NCAA Bracket 2015: Highlighting Favorites and Cinderella Teams for March Madness

Let the madness begin.

Selection Sunday saw the unveiling of the 2015 NCAA tournament bracket, 68 teams vying for one championship prize. 

Fans all across the nation will no doubt put on their amateur bracketologist lab coats and study the matchups until no end, in hopes of picking winners and earning major bragging rights amongst friends.

All Your Bracket Essentials

•     Download the Printable Bracket

•     Play the Free Bracket Challenge

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

For those heavily invested in the outcome of one team, charting their path through the tournament is a mixture of anxiousness and excitement that, perhaps for the health of all involved, only comes once a year.

Here's a quick rundown of the tournament favorites, as well as a few potential Cinderellas to keep an eye on.

Favorites

Kentucky

Really, who is going to discount Kentucky?

While the pressure of going on an undefeated championship run might be daunting for a bunch of kids in their late teens/early 20s, the stewardship of master motivator John Calipari and the overwhelming length and talent of this team should have them, at the very least, in the Final Four.

Calipari has been going with a five-man platoon system for much of the season, a strategy that has flummoxed even the best of opponents. There are no overworked players on this squad; Aaron Harrison leads all players at 25.6 minutes per game.

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

The likes of Karl-Anthony Towns plays only 20.8 minutes per contest and still averages a solid 9.8 points and 2.4 blocks on this stacked squad. One could imagine Calipari giving a player like Towns or even Willie Cauley-Stein extra minutes if the situation grew desperate late in a tournament game. He has trump cards all up and down the roster.

How serious is Kentucky? They eschewed the usual net-cutting after defeating Arkansas in the SEC tournament championship game on Sunday.

"We all looked at each other, and we all said that this is not over," said Towns via ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf. "We have a lot more to strive for."

Duke

Duke may have bounced out of the 2015 ACC tournament earlier than just about any observer would've expected, but you would be foolish to think this team is set for an early exit in the Big Dance.

CBS Sports' Seth Davis noted Duke's prowess on the road this season, which certainly bodes well for them in this tournament:

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

The Blue Devils have plenty of scorers to rely on, with four players averaging at least 11 points per game. Freshman sensation Jahlil Okafor paces the squad with 17.7 points per contest. They rank fourth in the nation in points per game and third in field-goal percentage. Justise Winslow's do-everything game should also make for some excellent tournament highlights.

While the defense has been leaky at times this season—KenPom.com has them at a middling 96.1 in adjusted defensive efficiency—this team has the all-around weaponry to take home a title.


Villanova

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Villanova is peaking right now. They turned the Big East Championship game against Xavier into a veritable tuneup match, winning by a score of 69-52 and showing great hustle for the entire 40 minutes, even though they led by double digits for the entire second half.

As a team, Villanova has drained 308 three-pointers this season, raining points upon their foes and taking away pressure inside from the likes of Daniel Ochefu. Darrun Hilliard II paces the squad with 14 points per game, and Ryan Arcidiacono—10.2 points per contest, co-Big East Player of the Year—should be a factor in the tournament despite his anonymous role in the Big East championship game. As for defense, Villanova is ranked 13th in the nation in efficiency (92.2), per KenPom.com.

The Wildcats also have a major weapon off the bench in Josh Hart, who turned heads by winning the Big East tournament's Most Outstanding Player award as a sixth man. He had 15 points in the championship tilt against Xavier.

Howie Kussoy of the New York Post feels Hart's selfless attitude and inability to find a starting role epitomizes the depth and sacrifice of this 'Nova squad:

"

Entering the tournament with only three games with 15 points or more, Hart matched his regular-season total in three days, averaging 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Missing no more than three shots in any game, the sophomore hit 21-of-29 shots in the tournament, hitting over 64 percent on 3-pointers (9-of-14).

Before the season, coach Jay Wright thought Hart would be a starter, before discovering the team was even more loaded than he realized.

Hart’s acceptance — and adjustment — of what he could have considered a setback is one of the biggest reasons the Wildcats had their greatest regular season ever.

"

An incredible team spirit should take this somehow overlooked No. 1 seed very far in this tournament, possibly to the title game.

Wisconsin/Virginia

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

This is Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky's last chance at some tournament magic, so don't be surprised if he drags this Badgers squad all the way to the title contest. Although Wisconsin was still battling for the Big Ten tournament title on Sunday, the committee was confident enough to give them a No. 1 seed regardless of the outcome. (Wisconsin won the championship, alleviating any lingering doubts.) Marc Tracy of the New York Times explains why:

"

In a year of dominant defense, Wisconsin’s offense is historically great: The team’s 124.2 points per 100 possessions, per KenPom.com, is the highest total since at least 2002. Michigan State pushed the Badgers into overtime on Sunday, but Wisconsin romped through the extra period for an 80-69 victory and the Big Ten tournament title

"

Virginia was the most dominant defensive team in the country this season, holding opponents to a lowly 50.8 points per game. While the Cavaliers' offense won't blow many teams away, this is a squad well built to win wars of attrition in this tournament when the shots aren't falling for either squad on the court.

Late losses to Louisville and North Carolina don't bode well for this team, but it should be noted that Virginia beat both of those teams earlier in the season and also notched signature wins earlier in the season against a then No. 13 Notre Dame and a then No. 12 Maryland.

Cinderella Watch 2015

No. 12 Stephen F. Austin

If Stephen F. Austin can get past a tough Utah squad in the first round of the tournament, watch out. 

The Lumberjacks are ranked 33rd in the nation in RPI, per NCAA.com, just behind the likes of Butler and Xavier, two very dangerous tournament squads. The Southland Conference studs rarely tasted defeat this season, losing just four games and winning 29. 

They rank ninth in the nation in scoring, fifth in field-goal percentage and first in assists. In fact, there is no one player to key in on to gum up the works on offense, as Trey Pinkney leads the squad with 3.9 assists per game. Davis believes in this team's unselfish play:

Junior guard Thomas Walkup is the player to watch for this team. He leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game and was huge in the team's Southland tournament title win over Sam Houston State, per journalist Corey Roepken:

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

If you're looking for a good bracket-buster, keep an eye on Stephen F. Austin.


No. 10 Davidson

John Locher/Associated Press

Davidson ranks just two spots behind Stephen F. Austin in RPI at 35, per NCAA.com. They suffered a crushing 20-point defeat to Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, but thankfully that team is posted up on the opposite side of the bracket.

The Wildcats feature two deadly shooters in Tyler Kalinoski and Jack Gibbs, who are shooting 43.1 percent and 44.1 percent from beyond the arc this season. 

While those two have been very reliable this season, the team will need more from the streaky junior guard Brian Sullivan in order to make good on a few upset bids. Sullivan scored just seven points on 20 percent shooting against VCU. In the team's previous game, a thriller against La Salle, Sullivan was 4-of-9 from downtown. 

If Sullivan is dragging the team down, don't expect coach Bob McKillop of being afraid to make changes. Seth Berkman of the New York Times noted how this squad has received plenty of help from the school's math department this season to gain an edge:

"

But when Tim Chartier, a professor in Davidson’s mathematics and computer science department, approached the coaching staff with an idea, there was uncertainty that the unorthodox partnership would pan out.

Chartier and his students presented a way to show the efficiency of every five-man lineup that Davidson used in games. As Chartier explained, a player may not produce individual statistics that indicate he is making an important contribution on the court, but by looking at the players in a group, their role becomes clearer.

"

The students and Chartier also provide the team with "heat maps" detailing shooting efficiency in certain areas of the floor, per Berkman. With analytics in vogue and the Wildcats taking advantage, don't be surprised if this team punches above their weight in this edition of the tournament.

No. 8 Oregon

Prior to their embarrassing 80-52 Pac-12 tournament loss to Arizona, the Oregon Ducks were one of the hottest squads in the nation. They had won 11 of their previous 12 games, including two big wins over an excellent Utah squad. Oregon ranks 16th in the nation in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com.

Junior forward Elgin Cook stepped up big down the stretch, scoring at least 17 points in four straight games from Feb. 25 to March 12. The team also received important contributions from freshman Dillon Brooks, who has scored in double figures in the team's last three games.

Oregon could have a tough time making waves in this tournament sidled up near Wisconsin in the bracket, but even if the team gets into a late dogfight, they have at least one player they can count on when clutch play is required.

The Ducks also proved they just might have a big-shot magician in Joe Young when they beat Utah on Friday, per SportsCenter: 

Young averaged 20.2 points per game this season, and one could easily see him going on a Kemba Walker-esque tear through the tournament. Late-game heroics are a required component of any good Cinderella run; the Ducks should feel confident in their chances when Young is on the floor.