NCAA Basketball Tournament 2015: Analyzing Top Final Four Dark Horses

The 2015 NCAA tournament field became public knowledge following Sunday's selection show on CBS. Kentucky is the obvious favorite with a 34-0 record, and other top seeds are garnering plenty of attention.

This is March Madness, though, and there's always at least one Cinderella keen on busting brackets at the Big Dance and perhaps even running all the way to the Final Four, which will be in Indianapolis this year.

Several candidates to do just that and make surprising runs in the tournament stand out. Whether it be due to a favorable regional draw, gaudy resume or a combination of both, the Cinderella shoe could well fit one of the following three teams.

Before reading on about them, check out some of the basic information about the tournament, including links to the full bracket.

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• Download the Printable Bracket
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Key Tournament Information

Dates: March 17 through April 6

Channels: CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV

Live Stream: March Madness Live

Bracket and Schedule

Top Final Four Dark Horses

Wichita State (No. 7, Midwest)

Stephen Lance Dennee/Associated Press

An undefeated regular season last year put the Shockers into the spotlight, where they shined but were upended in an amazing round-of-32 game against eventual national finalist Kentucky.

If there's any team capable of defeating Kentucky this time around, several of Wichita State's key contributors—headlined by Ron Baker—have experience in dealing with a juggernaut of that magnitude.

John Gasaway of ESPN Insider notes how Wichita State has a similar makeup to last year:

Provided the Shockers get past Indiana in the opener, games against Kansas and Notre Dame will likely stand in the way of an Elite Eight reunion with Kentucky.

Although the selection committee didn't respect the Shockers much, they were 12th in the most recent Associated Press poll. There are reasons for such a gaudy standing.

This is a well-coached bunch overseen by Gregg Marshall, featuring one of the better point guards in the country in Fred VanVleet, along with a senior leader in guard Tekele Cotton. This perimeter trio is as good as any the Shockers will go up against in the tournament.

Beating Northern Iowa decisively 74-60 to win the regular-season conference championship was no small feat, and it proved that Wichita State can keep elite perimeter teams in check.

This should help the Shockers' chance at being a Cinderella after their run as a favorite came to an abrupt halt in 2014.

Michigan State (No. 7, East)

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Spartans head coach Tom Izzo is the most accomplished coach this side of Louisville's Rick Pitino in the East, so that has to count for something.

What also factors in is how well Michigan State played down the stretch, reaching the Big Ten tournament final before running out of steam in an overtime loss to No. 1 NCAA tourney seed Wisconsin.

But there is plenty of reason for Sparty's hopes to still be high. The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre describes the state of the East region well in his analysis:

This ought to breed the type of tightly competitive environment and fine line that Izzo is so used to walking—no matter who is on his squad in a given year.

CBS Sports' Seth Davis hinted at Izzo's consistency while watching the Spartans take an 11-point lead on the Badgers on Sunday before succumbing late:

Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine give Michigan State tremendous guard play in the backcourt, which is paramount in March Madness. Senior swingman Branden Dawson crashes the glass and is a huge matchup problem on both ends of the floor.

That formidable trio of upperclassmen and Izzo's tactical prowess figure to make the Spartans a tough out in the Big Dance. They staged a 16-point rally to beat Maryland, showing the trademark resolve many of Izzo's best teams have had.

Northern Iowa (No. 5, East)

Those who argue that the 30-3 Panthers' strength of schedule wasn't good enough should bear in mind that they still beat almost everyone put in their way.

Seth Tuttle is the clear star scorer—the only Northern Iowa player to average double figures at 15.3 points per contest. This just illustrates how much balance the Panthers have, and they shoot a whopping 39.7 percent from beyond the arc as a team.

Steve Czaban of Yahoo Sports Radio couldn't reconcile why Oklahoma was slotted higher than the Panthers in the East:

Living and dying by the three-pointer can be dangerous, but the way UNI can space opponents out poses a unique, tough test for the opposition.

On Sunday, Panthers coach Ben Jacobson noted the intangible ingredient he sees in his players that makes this team special.

"This team has done as good a job as any team I've been around, as a player or a coach, of just wanting to keep getting more," said Jacobson, via The Des Moines Register's Andrew Logue. "Keep doing more, keep finding ways to get better, keep moving forward...And this is no different at all."

In a region where a banged-up Justin Anderson has Virginia as a shaky No. 2 seed, there is a path for Northern Iowa to trek to Indianapolis.

Villanova ought to make it to the Sweet 16, but if it goes up against UNI, all the pressure will be on the Wildcats as the perceived favorite.

This isn't to say the Panthers will certainly take down Villanova and make an improbable run to the national semifinals. It's just conceivable that, thanks to the luck of the draw, Northern Iowa has the ingredients for a sleeper Final Four squad.