NCAA Tournament Schedule 2015: Updated Bracket, Sweet 16 Games to Watch

Through all the buzzer-beaters, upsets and pure excitement of the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament, one important truth stands out—only 16 teams still have a chance at their one shining moment.

There is plenty of ACC flavor in the Sweet 16, one less No. 1 seed than we started with and a number of intriguing games to watch in the upcoming round.

With that in mind, here is a look at an updated bracket and some of the most exciting Sweet 16 showdowns on the horizon.

Midwest Region: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 5 West Virginia

The same question that we began the season with still remains with two weekends remaining—will anyone beat Kentucky?

While West Virginia may not be the logical choice as the team to do the unthinkable as a No. 5 seed, there are a number of different aspects about the way it plays that makes this a potentially dangerous contest for the unblemished Wildcats.

For one, the Mountaineers bring plenty of physicality to the table, which is why they led the nation in offensive rebounds per game. Few teams in the entire country can theoretically compete with Kentucky on the boards given the overwhelming size the Wildcats bring at basically every position, but West Virginia likely plans on pounding the glass.

Devin Williams will not back down against Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein or Trey Lyles.

West Virginia will also look to push the tempo with its full-court press and take Kentucky out of its comfort zone. Per Ken Pomeroy, the Wildcats are 223rd in the nation in adjusted tempo, while the Mountaineers are 29th.

Maryland turned the ball over an astounding 23 times in its round-of-32 loss to West Virginia thanks to the Mountaineers’ relentless on-ball pressure. If West Virginia can apply that same type of defense Thursday against Kentucky’s guards and force some turnovers, it can stay in the game and challenge the Wildcats in the final minutes. 

Then there is also this, via Jordan Brenner of ESPN The Magazine:

Buckle up.

West Region: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 North Carolina

The matchup college basketball fans everywhere are anticipating in the West Region is the potential Elite Eight showdown between Wisconsin and Arizona. However, an appetizer of the No. 1 seed Badgers against one of the best programs in college basketball history works as well. 

North Carolina needs to find a way to deal with big man Frank Kaminsky, and that could be an issue given this update (or lack of an update) from Russ Owens of WCNC in Charlotte:

"

no update yet on #UNC forward and Charlotte native Kennedy Meeks, head coach Roy Williams still called it a knee sprain today

— Russ Owens (@RussOwensTV) March 23, 2015"

Kennedy Meeks isn’t exactly built to chase Kaminsky around the perimeter, but the Tar Heels need him to control the glass alongside Brice Johnson and J.P. Tokoto. They finished second in the nation in total rebounds per game, and their best offensive play is often throwing up an outside shot and attacking the offensive boards if it doesn’t go in. 

Outside of the matchup between Kaminsky and North Carolina’s bigs, this game is also interesting because of the clash of styles. Wisconsin slows the tempo down more than any team remaining in this tournament (346th in Pomeroy’s tempo rankings), while the Tar Heels love to get out in the open floor and run (12th in Pomeroy’s tempo rankings).

Whichever team controls the tempo will control the game and ultimately come away with the victory.

Don’t be fooled by the tempo alone, though. The Badgers were first in Pomeroy’s offensive efficiency rankings and bring a ruthlessly effective offense to the table because everyone on the floor can shoot threes and create their own shot as the shot clock is winding down. Throw that on top of the experience factor (most of Wisconsin’s main contributors made the Final Four last year), and the Tar Heels have their work cut out for them.

Arizona will likely be awaiting the winner.

South Region: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah

Whether you believe Duke can beat Kentucky or not, the fact is this is one of the few teams that could theoretically challenge the Wildcats.

After all, how many other opponents could arguably have the best overall player (Jahlil Okafor), the best overall defender (Justise Winslow) and the best overall coach (Mike Krzyzewski) on the floor when they line up against the Wildcats?

The Blue Devils have to get past an underrated Utah squad first that didn’t land on many national radars this year because it played out West.

The Utes finished in second place in the Pac-12, beat Wichita State during the season and have one of the most unheralded superstars in the nation in Delon Wright. Wright averaged 14.7 points, 5.2 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game this season and shot an impressive 51.8 percent from the field.

Nell Redmond/Associated Press

His ability to penetrate a Duke defense that has proven vulnerable at times represents Utah’s best chance at pulling off a tournament-altering upset.

The bad news for the Utes is this Blue Devils team appears to be getting better if Krzyzewski’s comments are any indication, via Richard Walker of The Gaston Gazette:

"

It’s a very complementary group of guys. You have, I think, the best low post scorer in the country in Jah, we have good shooters and we have guys who can drive.

… and we’ve been a good defensive team most of the year and we just had a couple games where we weren’t good, but overall we’ve been a very good defensive team and we were really good here for these two games. 

"

That could be a problem for Utah and the rest of the remaining field in the tournament.

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