Sweet 16 Bracket: Odds and Predictions for Next Round of 2014 NCAA Tournament

A little over three-fourths of the field has been eliminated from the 2015 NCAA tournament, with only 16 teams still standing.

What the round lacks in volume of games, it should make up for with drama and quality. The weaker teams have been trimmed from the pack, leaving a small handful of the best teams in the country.

And with only two rounds separating the remaining schools from the Final Four, it should be a wild Thursday and Friday.

Bracket

Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV Info	Odds	Pick
Thursday, March 26
7:15 p.m.	No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	CBS	WICH (-1)	Wichita State
7:47 p.m.	No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Wisconsin	TBS	WISC (-3.5)	Wisconsin
9:45 p.m.	No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 1 Kentucky	CBS	UK (-12.5)	Kentucky
10:17 p.m.	No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 2 Arizona	TBS	ZONA (-9)	Arizona
Friday, March 27
7:15 p.m.	No. 11 UCLA vs. No. 2 Gonzaga	CBS	GONZ (-10)	Gonzaga
7:37 p.m.	No. 8 North Carolina State vs. No. 4 Louisville	TBS	LOU (-1.5)	Louisville
9:45 p.m.	No. 5 Utah vs. No. 1 Duke	CBS	Duke (-4.5)	Duke
10:07 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Oklahoma	TBS	MICH ST (-2)	Michigan State

Surefire Predictions

Kentucky Will Cover Against West Virginia

Some are looking at Kentucky's somewhat sluggish victory over Cincinnati in the third round and seeing the proverbial chinks in the armor. Although the Wildcats defense was on show, the offense struggled all game, with the team shooting 37 percent from the field in the 64-51 win.

Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz and Adam Lefkoe explained how the Bearcats might have provided the blueprint for how to topple the unbeaten No. 1 team.

While Schultz makes convincing points, you have to wonder whether the West Virginia Mountaineers will be the team to seriously test Kentucky.

A big reason Cincinnati caused the Wildcats so many problems was that they totally take the air out of the ball and bring the pace of the game down. According to KenPom.com, Cincinnati is 340th in adjusted tempo.

Bob Huggins' team is quite the opposite. West Virginia is currently the second-fastest team among the 16 remaining, with an adjusted tempo that puts it 29th in the country. The more the Mountaineers push the ball up the floor, the more they're gambling against a Kentucky defense that's arguably the best in the country.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman wonders whether WVU also has the kind of shooting that can hurt the Wildcats:

CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie countered that the Mountaineers' sweltering press defense could give Kentucky serious problems on the offensive end:

"

Interested in Kentucky playing WVU. Press vs. Wildcats could be interesting. Haven’t faced it a ton, #s aren’t great when they have.

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 23, 2015"

You shouldn't expect this to be a blowout from start to finish. Vecenie brings up a good point, and as great as the Wildcats are defensively, their offense can be a bit of an anchor for the rest of the team.

However, Kentucky's specialty is letting teams hang around before ultimately grounding its opponent into submission. The Wildcats should be able to keep a nice six- or seven-point buffer between themselves and the Mountaineers. Once the game gets into the final 10 minutes, that lead should swell into double figures.

Don't be surprised if Kentucky takes it by 13 or 14 in the end.

Kyle Wiltjer Will Take Gonzaga to Places Adam Morrison Couldn't

Back in 2006, a nation wept with Adam Morrison as the Gonzaga Bulldogs fell short of the Elite Eight, losing to the UCLA Bruins 73-71 in the Sweet 16. It was a heartbreaking defeat, made all the more memorable by Gus Johnson's famous call.

As CBS Sports' Matt Norlander highlighted, the image of Morrison crying in the middle of the court will be burned into the retinas of college basketball fans across the country:

Now, the Zags have a chance for redemption. They get the Bruins in the Sweet 16, with arguably Mark Few's best collection of talent since that 2005-06 team. In Kyle Wiltjer, Few also has his best player since Morrison headed to the NBA.

Wiltjer hasn't disappointed in the tournament so far, scoring 47 combined points in Gonzaga's wins over Iowa and North Dakota State. He has also missed a combined six of his 24 field-goal attempts.

The junior forward was particularly lethal against the Hawkeyes, going 10-of-12, which included making his first six shots, per ESPN Stats & Info:

"When you get on a roll and my teammates do such a good job of finding me, you just get more and more confident," said Wiltjer after the game, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "That's what I was doing in the first half."

Wiltjer and the Zags take on a somewhat charmed Bruins team. Some might argue that UCLA was lucky just to get into the field of 64, skipping out on the play-in games. The Bruins also needed a bit of luck to beat SMU—a game-winning goaltending call, albeit the correct call. They also avoided playing Iowa State in the third round.

UCLA's luck will run out against a hot-shooting Wiltjer and a Bulldogs team high on confidence and eyeing the school's first trip to the Elite Eight under Few.

Note: Sweet 16 odds are courtesy of Odds Shark.