NCAA Tournament Bracket 2015: Predictions for Biggest Upsets in 2nd Round

First-round games or play-in games? No matter what name you give to those sweet little morsels, they're coming to a close on Wednesday, and the great buffet that is the second round of the NCAA tournament starts Thursday.

But how to avoid getting left with a bad taste in one's mouth? Every year, hundreds of thousands of fans have their brackets busted in the second round. Upsets are bound to happen. But don't let them get to your bracket. Or your stomach.

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Bracket

Predicting Early Exits

No. 5 West Virginia

Opponent: Buffalo

An attacking defense has fueled the Mountaineers all year, a unit that led the nation in steals per game during the regular season, according to ESPN.com. But Coach Bob Huggins may have some trouble finding a complementary flow from his offense. West Virginia senior guard Juwan Staten, the team leader in points and assists per game this season, missed the Big 12 tournament with a knee injury.

Staten is expected to return to the court Friday against Buffalo, according to Allan Taylor of West Virginia Metro News, but the offensive leader may be a bit rusty.

Buffalo, meanwhile, is playing with confidence under coach Bob Hurley after winning its first MAC tournament championship, not to mention the boost that comes with being a No. 12 seed.

Benjamin Morris from 538.com asserts that No. 12 seeds upending No. 5 seeds is becoming more commonplace, writing "If it seems like No. 12 seeds beat No. 5 seeds more than they should, it's because they have. Going back to 1995, No. 5 seeds have been upset 33 times in 80 games."

Prediction: Buffalo 61, West Virginia 53

No. 4 Georgetown 

Opponent: Eastern Washington 

Elsa/Getty Images

The Hoyas have had some strong performances this season, including a 20-point victory in January over Villanova, which earned a No. 1 seed in this tournament. They've also been inconsistent. Uneven play, combined with Georgetown's recent and unfortunate penchant for helping create Cinderellas, has caused many to scoff at its high seed.

A double-digit seed has eliminated the Hoyas in each of their last five NCAA tournament appearances.

Eastern Washington will give Georgetown a difficult test Thursday. The Big Sky champs boast an explosive offense whose 80.8 points per game during the regular season were third-most in the nation and can keep the Hoyas on their heels.

The Eagles are paced by sharpshooter Tyler Harvey. The sophomore guard wasn't even recruited out of high school by Division I programs but still leads the nation in scoring at 22.9 points per game. Head coach Jim Hayford noted why Harvey and the Eagles offense could give the Hoyas trouble, via Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post:

"

We play attack basketball. We like to push tempo. We play downhill. We go at you. I think it’s a fun form of basketball of play. … Our guys are fearless. That’s how we went into Indiana and snapped their 42-game non-conference winning streak. We’ve got huge respect for Georgetown. We’re going to respect them, but we don’t fear them.

"

Prediction: Eastern Washington 65, Georgetown 59

No. 7 Virginia Commonwealth

Opponent: Ohio State

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

The Rams were one of the tournament darlings in each of the last few years, and it is a testament to how high the recent upstarts have climbed that they are now the ones on upset alert. Shaka Smart's team burned through the Atlantic 10 Conference but just might get extinguished Thursday by Ohio State.

The Buckeyes feature freshman standout guard D'Angelo Russell, a 6'5" left-hander who averages 19.3 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 turnovers per game. They were a meager 3-9 against teams that are in the tournament—but against arguably some of the toughest competition in the country in foes from the Big 10 and ACC conferences.

Look for Ohio State to shoot close to 50 percent from the field, just like it did during the regular season, and edge the Rams in a high-scoring affair.

Prediction: Ohio State 83, VCU 79