NCAA Basketball Tournament 2015: Predictions for Bracket-Busting Sleeper Teams

Everybody loves the underdogs, right?

Wrong.

Everybody loves the underdogs unless they knock off the team you picked to win the entire NCAA Tournament.

This year’s bracket will provide ample opportunities for low-seeded teams to pick off the favorites and give us yet another reminder as to why March Madness is one of the craziest events in all of sports.

Before you put ink to your bracket, here are three potential sleepers to keep in mind.

Key Tournament Information

Dates: March 17 – April 6

Channels: CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV

Live Stream: March Madness Live

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Indiana
Region: Midwest
Seed: 10th

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press/Associated Press

The Hoosiers, whose bid came as a bit of a surprise entry considering the 13 losses on their resume, were rewarded for playing an extremely difficult schedule this season.

While four of Indiana’s past five games have been losses, this is still the same team that took down SMU, Butler, Maryland and Ohio State—all of whom, with the exception of OSU (which was ranked at the time) are top-25 teams.

Dynamo junior point guard Yogi Ferrell is a cold-blooded, prime-time player capable of carrying his team in crunch time. Check out the video below if you doubt it:

Ferrell, who averaged 16.1 points and 4.9 assists this season, will be the driving force behind any kind of Hoosier run.

Indiana’s first game will pit Ferrell and freshman James Blackmon against a battle-tested Shockers backcourt featuring Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker. That matchup has the potential for all kinds of fireworks.

Wichita State will be favored here, but this is a team that hasn’t been tested much this year. Of their three games against ranked opponents, the Shockers went 1-2.

A date with second-seeded Kansas awaits if the Hoosiers can scoot by Wichita State in their opening game. The Jawhawks are deep and experienced but have looked vulnerable against high-scoring guards in some of their losses.

Ferrell could be the next floor general to light up—and upset—Kansas en route to a wild, bracket-destroying ride through this year's tourney.

Davidson
Region: South
Seed: 10th

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press/Associated Press

“There’s a purity to the way that they’re playing offense, spacing and how well they’re cutting,” former Davidson assistant Matt Matheny said of the Wildcats, per Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel. “I think they’re closer to playing the beautiful game than they’ve ever been.”

The beautiful game: That’s what head coach Bob McKillop, who has been at the helm since 1989, wants his team to play. Thamel likens it to “a symphony or the touch-touch artistry of Brazilian soccer."

It’s the NCAA equivalent to the brand of ball that the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks play at the pro level.

Davidson’s offense features four double-digit scorers who shoot a combined 47.7 percent and boasts the nation’s second-most converted three-pointers per game. The Wildcats’ scoring average of 79.9 points ranks sixth in the nation this year.

Iowa, Davidson’s first opponent, is a stout defensive team that allows just 61.9 points per game, 18 fewer than the Wildcats’ usual output.

The Hawkeyes have a slew of impressive wins on their schedule, but Davidson’s free-flowing offense gives the underdog a fair chance of unseating Iowa’s defense. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports expects the Wildcats to come out firing from the get-go:

Gonzaga, the second seed, will likely be waiting for the Wildcats in the round of 32. The Bulldogs score at a nearly even pace at 79.1 points per game, which could result in a good, old-fashioned shootout.

If that’s the case, then Davidson, which wields five different plays who have made at least 41 three-pointers, has a real shot to make some noise.

Davidson’s last great tournament came in 2008, when Stephen Curry played.

Chuck Burton/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

Now, as the baby-faced assassin vies for his first NBA MVP, will there ever be a better time for another Wildcats run?

Michigan State
Region: East
Seed: 7th

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

One thing we’ve learned about Michigan State over the years is that you really can never count out the Spartans.

Prior to falling to Wisconsin in overtime in the Big Ten championship, Tom Izzo’s team had rattled off an impressive string of wins against Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State and Maryland.

Losing to the Badgers, however, is really nothing to be ashamed of. Frank Kaminsky and Co. were ranked sixth heading into Selection Sunday and managed to earn a top seed over Arizona in the West region.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

It wasn’t the first time these two teams faced off this season, as Wisconsin emerged with a 68-61 victory on March 1. While a pair of losses in itself isn’t too pretty, Michigan State’s ability to push one of the nation’s top teams right to the brink bodes well for the Green and White.

The Spartans could get a crack at dethroning second-seeded Virginia in the round of 32.

But before they get that chance, they'll have to through Georgia, a tough-minded team that made Kentucky work as hard as it has all year. Bruising senior big man Nemanja Djurisic could give MSU's relatively small frontcourt some trouble.

Assuming Michigan State out-shoots the Bulldogs, who hit just 43.5 percent of their field-goal attempts, the barely blemished 29-3 Cavaliers will be no easy out.

But Izzo’s teams seem to have a penchant for playing their best when it matters most.

Last season, the fourth-seeded Spartans went all the way to the Elite 8 before falling to eventual champion UConn. In the process, MSU knocked off a No. 1-seeded powerhouse.

Guess who? Virginia.

In that game, Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine, this year’s leaders and top scorers, totaled a combined eight points on 2-of-8 shooting in 25 and 35 respective minutes.

This time around, those two will need to step up in a big way if the Spartans are to pull off a repeat upset over the Cavaliers.

Choose wisely, fellow Bracketologists. All stats are courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.