt. The Panthers start former Kentucky starting point guard Ryan Harrow, former Louisville guard Kevin Ware and two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year R.J. Hunter. Hunter, the coach's son, is a great shooter and is considered a first-round NBA prospect.

West: No. 7 VCU vs. No. 10 Ohio State

VCU: The Rams have not been the same since losing point guard Briante Weber for the season on Jan. 31. Weber was one of the best thieves on the defensive end in college basketball and a great weapon in coach Shaka Smart's full-court press. That said, after dropping three straight, VCU went on an unexpected run in the Atlantic 10 tournament and looks like a different team.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes have one of the most entertaining guards to watch in college basketball in freshman D'Angelo Russell. Russell is a crafty lefty who can shoot from anywhere and has great vision. The Buckeyes struggled against NCAA-caliber teams this year, but Russell's ability to take over a game by himself makes them a tough out.

West: No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 Texas Southern

Arizona: Coach Sean Miller is one of the best recruiters in college basketball, and he has no shortage of talent on this team. The Wildcats are led in scoring by freshman swingman Stanley Johnson, a projected lottery pick. But senior point guard T.J. McConnell, who started his career at Duquesne, is the real leader of the 'Cats.

Texas Southern: Former Indiana coach Mike Davis—who led the Hoosiers to the 2002 Final Four—has the Tigers in the NCAA tournament for the second straight season after winning the SWAC regular-season and conference-tournament titles. Led by senior guard Madarious Gibbs, Texas Southern pulled a pair of nonconference shockers by upsetting Michigan State and Kansas State on the road. 

East: No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Lafayette

Villanova: The Big East champs are one of the most experienced teams in college basketball, starting five upperclassmen. The Wildcats shoot a lot of threes and are led by Darrun Hilliard II, a lefty who made eight threes at Butler earlier this year. Last year, Villanova, a No. 2 seed, got upset by eventual national champion Connecticut in the round of 32. 

Lafayette: The Leopards tied for fourth in the Patriot League standings but earned an automatic NCAA tournament berth by winning the conference tourney. Lafayette is incredibly efficient on offense, with a field-goal percentage (48.8) that ranks seventh in the country. Senior forward Dan Trist is a big reason, as he averages 17.3 points on 58.0 percent shooting.

East: No. 8 N.C. State vs. No. 9 LSU

N.C. State: The Wolfpack are one of the most talented middle-tier seeds in the tourney. They have a stacked backcourt with Cat Barber, Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner, along with plenty of big bodies up front. The Wolfpack's signature win was a 12-point victory over Duke on Jan. 11. Their upside makes them a good sleeper pick.

LSU: The Tigers have one of the most talented frontcourts in the country in Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey, both potential future first-round picks in the NBA draft. They are both talented scorers, and Mickey is the nation's top shot-blocker. Based on their talent, this team underachieved; it had no business losing seven games in the SEC.

East: No. 5 Northern Iowa vs. No. 12 Wyoming

Northern Iowa: Ali Farokhmanesh! Remember that name? Kansas fans do. The last time the Panthers were in the NCAA tournament in 2010, they upset the top-seeded Jayhawks to advance to the Sweet 16. This team, which was ranked in the Top 10 at one point and has an All-American candidate in Seth Tuttle, isn't sneaking up on anyone.

Wyoming: The Cowboys stole a bid by winning the Mountain West tournament and getting to the NCAAs for the first time since 2002. Senior forward Larry Nance Jr. makes them a decent sleeper pick, as Nance is a great low-post scorer and a high-flyer in transition. This team starts four seniors and a junior, often a recipe for March success.

East: No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 UC Irvine

Louisville: In the last three years, the Cardinals have made two Final Fours, won a national title and followed that up with a Sweet 16. But this squad struggles to score, especially since point guard Chris Jones was kicked off the team. Even with two stars (Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier) left, a deep run just doesn't seem likely.

UC Irvine: UC Irvine is in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Coach Russell Turner, in his fifth year, has turned the program around. The Anteaters won the Big West’s regular season last year but were upset by Cal Poly in the conference tourney semifinals. They are a great defensive team, holding opponents to 39.3 percent shooting.

East: No. 6 Providence vs. No. 11 Boise State/Dayton

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Providence: The Friars were a borderline Top 25 team all season and are back in the dance for the second straight year behind one of the best perimeter duos in college basketball. Senior wing LaDontae Henton is a scoring machine, and point guard Kris Dunn racks up the assists. Last season, Providence fell in the opening round to North Carolina.

Boise State: Boise State was regular season co-champion in the Mountain West after starting 0-3 in league play. The Broncos are led by senior Derrick Marks, the conference Player of the Year and one of the most underrated guards in America. This three-happy team spreads the floor with shooters and knocks down 39.4 percent of its shots from deep.

Dayton: The Flyers are an awkward team to play because they don't have anyone taller than 6'6" in their starting lineup. Even with that small starting five, Archie Miller had one of the Atlantic 10’s best defensive teams. Dayton also has a wealth of NCAA tournament experience after going on a surprising Elite Eight run last season.

East: No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Albany

Oklahoma: Oklahoma got upset in the second round last season by North Dakota State, but this team is better equipped to go on a deep run. The Sooners have a much-improved defense to go along with their run-and-gun offense. Look out for Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield, who can put up points in a hurry. 

Albany: The Great Danes are in the NCAA tournament for the third straight year, but this is the first time they've been the America East regular-season champs since 2005-06. They got the automatic bid with a buzzer-beating three from Peter Hooley to knock off Stony Brook, which had given them their only loss in conference play.

East: No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Georgia

Michigan State: This is one of coach Tom Izzo's least talented teams, but he still has enough in the cupboard with playmakers Denzel Valentine and Travis Trice to get to the second weekend of the tournament. The Spartans have made it to at least the Sweet 16 in six of the last seven NCAA tournaments.

Georgia: The Bulldogs are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011. They finished tied for third in the SEC, but they garnered the most attention late in the season for nearly upsetting Kentucky, which was down nine in the second half. Marcus Thornton, one of the most underrated big men in the country, leads Georgia.

East: No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 15 Belmont

Virginia: Virginia plays slow and is hard to score against, a style that some will tell you is extremely boring to watch. But it produced back-to-back regular-season ACC titles and had the Wahoos in the Top Five most of the year. Tony Bennett is earning the reputation as one of the best coaches in college basketball.

Belmont: The Bruins earned their seventh NCAA tournament berth in the last 10 years thanks to a dramatic win over OVC regular-season champion Murray State. Taylor Barnette’s three-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining keyed the 88-87 victory in the OVC tournament final. Craig Bradshaw averages 18.1 points for a team that has won seven straight.

South: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 North Florida/Robert Morris

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Duke: The Blue Devils have been near the top of the polls all season and have the tournament's most talented player in freshman Jahlil Okafor, expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Okafor is a throwback big man who thrives with his back to the basket, and head coach Mike Krzyzewski gives him room to operate by surrounding him with three-point shooters.

North Florida: The Ospreys—who are making their first NCAA tournament appearance in school history—turned some heads by upsetting Purdue on Dec. 6, 73-70, and have played with confidence ever since. A nonconference schedule that included road losses to Northwestern, Northern Iowa, Florida State, Iowa and Alabama clearly toughened up North Florida, which won the Atlantic Sun with a 12-2 conference record.

Robert Morris: The school that upset Kentucky in the first round of the 2013 NIT is in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010 after knocking off Northeast Conference regular-season champion St. Francis in the league tournament title game. Guard Rodney Pryor leads the Colonials in scoring with 15.2 points per game while shooting 42.7 percent from three-point range.

South: No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 9 St. John's

San Diego State: Steve Fisher, known best as the coach of the Fab Five at Michigan, has built one of the best programs on the West Coast. The Aztecs are playing in their sixth straight NCAA tournament and coming off a Sweet 16 run. This team, like last year's, is excellent defensively but struggles to score more than last year's team did.

St. John's: The Red Storm have been an up-and-down team for several years now, which makes them a boom-or-bust pick in the NCAA tournament. On their side is the fact that they finished strong—winning eight of their last 10 regular-season games—and they have four seniors in the rotation, but they're all playing in their first NCAA tournament.

South: No. 5 Utah vs. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin

Utah: The Utes are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009. Senior point guard Delon Wright has helped coach Larry Krystkowiak turn the program around. Krystkowiak won just six games in his first season in 2012, and after making the NIT last year in Wright's first season in the program, this team finished second in the Pac-12 and landed at No. 17 in the final AP poll.

Stephen F. Austin: Last year’s Cinderella that knocked off VCU in the round of 64 is now a known commodity in college basketball. The Lumberjacks have won 28 of their last 29 games, including a win against Memphis. They also nearly upset Northern Iowa in their second game, losing by two in overtime.

South: No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 13 Eastern Washington

Georgetown: Georgetown hasn't made it past the first weekend since a 2007 Final Four run. Last time the Hoyas were in the NCAA tournament, they were victims of "Dunk City" and Florida Gulf Coast. The star of this team, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, was a freshman that year. Smith-Rivera and former UCLA center Joshua Smith form a nice inside-out duo for the Hoyas.

Eastern Washington: The Eagles got everyone’s attention in November when they went to Bloomington and won at Indiana. Guard Tyler Harvey came to Eastern Washington as a walk-on and is now the nation's leading scorer. The Eagles are one of the nation's best three-point shooting teams, and that makes them a scary draw.

South: No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 UCLA

SMU: Legendary coach Larry Brown has SMU in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993, which was also the last time the program won a conference title. The Mustangs are led by Nic Moore, who followed head coach-in-waiting Tim Jankovich from Illinois State to join Brown. Moore is an excellent shooter and setup man for SMU's big frontline.

UCLA: The Bruins were the biggest surprise to get in the NCAA tourney field. UCLA wasn't very good away from home this season, but it did have two impressive home wins over Oregon and Utah. Norman Powell is one of the most athletic wings in the country, and freshman power forward Kevon Looney could be a lottery pick if he comes out of school.

South: No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 UAB

Iowa State: Coach Fred Hoiberg has a heavy NBA influence to his program, and he's quickly become known as one of the top X's-and-O's coaches in the country. The Cyclones spread the floor with guys like Georges Niang, a big man who occasionally plays point guard, and they shoot a lot of threes. They reached the Sweet 16 last season.

UAB: Former Kansas guard Jerod Haase has UAB in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011. The Blazers finished tied for fourth in a watered-down Conference USA, but they knocked off league champ Louisiana Tech on their way to the tourney title and automatic bid. UAB is balanced, with eight players averaging better than 6.0 points per game.

South: No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Davidson

Iowa: Last season, the Hawkeyes limped into the NCAA tournament playing their worst basketball. This year they're coming in hot after winning six straight games to end the regular season before falling to Penn State in the conference tourney. Senior forward Aaron White is a great athlete who has a knack for getting to the free-throw line.

Davidson: The Wildcats, who were picked to finish 12th in their first year in the Atlantic 10, went out and won the league outright. Those inside the game consider Bob McKillop one of the best coaches in the industry, and this season he has his best offensive team since Stephen Curry was on campus.

South: No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 15 North Dakota State

Gonzaga: The Zags haven't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2009 and have many skeptics because of their lack of March success and the fact that they play in a mid-major conference. But head coach Mark Few's team has high-major talent, led by Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer, and a real chance at the program's first Final Four.

North Dakota State: North Dakota State is back in the NCAA tournament after upsetting Oklahoma last season as a No. 12 seed. First-year head coach Dave Richman returned only two starters, but the Bison managed to tie for the Summit League title and then knocked off co-champ South Dakota State in the tournament championship game behind 25 points from leading scorer Lawrence Alexander.