NCAA Bracket 2015: Mobile-Friendly Bracket and Betting Advice for March Madness

March Madness is finally here, which means it's time for 2015 NCAA tournament brackets to be filled out by the millions.

No single event galvanizes the American sports world quite like the Big Dance. A number of changes—including extending the field from 64 to 68 and infusing a handful of opening-round play-in contests—haven't done anything to quell the chaos and intrigue that surrounds college basketball's marquee tournament. 

The release of Sunday's bracket brought with it a fair share of overrated and underrated teams, which can leave those predicting the madness with plenty of hunches to give into. With that in mind, let's look at everything you need to know to make the best March Madness bracket.

All Your Bracket Essentials

• Download the Printable Bracket
• Play the Free Bracket Challenge

Betting Advice

Beware of Overloading on No. 1 Seeds

Watching the college basketball season from afar allows folks to become comfortable with the favorites— and with good reason. Any No. 1 seed is well-earned, with the teams on the top row having convincingly proved their worth time and time again.

But if you think that means the NCAA tournament will follow suit, you're ignoring what has unfolded in every other Big Dance over the last several years.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

In 2008, chalk was the way to go when all four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four. Since then? Only six of the 24 regional winners were top-seeded teams. Compare that to seven teams seeded fifth or lower.

The parity is palpable.

Of course, some dominance at the top suggests a season like 2011—which saw no No. 1 or No. 2 seeds win their regions—is all but impossible. The unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats look poised to cruise in the Midwest despite a tough draw, while Duke, Wisconsin and Villanova can't be counted out, even with a hard slate ahead.

But if you look up after filling out each region and notice all the winners are No. 1 seeds, take into account what's happened in the last six tournaments and reconsider.

Find a Cinderella Team but Know Its Limits

Michael Albans/Associated Press

If the biggest victory in filling out a bracket is picking the eventual champion, then the most gratifying victory lies in correctly picking the Cinderella team or teams that make long runs against the odds. By picking a team to win a couple of games that few others have chosen, you can create some distance between yourself and fellow office-pool contenders before the final few weekends.

The recent Final Four runs by No. 9 seed Wichita State (2013) and No. 11 seeds VCU (2011) and George Mason (2006) give the impression that the sky is the limit, and it can be with the right team, favorable matchups and some fantastic fortune.

But no seed lower than eighth made the Final Four from 1987 to 2006. Making the Sweet 16 is tough enough, but the week-long turnaround often gives heavy favorites the time to outscheme other teams before playing at the regional sites.

There are plenty of double-digit seeds capable of getting out of the first weekend. The South is one possible destination, with No. 13 seed Eastern Washington matching up well against Georgetown and prospective third-round foe Utah struggling to end the season.

And it's not like double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16 are rare. Three of them have made it to regional semifinals in each of the last two tournaments. 

However, the Final Four runs from unlikely squads such as Wichita State and VCU came in seasons with much less powerful teams at the top. With seven or eight teams in the field worthy of being No. 1 seeds, any Cinderella team will struggle to hold on to its slippers past the first weekend.

Don't Go Crazy with the No. 12-No. 5 Upsets

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The No. 12 seed-No. 5 seed matchups presented themselves long ago as vulnerable for opening upsets. It was never on better display than this time last year—three of the four No. 5 seeds lost, with St. Louis mounting a comeback over N.C. State to prevent the sweep of No. 12 seeds.

So, bet the farm on the No. 12 seeds again this season, right? Not with this year's stacked crew of No. 5 seeds.

West Virginia faces a tough opening matchup against Buffalo, but the Mountaineers are seeded lower than they should be after a late-season skid. Also overlooked by the committee was Northern Iowa, a 30-3 powerhouse whose only loss since New Year's Day was a defeat to a Wichita State team it had already beaten—although UNI should be wary of Wyoming's potential with Larry Nance Jr. back.

Region	No. 5 vs. No. 12 (* marks prediction)
Midwest	West Virginia* vs. Buffalo
East	Northern Iowa vs. Wyoming*
West	Arkansas* vs. Wofford
South	Utah vs. Stephen F. Austin*

No. 12 seed Wofford has a strong chance to pull it off against an up-and-down Arkansas team. But the Razorbacks looked like a buzzsaw in the SEC tournament and have the sharpshooting and a go-to force in center Bobby Portis to make a deep run. If it didn't play in a devalued SEC, Arkansas could be a top-four seed.

One pick worth making in the No. 5-No. 12 department, however, could be Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks face a Utah team that is in a free fall to end the season, and the majority of their roster experienced NCAA success last season. 

But if you're penciling in the likes of Buffalo, Wyoming or even Wofford for a Sweet 16 run, just know they aren't facing your average No. 12 seeds.