NCAA Tournament 2015: Power Ranking the Elite Eight Teams

It feels like just yesterday we were waiting for the release of the 2015 NCAA tournament bracket with bated breath, yet we're already down to the Elite Eight and trying to figure out whether any of these remaining teams truly deserves to be put in last place in our latest power rankings.

Last year, we had a No. 7, No. 8 and No. 11 seed still standing at this stage in the game, so it's hard to believe that a No. 4 seed (Louisville) is arguably the "worst" team left dancing this year. But that's a testament to how great each of the final seven games ought to be.

Spoiler Alert: Kentucky is No. 1. Yes, a surprising revelation about the team that has been No. 1 in every power ranking known to man since before the season began. But if you were worried about the Wildcats after a tough round-of-32 game against Cincinnati, they erased all doubts with the complete dismantling of West Virginia in the Sweet 16.

Read on to find out where the other six teams rank in between the blue bloods from the Bluegrass State.

8. Louisville Cardinals

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How They've Looked

Louisville has now been to the Elite Eight in five of eight tournaments, but the Cardinals are the most surprising team left in the Big Dance. Most left them for dead when Chris Jones was dismissed from the team in late February, but they have been able to last this long thanks to quality defense and timely buckets from guys like Quentin Snider and Wayne Blackshear.

Bread and Butter

Defense, defense and more defense. The Cardinals don't force turnovers like they have in years past (or even months past), but not a single thing comes easily for the opposition against Rick Pitino's squad.

Achilles' Heel

The Cardinals shot 45.5 percent from three-point range against Northern Iowa, but that is far from their norm. The 3-of-12 night against NC State was more in line with what to expect going forward. Blackshear is the most accurate long-range shooter on the team, and he's making a whopping 32.0 percent of his triples.

MVP

Terry Rozier is the captain of this ship. Montrezl Harrell gets the monster dunks and the national press, but Rozier does everything for this team, leading the Cardinals in points, assists and steals.

Championship Blueprint

Keep Snider hot. The offense was inefficient before losing Jones, and it was especially poor over the final few games of the season without him. But Snider has rapidly evolved into a big piece of the Louisville puzzle in relief of Jones. He has 40 points and 12 rebounds through three tournament games.

7. Michigan State Spartans

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How They've Looked

Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine were incredible against Oklahoma, combining for 42 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with just one turnover and one foul. It's not quite what Connecticut had last year in Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright, but this year's No. 7 seed from the East Region has quite the dynamic duo. Trice is averaging 20.7 points per game in the tournament.

Bread and Butter

Michigan State had only nine assists on 22 made field goals against Oklahoma on Friday night, but the Spartans are usually much more reliant on their ball movement. On the season, they have recorded an assist on 63.8 percent of made field goals. The next-best ratio among remaining teams is Gonzaga at 57.5 percent.

Achilles' Heel

In most seasons, the Spartans are pretty strong from the free-throw line, but that has been a major struggle for them this year. At 62.8 percent as a team, they're worse than all other teams that made the tournament. They missed seven of their first 10 free throws against the Sooners but calmly sank six in a row to put the game on ice.

MVP

Trice is the best scorer, but Valentine is the most important one. He is such a matchup nightmare for opposing teams. The 6'5" point-forward had 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists against Oklahoma, even though the Sooners did everything in their power to shadow him all night long.

Championship Blueprint

Guard play is great, but they need to get Branden Dawson involved too. The power forward has averaged 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over his last six contests and has the ability to completely take over a game when given the chance.

6. Gonzaga Bulldogs

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How They've Looked

For the first time in a long time, Gonzaga has looked like it belongs in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs have won their three games by an average margin of 13.7 points. Przemek Karnowski has been a monster in the paint, averaging 12.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.

Bread and Butter

The Zags don't play a ton of defense, but they are incredible on offense. Even after a brutal shooting night against UCLA, they still rank second in the nation in effective field-goal percentage. They're averaging 83.0 points per game in the month of March.

Achilles' Heel

This is uncharted territory for Mark Few and Gonzaga. The Bulldogs have never been to a Final Four, and they haven't even been to an Elite Eight since 1999. Can they finally reach the national semifinals by going through one of the most successful programs of the past 30 years?

Oh, and defense. That's really the Achilles' heel here.

MVP

Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos both classify as MVPs, but Wiltjer is the MMVP (Most Most Valuable Player). As long as he's scoring 20 points and creating matchup nightmares for the opposition, it opens up everything else this offense wants to do.

Championship Blueprint

Can the Bulldogs avoid the bad shooting nights? They had a rough one against UCLA, but fortunately so did the Bruins. If Gonzaga goes cold against a team like Duke, Michigan State or Kentucky, it'll be on a plane back to Spokane in a hurry.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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How They've Looked

Notre Dame's offense got off to a slow start against Northeastern and Butler, but the Fighting Irish were firing against Wichita State in the Sweet 16. Four players had at least 15 points, and a fifth (Jerian Grant) had 11 assists.

The defense still wasn't great—Wichita State scored 70 points in a 65-possession game despite shooting 3-of-18 from three-point range—but when they're scoring as efficiently and beautifully as they did Thursday night, the Fighting Irish have a shot against any team in the country.

Bread and Butter

The Grant and Zach Auguste pick-and-roll offense is something special to watch. It's the linchpin of this offense, and it really thrives when the four other players on the team who shoot better than 40 percent from three-point range are doing exactly that.

Achilles' Heel

For as gifted as they are on offense, the Fighting Irish could use some serious help on defense. They also aren't a good rebounding team, as exhibited by their minus-16 margin against Northeastern—a fairly average rebounding team in its own right. Even Wichita State grabbed 15 offensive rebounds against Notre Dame, and the Shockers only got four minutes out of anyone taller than 6'7".

MVP

Grant is the man for Notre Dame and one of the best and most versatile players in the entire country. Some players are only effective when they're shooting well, but Grant is such an incredible passer and a great rebounder for his size that he is able to make a significant impact every single night.

Championship Blueprint

In a nutshell, the offense needs to be good enough to make up for the defense. The Fighting Irish have the worst adjusted defensive efficiency among remaining tournament teams, but that hasn't stopped them from getting to 32 wins this season. As long as the offense is humming, Notre Dame can beat anyone, but it'll have to be really incredible to knock off Kentucky.

4. Arizona Wildcats

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How They've Looked

Where Notre Dame looked average in its first two games and unstoppable in the third, Arizona has taken the opposite route, dominating Texas Southern and Ohio State in the first weekend and barely sneaking past Xavier in the Sweet 16.

Though the offense struggled to get anything going against the Musketeers, the Wildcats stayed in the game on defense. They had more steals than turnovers and grabbed 74.2 percent of possible defensive rebounds. Despite an early knee injury that looked absolutely brutal, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson did an excellent job of shutting down Trevon Bluiett and skying for critical rebounds late in the game.

Bread and Butter

Arizona ranks in the top 20 nationally in two-point field-goal percentage on both offense and defense. The Wildcats are also among the best in the nation at defensive rebounding. These things happen when you start a 6'6" shooting guard, 6'7" small forward, 6'8" power forward and 7'0" center.

Achilles' Heel

They're shooting 87.1 percent from the free-throw line thus far in the tournament, but the charity stripe was their biggest foe during the regular season. In close losses to UNLV, Oregon State and Arizona State, Arizona missed 26 combined free throws.

MVP

This is a pretty veteran team with a senior and two juniors in the starting lineup, but it's the freshman who jump-starts everything the Wildcats do. Stanley Johnson has been so huge this year for the Wildcats, leading the team in scoring and ranking second in rebounds, assists and steals. If he keeps expanding his range just a little bit, let's just say he's built a lot like James Harden.

Championship Blueprint

Capitalize on size. In all three of their losses, the Wildcats shot worse from two-point range than their opponents. That should never happen with this roster, but it was the case in the game against Xavier, as they shot 46.9 percent inside the arc, while the Musketeers shot 55.9 percent. As long as they do a better job of controlling the paint, they can win it all.

3. Wisconsin Badgers

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How They've Looked

Traditionally renowned for its defense, Wisconsin has had trouble slowing down its opponents, allowing 1.14 points per possession through three tournament games.

Good thing the Badgers had the most efficient offense this season and have scored 1.29 points per possession thus far. It's not even fair that the Badgers have two players (Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky) averaging at least 20 points per game in the tournament.

Bread and Butter

Offensive efficiency and Wisconsin go together like peanut butter and jelly—or whatever the most popular sandwich is in the Badger State. Bo Ryan's bunch always plays efficient, turnover-free offense, and that has led to the highest adjusted offensive efficiency in the country.

In fact, with a rating of 125.8 in that category, Wisconsin has the most efficient offense in the history of KenPom.com, which dates back to the 2001-02 season. Not too shabby.

Achilles' Heel

Three-point defense has been a serious issue for the Badgers this season, and even more so in the tournament. Between their first three tournament games, opponents have shot 52.3 percent from downtown. They rank 302nd in the nation in three-point defense. The next-worst Elite Eight team is Gonzaga in 90th place.

MVP

If you're expecting anyone other than Frank the Tank in this spot, you're out of your mind. The potential Wooden Award winner has been excellent all season long and has scored at least 16 points in 12 of his last 13 games. His size and versatility leave him with no peers in the college game.

Championship Blueprint

Wisconsin basketball is a championship blueprint. The only question is whether the Badgers have enough talent and depth to go through North Carolina, Arizona, Kentucky and Duke to win a national championship. They already beat the Tar Heels, but do they have three more huge wins left in the tank?

2. Duke Blue Devils

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How They've Looked

Duke got a real fight from Utah in the Sweet 16, but it was actually kind of promising to see the Blue Devils win a game in which almost everyone struggled to shoot. It's one thing to look pretty in beating Robert Morris by shooting 63 percent from the field. It's another thing to eke out a 63-57 win against an offensively efficient team like Utah.

Bread and Butter

Duke's bread and butter is its offense, and it changes from game to game based on who's hot and what the defense is giving it. Jahlil Okafor is always a big part of the game, but sometimes it's Justise Winslow, Quinn Cook or Tyus Jones putting up big numbers. Outside of maybe Kentucky, Duke has more deadly weapons than any team in the country.

Achilles' Heel

They still struggle with imposing lead guards. Marcquise Reed and Rodney Pryor combined for 45 points for Robert Morris. Don't be surprised if Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos has a monster game against the Blue Devils.

MVP

For most of the season, it was either Okafor or Jones. You could even make a compelling case for Cook. But lately, it has been Winslow without question. In the tournament, he has averaged 13.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.7 steals per game. That's ridiculous. If Kemba Walker were a hybrid forward, those are probably the numbers he would have posted in 2011.

Championship Blueprint

As always, Duke's path to a championship comes down to not missing too many shots. The Blue Devils live by the three. The Blue Devils die by the three. The defense has improved considerably since the middle of the season, but they still need to outscore the opposition rather than out-defend it on most nights.

1. Kentucky Wildcats

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How They've Looked

I mean, they were smashing West Virginia by a 39-point margin the last time we saw them. Yes, it was West Virginia's fifth loss this season by a margin of at least 18 points, but it doesn't change the fact that the Wildcats looked completely unstoppable and impenetrable against a team that made the Sweet 16. 

Bread and Butter

Kentucky's bread and butter is being bigger and better than everyone it faces. The Wildcats have no equal, and when they play up to their full potential, it's downright scary what they're able to do.

But no, they wouldn't make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference in the NBA. Enough with that insanity.

Achilles' Heel

Defensive rebounding has occasionally been a problem for Kentucky, and it certainly was in the round of 32, as Cincinnati grabbed 21 offensive rebounds. Oftentimes, it's because the Wildcats do such an incredible job of defending that there's really no rhyme or reason to how the ball will carom off the rim after blindly being thrown at it, but they still need to do a better job of finishing off defensive possessions.

MVP

Kentucky's MVP is John Calipari for assembling and coaching an eight-man rotation full of studs that can kill you on any given night. Karl-Anthony Towns is probably Kentucky's best player, but he had one point and four fouls against West Virginia, and it didn't stop the Wildcats from opening up a can on the Mountaineers.

Championship Blueprint

Keep playing Kentucky basketball. Simple as that. The Wildcats are 37-0 for a reason.

Stats are courtesy of KenPom.com, unless noted otherwise. 

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.