Final Four 2015 Predictions: Ranking Potential Championship Matchups

After the way the first full day of the 2015 NCAA tournament started, it's hard to believe we ended up with three No. 1 seeds reaching the Final Four in Indianapolis. But with Duke, Kentucky and Wisconsin making it there, along with perennial power Michigan State, we've been blessed with one of the most star-studded quartets ever.

And we're not just talking about the teams and their players. Just the coaching resumes—combined they have six national titles and 27 Final Fours—alone are enough to salivate at this weekend's semifinals and whatever pairing we get in Monday's national championship game.

But which title matchups would be better than others?

Click through as we rank the possible championship game pairings, taking into consideration what type of a game it would be as well as what kind of mass appeal (read: ratings) it would draw.

4. Kentucky vs. Michigan State

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Last meeting: Michigan State beat Kentucky, 78-74, in Champions Classic on Nov. 12, 2013

If Kentucky and Michigan State were to meet in the championship game, it would pit the NCAA tournament's top overall seed against the worst remaining seed in the field. While that might make for a great Cinderella story, it also probably means the title match will be a letdown compared to the Final Four and other rounds.

While Michigan State has been playing out of its mind since the second week of March, when it reached the Big Ten final and nearly knocked off Wisconsin, the Spartans have made their run against a slew of teams against which they match up decently. That wouldn't be the case with Kentucky, which is just too big inside for them to contend with.

Kentucky making the final will add intrigue to any pairing, because of its pursuit of perfection, but after getting pushed to the limit by Notre Dame in the Elite Eight and likely facing a tough battle against Wisconsin in the national semifinals, this championship has the potential to be even more lopsided than MSU's last trip to the final. That was in 2009, when it lost by 17 to North Carolina.

3. Duke vs. Wisconsin

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Last meeting: Duke won at Wisconsin, 80-70, on Dec. 3

One of two potential rematches from games played earlier this season, a Duke-Wisconsin final would give us another chance to see Frank Kaminsky and Jahlil Okafor square off before they both head to the NBA. The first time around was a good one, but was overshadowed by the breakout games of each team's point guards.

Duke's 10-point win in Madison in December, as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, saw Blue Devils freshman Tyus Jones score 22 points with six rebounds and four assists while Wisconsin senior Traevon Jackson went for 25 points. Kaminsky had 17 points and nine boards, but only made 5-of-12 shots, while Okafor was 6-of-8 for 13 points.

The visiting Blue Devils shot an astounding 65.2 percent, shades of the kind of accuracy that Wisconsin used against Arizona in Saturday's Elite Eight, and the Badgers made only 40.7 percent of their shots against a Duke team that wasn't known much for defense at that time.

Duke's defense has become much better since then, while Wisconsin has turned into an offensive juggernaut in March.

2. Michigan State vs. Wisconsin

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Last meeting: Wisconsin beat Michigan State, 80-69, in Big Ten tournament championship on March 15

Indianapolis is Big Ten country, so it would be somewhat fitting to have the first title game pitting conference rivals since 1988 to feature two schools from that league.

A Michigan State-Wisconsin final would also provide further vindication for a league that saw its reputation sullied by a poor showing during nonconference play, something MSU contributed to by losing at home to Texas Southern in December.

"Sure, we'd like to have an all-Big Ten final," MSU coach Tom Izzo told The Associated Press. "That would be awesome for both of us."

MSU and Wisconsin have met twice this year, with both meetings coming in March. The Badgers won each, clinching a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with a 68-61 home win on March 1 and then claiming the conference tournament championship with an overtime victory against the Spartans two weeks later in Chicago.

The score with the narrower final margin was actually the less competitive of the two, as Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky dominated in his final home game with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The second time around, MSU led by as many as 11 in the second half before the Badgers rallied to force OT and then shut out the Spartans in the extra session.

Beating a team three times in one season is among the most difficult challenges in college basketball, and with MSU playing its best over the past month the third time could be the charm.

The last conference foes to square off for an NCAA title were Kansas and Oklahoma, from the old Big 8, with Kansas earning an 83-79 victory.

1. Duke vs. Kentucky

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Last meeting: Duke beat Kentucky, 75-68, in Champions Classic on Nov. 13, 2012

When the NCAA tournament field was unveiled on March 15, the bracket was set up so that Duke was in one corner and Kentucky on the opposite side.

This is just like a heavyweight fight, which is how a potential game between the Blue Devils and Wildcats has been billed since the first month of the 2014-15 season, when it was clear they were the two most talented teams in the country.

"Every season there is an anticipated matchup but might not occur in April," ESPN's Andy Katz tweeted on Dec. 4. "A month in it appears to be Kentucky-Duke."

Katz made that comment the morning after Duke ran over Wisconsin on the road and the day before Kentucky would solidly beat an unbeaten Texas team by 12 to drop its average margin of victory to only 31.4 points per game.

Duke suffered a few blemishes since then, most notably a two-game skid at the hands of Miami (Florida) and North Carolina State in mid-January, but that losing streak doesn't look as bad now that Miami reached the NIT title game and NC State was a Sweet 16 qualifier.

Kentucky, meanwhile, has remained almost as dominant, though it has had some close calls along the way including Saturday's thriller against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.

With the chance to become the first unbeaten national champion since Indiana in 1976, not to mention the first to win 40 games in a season, the achievement would be even more noteworthy if it required beating the second-best team in the country. A Duke-Kentucky final would give us a 1-vs.-2 championship, eliminating any debate about who was deserving of the title.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.