March Madness 2015: Updated Bracket and Predictions for Sunday's Action

With the 2015 NCAA tournament becoming more and more exclusive as dreams are crushed left and right, each game is becoming more and more of a must-watch affair.

Sweet 16 tickets started to be punched Saturday with eight teams advancing to the regional semifinals, but the full list of teams to make it to next weekend won't be decided until Sunday's slate. With only one double-digit seed among the 16 teams playing, high-quality action is guaranteed along with the typical high stakes.

Let's take a look at the updated bracket, as well as a closer look at the matchups for Sunday.

Bracket

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Prediction
No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 7 Michigan State	12:10 p.m.	CBS	Virginia
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 8 San Diego State	2:40 p.m.	CBS	Duke
No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 7 Wichita State	5:15 p.m.	CBS	Wichita State
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Dayton	6:10 p.m.	TNT	Oklahoma
No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 7 Iowa	7:10 p.m.	TBS	Gonzaga
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Oregon	7:45 p.m.	truTV	Wisconsin
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 5 West Virginia	8:40 p.m.	TNT	Maryland
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 5 Northern Iowa	9:40 p.m.	TBS	Northern Iowa

Matchup to Watch: No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 7 Michigan State

OK, all of the matchups on Sunday's slate are of the must-watch variety. But in the event that you can only catch one, make it Virginia's meeting with Michigan State for a spot in the Sweet 16.

This isn't your normal Spartans team under head coach Tom Izzo, and I don't mean that in a good way. Getting into the Big Dance as a No. 7 seed is unfamiliar territory for Michigan State, but he's not backing down from believing in his team. 

As Izzo told his squad in the locker room after beating Georgia in the second round, per NCAA.com, he's "trying to win it all." 

In order to do so, his Spartans will have to go through a Virginia Cavaliers team that has looked more the part of a No. 1 seed than anything else during the regular season. Two late-season losses spurned UVA's chances for that, but it is as dangerous as any No. 2 seed following a win over No. 15 Belmont to open tournament play.

Of course, it's hard for everyone else to avoid looking ahead in the bracket. That's just what No. 8 N.C. State's upset over top-seeded Villanova did, as it opened up the East Region for whoever wins Sunday's game, as John Gasaway of ESPN noted at the time:

It's also hard for anyone analyzing this matchup to discount the meeting between these two last postseason—a win for Michigan State in the Sweet 16. But that was a very different Spartans team, and one that had everything flow through dominant big man Adreian Payne—who is now in the NBA.

That win ended the hopes of Virginia's national championship aspirations as a No. 1 seed, and the Cavaliers aren't planning on allowing history to repeat itself, as per Jerry Ratcliffe of DailyProgress.com:

“We were actually excited when we saw them on our side of the bracket,” Virginia senior Darion Atkins said. “OK, we’ve got another shot at proving to [the Spartans] and Tom Izzo that we’re a good team, we’re an elite team, and we can play against the best.”

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Making the Sweet 16 can lessen the blow of a tournament loss for most teams that make it that far, but not Virginia—not a team that had Final Four expectations last season, and again this postseason. And with the Cavaliers a bigger, better team while the Spartans have regressed over the last year-plus, history shouldn't expect to be repeated.

Izzo's teams typically outwork their opponents on the glass and flex their defensive muscle, but that will be easier said than done against a Virginia team that ranks second in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Ken Pomeroy. The Cavaliers have the shooting to thwart the Spartans defense and pull in front before riding their own defense to victory.

Prediction: Virginia 63, Michigan State 55