NCAA Tournament 2015: National Championship Odds and Dark-Horse Contenders

The 2015 NCAA tournament is the Kentucky Wildcats' to lose after a perfect 34-0 run to date and just six games standing between them and another national championship.

While Kentucky may be the top overall seed and a perceived lock to emerge from the Midwest region, ESPN Stats & Info discourages those filling out brackets from picking all the favorites:

There are several dark-horse contenders to keep an eye on. Because of how top-heavy this year's field appears to be and Kentucky's even odds to win it all, some higher seeds have to be considered longer shots.

Check out the disparity between the Wildcats and the rest of the best along with a breakdown of the top championship contenders with an outside shot at a miraculous March Madness run.

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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

Team	Odds
Kentucky	1-1
Wisconsin	13-2
Duke	13-2
Villanova	8-1
Arizona	12-1
Virginia	17-1
Gonzaga	22-1
North Carolina	25-1
Iowa State	35-1

Dark-Horse Contenders

Gonzaga (22-1)

John Locher/Associated Press

The Bulldogs overcame a tough home loss to BYU at the end of the regular season by playing at a high level and winning the West Coast Conference tournament, beating the Cougars in the finale.

A lackluster schedule and past shortcomings in the NCAA tourney under coach Mark Few's watch count against Gonzaga. This year's squad could be different, though, as it's armed with ideal bracket positioning as a No. 2 seed in the South region.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman notes how Gonzaga can upend anyone when it plays with purpose:

The winner of Iowa and Davidson doesn't figure to give the Zags too much bother in the round of 32, but Gonzaga will likely have a date with Iowa State in the Sweet 16.

From 2002 onward, Few has guided Gonzaga to the regional semifinals twice without a win. It's up to his players, like Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer, to get over that hump and back into the Elite Eight for the first time this millennium.

The consistency the Bulldogs have enjoyed during Few's tenure is enviable, but none of his squads have managed to break through to the Final Four.

With an offense that leads the nation in overall field-goal percentage and shoots better than 40 percent from three-point range, this Gonzaga bunch has as good a chance as any to deliver the program's maiden Final Four bid.

Seeing Wiltjer lead the Bulldogs to the national final for a prospective showdown with Kentucky would be a shoo-in sensational storyline.

North Carolina (25-1)

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The lowest seed among these dark horses is North Carolina, but that should be taken with a certain amount of important context in mind.

Among the Tar Heels' 11 losses on the season, only one came to a squad that didn't make the NCAA tournament (Pittsburgh). Four of the other 10 came at the hands of Duke and Notre Dame, ACC adversaries who are both seeded higher.

A brutal conference slate created plenty of adversity along with opportunities for UNC to bolster its resume with quality wins, which it did often enough to merit shorter national championship odds than most.

InsideCarolina.com highlights how Tar Heels point guard Marcus Paige has evidently saved his best for last:

Stupendous ball movement is a pillar of North Carolina's success, as the team ranks second nationally in assists. But these Heels can crash the glass, too, averaging 41 boards per contest—also No. 2 in the country.

Although the Tar Heels fell to Notre Dame in the conference tournament final, they did manage to knock off quality programs in Louisville and Virginia, the latter of which had beaten them by 11 in a prior contest.

There is a certain streak of resilience in this North Carolina team. Amid the year of legendary coach Dean Smith's passing, this could be a magical run for the Tar Heels if they can maintain the considerable momentum they've found recently.

Iowa State (35-1)

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Robbery ensued last season when the Cyclones saw their best player, Georges Niang, go down with a foot fracture in the round of 64. A five-point loss in the Sweet 16 to eventual national champion UConn has to have Iowa State eager for more this year.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead tabs Iowa State, rather than Gonzaga, as the biggest threat to Duke in the South:

Niang has come back with a purpose in 2014-15, leading the way with 15.5 points per contest and placing second on the team with 3.5 assists on average.

The journey hasn't been lost on Niang, who admitted to looking back on the long road he's navigated since going down in the Big Dance the last time around, per IowaStateDaily.com's Max Dible:

"

I feel like I do that sometimes, just sitting around thinking. I feel like I do that during the season, so I wouldn't say I'd stop doing that now. I just use it as motivation to get to where I want to be and I've always wanted to win a national championship. That being said, it's one game at a time.

"

Iowa State occupy the same side of the bracket as Gonzaga, which would be quite a fascinating Sweet 16 matchup if it were to come to fruition. Both teams can score with anyone in the country, which would likely lead to a shootout for the ages to determine one regional finalist.

The same would hold true if top-seeded Duke makes it through the gauntlet and faces the Cyclones or Bulldogs in the Elite Eight.

Thanks to superior competition in the Big 12 and plenty of motivation to build on what happened during the previous March Madness, it's possible Iowa State is the better dark-horse bet—with longer odds to boot.

But Duke is a formidable favorite and has the look of a Final Four team most capable of challenging Kentucky in the national title game.

Even if any of the three aforementioned dark horses find a way to Indianapolis, the buzz saw that is Kentucky is in all likelihood too sharp for anyone to handle—not to mention all the pitfalls that lie before such an encounter.