NCAA Tournament 2015: Profiling Top Picks and Sleeper Teams on the Schedule

Every year in the NCAA tournament, teams seemingly come out of nowhere to surprise people with a deep run.

In each of the last four years, there has been at least one team seeded No. 7 or higher in the Elite Eight. Last season was especially crazy with No. 7 Connecticut, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 11 Dayton all reaching the regional finals.

Although every year is different, there are a few potential sleepers capable of replicating this feat in 2015. Here is a look at the top picks for teams seeded No. 7 or worse to make a deep run this March.

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

No. 7 Michigan State

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We are well past the point of being surprised when Michigan State starts playing at its best when March rolls around. The Spartans have had an up-and-down season but showed how good they can be by getting to the Big Ten tournament finals and almost beating Wisconsin before eventually falling in overtime.

Despite the loss, it's clear we are seeing a similar theme with head coach Tom Izzo over the years:

"

A Tom Izzo-coached team peaking in March? Did not see that coming.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 15, 2015"

Before losing in the close game to Wisconsin, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, Michigan State won four games in a row with every opponent eventually making its way into the Big Dance. This squad is playing at a high level, and the talent is there to succeed over the next few weeks.

With Denzel Valentine filling up the box score every game and Branden Dawson being a consistent double-double threat on one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, this is certainly a team no one wants to face.

This includes Virginia, which would have to face the Spartans in the round of 32 after falling to them in the Sweet 16 a year ago.

No. 7 Wichita State

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Fans lost faith in Wichita State after seeing them lose in the round of 32 a year ago despite being a No. 1 seed. Of course, it's important to remember that defeat came at the hands of Kentucky en route to a trip to the national championship game. We have seen this year that those Wildcats turned out to be pretty good.

Meanwhile, the Shockers have many of the same players who not only finished with an undefeated regular season a year ago, but went to the Final Four in 2013.

Indiana guard Nick Zeisloft—who started his career in the Missouri Valley Conference but now will face the Shockers in the round of 64—provided some high praise when discussing this team, via Dave Skretta of The Associated Press, via KSN.com:

"

Their five starters right now were all there last year, so personnel-wise, they’re similar. But one thing with Wichita is they’re a tough team. They play tough, and a big thing of theirs is ‘play angry.’ They definitely do that game in and game out.

I’ve played them several times. We have our work cut out for us. 

"

Fred VanVleet is as composed as they come at point guard, while Ron Baker has become more of a go-to option over the years. Wichita State has a difficult bracket to get out of, but there is enough talent and experience on the roster to make a run to the Elite Eight.

No. 8 North Carolina State

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This is certainly not a team you can trust based on its inconsistency. However, there is no question North Carolina State can beat just about any team in the nation if it is playing well.

The Wolfpack have one of the top backcourts in the nation with Trevor Lacey, Anthony "Cat" Barber and Ralston Turner. These three players can carry the rest of the team with its scoring ability, which at its best is terrifying.

Add this to a deep frontcourt led by shot-blocking machine Beejay Anya, and there is no wonder this group was able to defeat Duke, Louisville, North Carolina and others.

On the other hand, Jeff Fischel of ACC Digital Network broke down the difference between games at the ACC tournament:

The trio of guards simply doesn't play at the same level each game, which is what led to losses to Boston College, Wake Forest and Wofford.

This makes North Carolina State a huge risk when picking your bracket, but don't be surprised to see it knock off LSU, Villanova and others during a long run.

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