NCAA Tournament 2015: TV Schedule and Picks for 2nd-Round Contests

Time to put my money where my mouth is, folks.

Below, I've provided you with the full schedule for the round of 64, my finalized NCAA tournament predictions and my rationale for my upset selections in Thursday and Friday's action. Hopefully, I'll guide you to some insightful upset picks. More likely, I'll be ripping up my bracket by Thursday night like half of America.

Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV
12:15 p.m.	(14) Northeastern vs (3) Notre Dame	CBS
12:40 p.m.	(14) UAB vs (3) Iowa State	truTV
1:40 p.m.	(14) Georgia St vs (3) Baylor	TBS
2:10 p.m.	(15) Texas Southern vs (2) Arizona	TNT
2:45 p.m.	(11) Texas vs (6) Butler	CBS
3:10 p.m.	(11) UCLA vs (6) SMU	truTV
4:10 p.m.	(11) Ole Miss vs (6) Xavier	TBS
4:40 p.m.	(10) Ohio State vs (7) Virginia Commonwealth	TNT
6:50 p.m.	(16) Lafayette vs (1) Villanova	TBS
7:10 p.m.	(9) Purdue vs (8) Cincinnati	CBS
7:20 p.m.	(13) Harvard vs (4) North Carolina	TNT
7:27 p.m.	(12) Stephen F. Austin vs (5) Utah	truTV
9:20 p.m.	(9) LSU vs (8) NC State	TBS
9:40 p.m.	(16) Hampton vs (1) Kentucky	CBS
9:50 p.m.	(12) Wofford vs (5) Arkansas	TNT
9:57 p.m.	(13) Eastern Washington vs (4) Georgetown	truTV
12:15 p.m.	(15) New Mexico St vs (2) Kansas	CBS
12:40 p.m.	(10) Georgia vs (7) Michigan St	truTV
1:40 p.m.	(12) Wyoming vs (5) Northern Iowa	TBS
2:10 p.m.	(12) Buffalo vs (5) West Virginia	TNT
2:45 p.m.	(10) Indiana vs (7) Wichita St	CBS
3:10 p.m.	(15) Belmont vs (2) Virginia	truTV
4:10 p.m.	(13) UC Irvine vs (4) Louisville	TBS
4:40 p.m.	(13) Valparaiso vs (4) Maryland	TNT
6:50 p.m.	(9) Oklahoma St vs (8) Oregon	TBS
7:10 p.m.	16) Robert Morris / (16) North Florida vs (1) Duke	CBS
7:20 p.m.	(10) Davidson vs (7) Iowa	TNT
7:27 p.m.	(14) Albany vs (3) Oklahoma	truTV
9:20 p.m.	(16) Coastal Carolina vs (1) Wisconsin	TBS
9:40 p.m.	(9) St. John's vs (8) San Diego St	CBS
9:50 p.m.	(15) North Dakota St vs (2) Gonzaga	TNT
9:57 p.m.	(11) Dayton / (11) Boise State vs (6) Providence	truTV

Picks

Region	Round of 64 Winners	Round of 32 Winners	Sweet 16 Winners	Elite Eight Winners
Midwest	Kentucky, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Notre Dame, Wichita State, Kansas	Kentucky, Maryland, Notre Dame, Wichita State	Kentucky, Notre Dame	Kentucky
West	Wisconsin, Oregon, Wofford, North Carolina, Xavier, Baylor, Ohio State, Arizona	Wisconsin, North Carolina, Baylor, Arizona	Wisconsin, Arizona	Arizona
East	Villanova, NC State, Northern Iowa, Louisville, Providence, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Virginia	Villanova, Louisville, Providence, Michigan State	Villanova, Michigan State	Villanova
South	Duke, San Diego State, Stephen F. Austin, Eastern Washington, SMU, Iowa State, Davidson, Gonzaga	Duke, Stephen F. Austin, Iowa State, Gonzaga	Duke, Iowa State	Iowa State

The Upsets

Let's break down my upsets for the round of 64. 

We'll start in the Midwest, where I'm mostly feeling chalk. Buffalo will be a popular upset pick, but I'm not sure they shoot well enough from beyond the arc to slip past West Virginia. Really, the only upset—and I'm not even sure how much of an upset it will actually be—is Texas over Butler.

I really like the defense Texas plays and the shot-blocking ability of Myles Turner, Cameron Ridley and Prince Ibeh down low. This team is battle-tested from the Big 12 and one of the toughest schedules in the country. Butler also plays solid defense and has a few decent shooters, but I don't see the Bulldogs having the explosive offense needed to overcome Texas' advantage down low.

I'm also sticking with mostly chalk out West, though I think Wofford will pull off one of two No. 12 upsets over No. 5 seeds, knocking out Arkansas. Wofford is the sort of team that can hit shots from range that often find success pulling upsets in the NCAA tournament, led by Karl Cochran.

Wofford will wait and patiently create those three-point shots, which could frustrate a team like Arkansas that scores in bunches. Arkansas' inconsistency this season is also a mark against them, as the Razorbacks often simply don't show up. Don't be surprised if that happens against Wofford.

I also expect D'Angelo Russell to lead Ohio State past VCU, though much like the Texas pick, that feels like a pretty mild upset selection. Russell is good for one Ohio State win this year.

I expect pure chalk in the East, which makes me nervous and basically guarantees that it will be the region with the most upsets. Of course, I see the major upset coming a round later, when Michigan State knocks off Virginia, but I think the East will be an all-favorites affair in the round of 64.

That most certainly won't be the case in the South, however. I love Stephen F. Austin, a team that plays an exciting brand of pressing defense, forces turnovers and has a lot of offensive firepower, led by Thomas Walkup and Jacob Parker. As much as I hate knocking Utah out of my bracket—I think the Utes are really talented, if inconsistent—Stephen F. Austin just has the look of a No. 12 seed that can make a deep run.

I also like No. 13 Eastern Washington over No. 4 Georgetown. While Eastern Washington can flat-out score in droves, they struggle on the boards and are in trouble against teams that limit their possessions. Georgetown isn't that team. The Hoyas are equally suspect on the boards, and while they are battle tested and get excellent play from their guards, it's arguable whether they can hang with Eastern Washington in a straight shootout, especially if Joshua Smith gets in foul trouble (which he generally does).

If Eastern Washington gets hot and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera can't carry the Hoyas, the Eagles could roll.

Finally, I like No. 10 Davidson over No. 7 Iowa in another mild upset, with Tyler Kalinoski leading an offense that can absolutely blaze past opponents with torrid shooting. If they get hot, Iowa doesn't stand a chance.