March Madness 2015: Locks for Final Four and Full Tournament Schedule

During the infancy of the round of 64, it's next to impossible to figure out the eventual Final Four.

Kentucky, Kentucky, Kentucky and Kentucky doesn't work, as much as most bracket participants wished it would. Neither does Kentucky, the Wildcats, John Calipari's team and Drake's favorite team.

All joking aside, there's just one sure thing about the Final Four this year, with the rest a hodgepodge of fingers-crossed guessing as the other regions are both competitive and unpredictable.

For those lagging behind when it comes to filling out the brackets, or just for those who want to hear their favorite team has a chance, let's take a stab at the Final Four.

Key Tournament Information

Dates: March 17 to April 6

Channels: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV

Live Stream: March Madness Live

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• Download the Printable Bracket

• Play the Free Bracket Challenge

2015 Tournament Schedule

Date	Event	Location	TV
March 17-18	First Round	Dayton	truTV
March 19, 21	Second and Third Rounds	Jacksonville, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Portland	CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV
March 20, 22	Second and Third Rounds	Columbus, Charlotte, Omaha and Seattle	CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV
March 26, 28	Midwest Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Cleveland	CBS and TBS
March 26, 28	West Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Los Angeles	CBS and TBS
March 27, 29	South Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Houston	CBS and TBS
March 27, 29	East Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)	Syracuse	CBS and TBS
April 4	National Semifinals	Indianapolis	TBS
April 6	Championship Game	Indianapolis	CBS

Predicting Final Four Locks 

Take a guess about which team is the favorite to make the Final Four.

It's those undefeated Wildcats, No. 1 in ESPN's RPI rankings with 11 wins against the RPI Top 50 and 22 if adding another 25 to the mix.

Calipari's team does it all, starting with a twin-towers look with Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein. The rotation runs nine deep, though, and it's something causing Hampton's coach to pull his hair out as his team prepares for its first-round encounter, per AP Top 25:

For the Wildcats, there's no real challenge on the way to the Final Four. Notre Dame is a streaky team, but the description says it all. Some may trumpet second-seeded Kansas as a threat—call it wishful thinking, though, considering the Wildcats beat the Jayhawks 72-40 back in November.

Again, 72-40.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

But enough about the talent disparity between Kentucky and the rest of the bracket. The next obvious pick is Wisconsin, winners of a deserving No. 1 seed after a Big Ten conference tournament triumph.

The Badgers aren't Kentucky-level dominant, but few teams in the bracket can slow an offense led by Frank Kaminsky, who averages 18.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.

In fact, by some measures the Badgers have the top offense in the nation. At KenPom.com, Kaminsky and Co. rank No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency. One of the team's three losses came at the hands of Duke—but the Blue Devils needed to shoot 65 percent from the floor to accomplish the feat.

Wisconsin and Kentucky are the lone No. 1 seeds to make it through, though.

Look for Gonzaga to emerge out of a wild South part of the bracket featuring those Blue Devils.

As ESPN Stats & Info points out using its BPI metric, the Bulldogs are one of the nation's most underrated teams:

There's a good reason for the notion.

It's not just the fact the Bulldogs are 32-2. It's their No. 8 slot in RPI, with an impressive 9-2 mark against the RPI Top 100. It's a No. 7 rank at KenPom.com, flanked by the seventh-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency. It's the nation's 10th-ranked scoring average at 79.1 points per game and the nation's leader in field-goal percentage at .524.

The South is tough, but most of the carnage will occur among the other teams before the Bulldogs get to encounter Duke or a team such as Utah late, which shouldn't prove to be a problem.

Most convoluted is the East.

Villanova rests as a deserving No. 1. Second-seeded Virginia plays some of the best team basketball in the bracket. Sleepers such as LSU, Providence and Michigan State can make serious noise. 

Most interesting, though, is Louisville and the lack of attention the Cardinals seem to be receiving right now.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Rick Pitino doesn't lead his best defensive team to the tournament this year, but his roster still manages to rank sixth in adjusted defensive efficiency at KemPom.com.

The Cardinals also feature two of the best players in the nation thanks to Terry Rozier (17.1 points and 5.3 rebounds) and Montrezl Harrell (15.7 and 9.5). The latter also happens to be a large reason for Louisville's defensive prominence by way of 1.2 blocks per game.

In total, four players average at least one block per game, forming a unit capable of withstanding a brutal bracket.

Louisville isn't the prettiest pick in the East, but going with a top seed in a competitive part of the bracket is a good way to ensure embarrassment in bracket pools. Louisville's suffocating defense, star power and experience in leadership positions will prove critical in securing the last spot in the Final Four.

Prediction: Kentucky, Wisconsin, Louisville and Gonzaga make the Final Four.  

Stats and info are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.