NCAA Bracket 2015: Picks, Odds Advice, Schedule After Tuesday's 1st-Round Games

The 2015 NCAA tournament bracket looks a little different after the two opening first-round games from Tuesday.

Hampton earned the right to face prohibitive March Madness favorite Kentucky by defeating fellow No. 16 seed Manhattan 74-64, improving to .500 on the season in the process.

In the other more entertaining contest between 11th seeds, Ole Miss rallied from 17 points down at the half to top BYU 94-90, advancing to the Round of 64 to take on Xavier in the West Region.

Check out all of the basic bracket information below, along with a schedule and odds advice for what lies ahead with so much of the Big Dance still to play out.

All Your Bracket Essentials

• 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

Odds Advice

Thanks to the luck of the draw, there's a decent chance Kentucky and Duke will live up to their billings as No. 1 seeds, emerge from the Midwest and South respectively and meet to play for the national title.

But for those betting the odds, it's best to choose anyone but the Wildcats to hoist the championship trophy in Indianapolis.

According to Odds Shark's latest listings, Kentucky has almost even odds at 6-5 to win it all, while Duke is a much more lucrative 9-1 bet. The combination of value, ease of region and viability of the Blue Devils' squad is hard to find anywhere else among the top contenders.

ESPN expert Jay Bilas likes the team's chances to at least be a national semifinalist, per Mike and Mike:

Two of Duke's biggest stars in point guard Tyus Jones and stud big man Jahlil Okafor may be freshmen, but their friendship goes back well before their arrival in Durham.

Jones elaborated on the unique, close-knit relationship he has with Okafor to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg.

"We're really one big family now," said Jones. "That's what we've come to be the last few years. His dad is just another dad to me and my mom is just another mom to him. That's how close we really are."

Combine the presence of that dynamic duo with senior leader Quinn Cook alongside Jones in the backcourt and first-year wing Justise Winslow, and the Blue Devils have quite a dangerous quartet to deal with.

Since both Arizona (15-2) and Wisconsin (17-2) were deserving of a No. 1 seed—the latter got the designation—and could meet in a regional final rematch, it's hard to say which of them will rise from what should be a wild west wing of the bracket.

ESPN Stats & Info references the hardships that lie almost immediately ahead for top East seed Villanova (10-1) in the Round of 32:

The broken finger suffered by Virginia guard Justin Anderson makes the Cavaliers a less appealing 10-1 national title shot—even though they could very well get out of the East based on Villanova's tough road.

Gonzaga has a respectable 16-1 chance in oddsmakers' eyes, but head coach Mark Few has only advanced the Bulldogs past the Sweet 16 once. This happened in 1999, so as solid as this year's bunch appears to be, it's hard to envision the Zags defeating Duke or an unforeseen opponent in the Elite Eight, much less winning the tourney.

For those not seeking a huge return on investment or patiently waiting for the odds to lengthen, which may not happen, Kentucky is the place to go. But Duke has all of the ingredients of a champion, a sensational coach in Mike Krzyzewski and a great chance to give Kentucky its toughest test.