NCAA Tournament Bracket 2015: Updated Scores and Predictions for 3rd Round

Although Saturday's third-round games in the 2015 NCAA tournament failed to meet the standards for theatrics and drama set by the second-round results, today's slate is shaping up to be thrilling from start to finish.

This is not to say that yesterday didn't provide any excitement. The North Carolina State Wolfpack defeated the No. 1-seeded Villanova Wildcats. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish needed overtime to down the Butler Bulldogs. The nation also followed every second of the Georgia State Panthers' defeat to the Xavier Musketeers with an attentive eye.

Some sort of break in the fun was inevitable, though, after a second round that featured five games decided by one point in a single day.

On paper, the eight games scheduled for today should give fans something similar to that rush.

Third-Round Scores

Matchup	Result
No. 14 UAB vs. No. 11 UCLA	92-75, UCLA
No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 Kentucky	64-51, Kentucky
No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Arizona	73-58, Arizona
No. 14 Georgia State vs. No. 6 Xavier	75-67, Xavier
No. 8 NC State vs. No. 1 Villanova	71-68, NC State
No. 5 Utah vs. No. 4 Georgetown	75-64, Utah
No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 4 North Carolina	87-78, North Carolina
No. 6 Butler vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	67-64, Notre Dame

Third-Round Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV Info	Line	Pick
12:10 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Virginia	CBS	UVA (-5)	Virginia
2:40 p.m.	No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 1 Duke	CBS	Duke (-9.5)	Duke
5:15 p.m.	No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 2 Kansas	CBS	KU (-2)	Wichita State
6:10 p.m.	No. 11 Dayton vs. No. 3 Oklahoma	TNT	OU (-4.5)	Oklahoma
7:10 p.m.	No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 2 Gonzaga	TBS	Zags (-6.5)	Gonzaga
7:45 p.m.	No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 1 Wisconsin	truTV	WISC (-12)	Wisconsin
8:40 p.m.	No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 4 Maryland	TNT	Even	West Virginia
9:40 p.m.	No. 5 Northern Iowa vs. No. 4 Louisville	TBS	UNI (-2.5)	Louisville

Games to Watch

No. 1 Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 8 San Diego State

With Iowa State getting dumped out in the first round, Duke's toughest test before the Final Four might come in the third round.

The San Diego State Aztecs aren't to be trifled with. According to KenPom.com, Steve Fisher's team ranks fourth in adjusted defense and 333rd in adjusted tempo. It slows the game down to a crawl and slowly suffocates its opponents.

What will make this matchup so much fun is the clashing of styles between the two teams. Whereas San Diego State is second in scoring defense (53.5 PPG), Duke is third in scoring offense (80.7 PPG).

Those blithely counting out the Aztecs would be smart to look at North Carolina State's upset of Villanova. Jay Posner of U-T San Diego astutely noted that the line was the same in both games:

There shouldn't be much doubt about whether the San Diego State defense will stifle Duke's scorers. According to the school's news and notes for the game, the Aztecs are allowing 0.0887 points per possession, which is fourth in the country behind Kentucky, Virginia and Arizona. In addition, opponents are only shooting 30 percent against SDSU from behind the arc.

That could spell trouble for a Duke team that averages 7.6 made threes a game.

The bigger question is whether San Diego State will be able to limit Duke to such an extent that 50 or 60 points can win the game. Winston Shepard and Aqeel Quinn combined for 2-of-14 shooting in the second round, with the Aztecs saved by Dwayne Polee II and J.J. O'Brien going for 15 and 18 points, respectively.

The Aztecs can't count on that happening every game, and if the Blue Devils are able to at least perform at 80 percent of their normal effectiveness, San Diego State will have a hard time keeping up.

Villanova's loss might also serve as a warning for Duke, and Mike Krzyzewski will ensure his players don't take their opponents lightly.

No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 7 Wichita State Shockers

Bill Self can't avoid Wichita State any longer.

Back in 2013, the Kansas head coach openly admitted that his team had little to gain from playing the Shockers during the regular season.

"This isn't knocking Wichita State," he told The Kansas City Star at the time, via ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan. "But if it was best for our program, I would reach out to them about scheduling them. But it's not. I’ve heard a lot of talk about them wanting to play us so bad; Gregg Marshall’s never contacted me about playing."

As Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star noted in his piece about the peculiar rivalry, critics will often knock Wichita State for not playing anybody of substance outside of its conference, but the biggest nearby power runs from the Shockers at every opportunity.

This will be the first time the schools meet since 1993, per CBS Sports' Jon Solomon:

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander revved up the hype train when weighing the potential importance of this game:

"

The biggest college basketball games normally come in the second and third weekend of the NCAAs. But not this time. You could make the case this game will be bigger than any matchup this year in the Sweet 16. And within the state of Kansas, it amounts to one of the biggest games ever.

You can't ask for a better backdrop and more enticing dramatics than this. Self vs. Gregg Marshall. One modern coaching legend going up against another who's pretty much one more deep tournament run away from being the same. And Marshall would clearly hit legend status forever if his Shockers knock off No. 2 Kansas on Sunday in Omaha.

"

No game today will have more intrigue than this one. A place in the Sweet 16 isn't the only thing up for grabs. Wichita State will be playing for a place at the table reserved the established elite in college basketball, while a win for Kansas would allow the Jayhawks the final word in any sort of discussion as to why the two schools don't meet more often.

This is the one third-round game college basketball fans can't miss.

No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Dayton

Last year, the Dayton Flyers were one of the stories of the NCAA tournament. They made the Elite Eight for the third time in school history, and the school president himself partook in the celebrations as the team made its impressive run.

Presently, Dayton is arguably the last mid-major left capable of creating the same kind of magic. Sure, it would be interesting to see Northern Iowa or Gonzaga go deep, but the Panthers are a No. 5 seed and the Bulldogs a No. 2.

The Flyers needed the play-in game just to get into the tournament.

Of course, it would only be fair to note that Dayton played Boise State inside its own arena and then upset Providence in Columbus, which is a tad over an hour away from the Flyers' campus, depending on the kind of traffic you run into on Interstate 70.

That kind of home cooking has led to some claiming that Dayton is receiving an unfair advantage:

"We'll approach this just like we would any road game," said Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger, per George Schroeder of USA Today. "We're not concerning ourselves with whether it's fair or not. That's not an issue. The issue is we're playing a very good team."

As if playing in Columbus isn't enough of a hurdle, Oklahoma will have to contend with a team that ranks 23rd in adjusted defense, according to KenPom.com. Dayton held the Friars to 20-of-59 shooting in the second round, so you can't chalk up the Flyers' victory all to home-court advantage.

Dayton will be a tricky opponent for Oklahoma, especially given the Sooners' inability to deliver the knockout blow to Albany on Friday. If OU runs into the same problems today, it could be heading home earlier than expected.