NCAA Bracket 2015: Picks and Updated Odds Ahead of Thursday's Sweet 16 Schedule

The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is the all-you-can-eat salad bar of the Big Dance. There are seemingly nonstop options from Thursday through Sunday and some tasty surprises along the way (read: upsets), but the meat of the tournament comes in the Sweet 16 and beyond.

After all, this is when the powerhouses begin to play each other and the games delve into more quality over quantity.

Here is a look at the odds and predictions for each of those Sweet 16 games and some under-the-radar contests to watch.

Bracket

Sweet 16 Predictions and Odds (via Odds Shark, as of Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET)

Matchup	Odds	Predicted Winner
Wichita State vs. Notre Dame	Wichita State -2	Wichita State
North Carolina vs. Wisconsin	Wisconsin -6.5	Wisconsin
West Virginia vs. Kentucky	Kentucky -13.5	Kentucky
Xavier vs. Arizona	Arizona -10.5	Arizona
UCLA vs. Gonzaga	Gonzaga -8.5	Gonzaga
North Carolina State vs. Louisville	Louisville -3	North Carolina State
Utah vs. Duke	Duke -5.5	Duke
Michigan State vs. Oklahoma	Michigan State -2	Michigan State

Under-the-Radar Sweet 16 Games to Watch

Arizona vs. Xavier

Is there anyone outside of Xavier fans who possibly thinks the Musketeers could take home the national championship? Doesn’t that make Xavier a particularly dangerous underdog, even if Arizona is a heavy favorite?

Xavier is a consistent winner, but there is still an air of underdog status surrounding it because it is yet to reach a Final Four in program history. It is also overshadowed by marquee programs still remaining in this tournament such as Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina.

There is so much focus on the potential showdown between Wisconsin and Arizona in the Elite Eight for the right to play Kentucky that Arizona has to avoid overlooking this matchup with the Musketeers.

Uncredited/Associated Press

One person who likely won’t overlook Xavier is Arizona coach Sean Miller. That is because Miller coached at Xavier before taking the Arizona job and actually had current Xavier coach Chris Mack as his top assistant for five years. Mack discussed the coaching matchup, via Shannon Russell of Cincinnati.com:

"

The fact is that it's hard to play against someone who gave me such an opportunity. We spent so much time in the trenches and he trusted me so much as an assistant coach. I enjoyed my time with him.

It's going to be really odd to see how old his kids are and it's going to be really odd for him to see how old my kids are.

"

Xavier will certainly be motivated to knock off its former coach, but there is more than just pure motivation on its side. The big-man tandem of Matt Stainbrook and Jalen Reynolds dominated in Jacksonville during the rounds of 64 and 32 and will present a difficult matchup for the likes of Kaleb Tarczewski and company down low. 

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports praised Stainbrook for his vintage performance against Ole Miss in the round of 64, and Xavier passed along a quote from Reynolds after he turned in 21 points and six rebounds against Georgia State in the next round:

The Wildcats finished 15th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game and typically control the boards against almost any opponent, but that will be difficult against Stainbrook and Reynolds.

What will ultimately make the difference in this one for Arizona, though, is the sheer amount of weapons it has at its disposal to go along with a lockdown defense. The Wildcats can turn to Tarczewski, Stanley Johnson, Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Gabe York or T.J. McConnell at any point in the game and will overwhelm Xavier with its superior talent. 

Throw in the home-court advantage the Wildcats will enjoy in Los Angeles and their No. 3-rated defense in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted rankings, and Arizona is the choice. It just cannot overlook the Musketeers.

Michigan State vs. Oklahoma

Michigan State has received plenty of attention during this tournament because of how it always seems to come together in March. That is a credit to Tom Izzo and the team’s physical style of play, and it was clearly the better squad on the court during the victory over Virginia.

Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com suggested as much:

"

How does Tom Izzo do it? Of all the teams he has coached in recent years, this is the one that seemed like a one-and-done for most of the season. But Michigan State has been on a crazy run since early March, and that run has continued in the NCAA tournament because of that typical Spartan grit. They held Georgia to a 33.3 percent mark from the field in a second-round win. On Sunday, Michigan State held Virginia under 30 percent shooting and 2-for-17 from the 3-point line in a surprising win over a Cavaliers squad that could have been a top seed.

"

The Spartans are suddenly a popular Final Four pick, especially since Virginia and Villanova are no longer part of the East Region.

However, with all of the attention and props being directed toward the Spartans, it is easy to overlook Oklahoma as their Sweet 16 matchup. The Sooners finished with 12 wins in the daunting Big 12, including victories over Kansas, Iowa State and West Virginia, among others, and will challenge the favored Spartans.

Oklahoma’s victory over Dayton may not seem that impressive because the Flyers were a No. 11 seed, but that game was in Columbus in front of a partial crowd. The Sooners overcame the atmosphere and a red-hot Dayton team and are now the best remaining seed in the East Region, regardless of what the point spread may say for this particular game.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

What's more, the Sooners won their first two games in this tournament with leading scorer Buddy Hield only shooting a combined 34.4 percent from the field. If he gets his touch back moving forward, this can be a potent opponent for anyone.

Michigan State may be dangerous and the team that is receiving all the love in the East right now, but Oklahoma has proven itself throughout the year. Don’t be surprised if it does so one more time in the Sweet 16.

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