NCAA Bracket 2015: Schedule and Updated Predictions Before Day 1 of 1st Round
The 2015 NCAA tournament kicks off Tuesday evening, with four teams looking to sneak their way into the round of 64. It's a nice little preamble before the madness truly begins. You can sit back, relax, watch one game at a time and probably not worry too much about your bracket being busted just yet.
Tuesday's action begins at 6:40 p.m. ET, with Hampton and Manhattan vying for a No. 16 seed and the privilege of facing No. 1 Kentucky in Round 2. Then, at 9:10 p.m., BYU and Ole Miss will battle for the No. 11 seed in the West Region, with the winner facing Xavier on Thursday. Both games will be played in Dayton, Ohio.
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Below are some bracket essentials in case you've yet to make your picks, followed by analysis and predictions for the first two games of the tourney.
All Your Bracket Essentials
Bracket
Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| March 17 | 6:40 p.m. | Hampton vs. Manhattan | truTV |
| March 17 | 9:10 p.m. | BYU vs. Ole Miss | truTV |
(per NCAA.com)
Live Stream: NCAA March Madness Live
Day 1 Predictions
Manhattan vs. Hampton
Manhattan is the heavy favorite here. According to KenPom.com rankings, Hampton is the worst team to make the tournament this year by a long shot.
The Pirates are 16-17 overall and lost nine of their final 13 games to close out the regular season. They are the lone sub-.500 team in the tournament field.
Momentum is the best thing they've got going: They have won four straight games and dominated Delaware State, 82-61, to win the MEAC tournament. Junior guard Brian Darden had a breakout game, scoring 20 points despite averaging just 9.7 on the season.
Hampton will likely be without its leading scorer and rebounder, Dwight Meikle, due to an ankle injury. The Pirates forced 17 turnovers in the MEAC championship and will need to pressure Manhattan on the perimeter to have any chance Tuesday.
The Jaspers, riding a four-game winning streak of their own, are led by senior forward Emmy Andujar, who averages 16.5 points, 3.5 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game. Per NCAA.com, Manhattan gets over 61 percent of its scoring from Andujar, junior forward Ashton Pankey (13.5 points per game) and junior guard Shane Richards (13.1 PPG).
Perhaps the most fascinating storyline surrounding Manhattan involves head coach Steve Masiello. Last spring, Masiello was hired to coach South Florida, but then the school discovered that he did not graduate from Kentucky, as his resume stated, and he returned to Manhattan.
Now, with a win over Hampton, his Jaspers will face—that's right—Kentucky in the second round.
According to Howie Kussoy of the New York Post, Masiello has imposed a "media blackout" on his players to keep them focused on Hampton—not Kentucky—for now. But all signs point to the Jaspers meeting the undefeated Wildcats in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Prediction: Manhattan
BYU vs. Ole Miss
BYU has a deadly offense. The Ole Miss defense is subpar. That alone should be the difference in this one.
Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore summed it up well: "It takes a focused defensive team to slow BYU's fast-paced attack. The Rebels just lost a game in the SEC tournament by fouling a three-point shooter at the buzzer. They're not that team."
It was a wild finish to the SEC quarterfinal game between Ole Miss and South Carolina. Ole Miss executed a four-point play to take a one-point lead with 3.3 seconds left. But then the Rebels committed a boneheaded foul of their own as time expired.
Even if Ole Miss has recovered from that heartbreaker, it still needs to deal with a high-octane Cougars offense that averages 83.6 points per game. Senior Tyler Haws—the school's all-time leading scorer—and junior Kyle Collinsworth—six triple-doubles this season—are dangerous weapons at guard.
Collinsworth went off for 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists in BYU's WCC title game loss to Gonzaga.
Ole Miss features two talented guards in Stefan Moody and Jarvis Summers, and one must mention that the Rebels nearly knocked off Kentucky in Rupp Arena on Jan. 6, losing 89-86 in overtime. But they've been trending in the wrong direction ever since.
They'll have trouble containing the Cougars.
Prediction: BYU
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