NCAA Bracket 2015: Schedule, Updated Predictions Before 2nd-Round Games Thursday

While four NCAA tournament games are already in the books, the real start to March Madness comes on Thursday.

The second round, also known as the round of 64, features 32 games spread over the course of two days. More than likely, these will include some upsets, some close calls and hopefully some buzzer-beaters.

Following along with all of these games might be difficult, but here is a look at a full schedule for Thursday's action as well as predictions for each contest.

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV	Pick
12:15 p.m.	No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Northeastern	CBS	Notre Dame
12:40 p.m.	No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 UAB	truTV	Iowa State
1:40 p.m.	No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 Georgia State	TBS	Baylor
2:10 p.m.	No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 Texas Southern	TNT	Arizona
2:45 p.m.	No. 6 Butler vs. No. 11 Texas	CBS	Texas
3:10 p.m.	No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 UCLA	truTV	SMU
4:10 p.m.	No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Ole Miss	TBS	Ole Miss
4:40 p.m.	No. 7 VCU vs. No. 10 Ohio State	TNT	Ohio State
6:50 p.m.	No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Lafayette	TBS	Villanova
7:10 p.m.	No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Purdue	CBS	Purdue
7:20 p.m.	No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Harvard	TNT	North Carolina
7:27 p.m.	No. 5 Utah vs. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin	truTV	Utah
9:20 p.m.	No. 8 North Carolina State vs. No. 9 LSU	TBS	NC State
9:40 p.m.	No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 16 Hampton	CBS	Kentucky
9:50 p.m.	No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 12 Wofford	TNT	Arkansas
9:57 p.m.	No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 13 Eastern Washington	truTV	E. Washington

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Intriguing Games to Watch

No. 5 Utah vs. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin

USA TODAY Sports

There is almost a rule where you have to pick at least one No. 12 seed to beat a No. 5 every year. As Amy Lawrence of CBS Sports Radio pointed out, this might be a smart strategy:

Utah will likely be a team people will pick against due to its struggles down the stretch. The Utes have lost four of their past seven games while having little consistency on the offensive end outside of Delon Wright.

On the other hand, Stephen F. Austin knows how to finish with 28 wins in the past 29 games. Thomas Walkup leads a balanced attack where everyone passes the ball and finds the open man to score.

However, the difference in this game will be size. Utah is anchored defensively by 7'0" Jakob Poeltl, while the rest of the roster has a big size advantage at almost every position. This will make it tough for the Lumberjacks to compete, and they will lose in a close battle.

No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 12 Wofford

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Another 12-5 upset that many are looking at is Arkansas going down to Wofford.

The Terriers are led by senior guard Karl Cochran, who leads the team in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks. Obviously, he's pretty important to the game plan, as his coach, Mike Young, explained:

However, Wofford is going to be taken out of its element, as Arkansas likes to push the pace as much as possible. This is going to cause a lot more turnovers than it is used to, while getting back on defense could be a challenge.

Additionally, there is no one capable of slowing down Bobby Portis in the post, giving the Razorbacks a major advantage in the frontcourt.

Wofford has had a great season, but this is just not the matchup it would have liked to see in the round of 64.

No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 UCLA

Having complaints about the NCAA tournament field is common, but no one seemed to agree with UCLA's at-large bid. Eric Prisbell of USA Today summed it up:

There is certainly talent on the roster for the squad to compete with the best teams in the league. Norman Powell is a force on both ends of the court, while Kevon Looney is a double-double threat in every game.

The problem is a lack of depth, as virtually no one who comes off the bench can be trusted to contribute at a high level.

This will give SMU the advantage as the game wears on. The Mustangs have quality players in the starting lineup and on the bench, while diminutive point guard Nic Moore has a knack for coming through in big moments.

Although the Mustangs don't have the popularity of UCLA and few likely have watched them play this season, they should be able to advance to the next round.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter. If it's March, I'm talking about pretty much nothing but college basketball.