Final Four 2015 Schedule: TV Info and NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdown

Scott PolacekApr 2, 2015

Hyperbole is a natural part of the sports world, especially when it comes to the NCAA tournament every March, but you would be hard-pressed to script a better Final Four than the 2015 edition.

Between the legendary coaches, the blue-blood programs (three of which are No. 1 seeds) and the future NBA lottery picks all over the floor, excellence will truly be on display in Indianapolis Saturday.

What’s more, there is an underdog story in Michigan State—even if the underdog story is led by one of the greatest coaches of all time who has made a habit of crashing Final Four parties—and a dominant force in Kentucky.

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Here is a look at some of the essential information for this highly anticipated Final Four as well as a couple of predictions and breakdowns for the two games.

Matchup	Date	Time	TV
Duke vs. Michigan State	Saturday, April 4	6:09 p.m. ET	TBS
Wisconsin vs. Kentucky	Saturday, April 4	8:49 p.m. ET	TBS

Duke vs. Michigan State

Duke was supposed to be here. In fact, there has been talk about a potential showdown between Duke and Kentucky in the national championship game since November, when the season began and it was clear the Blue Devils and Wildcats would be special.

Michigan State, on the other hand, was flirting with the bubble for part of this season and even lost a stunner to Texas Southern in December. It is a testament to Tom Izzo’s greatness and his ability to get the most out of his teams when everything is on the line in March that the Spartans are still playing.

This is Izzo’s seventh Final Four, which is more than all but 10 programs in the country have in their entire history. Izzo’s opponent, Mike Krzyzewski, just so happens to have 12 Final Fours, which is more than all but five programs have in their history.

These two teams played each other back in November in a game that Duke won by 10, but both teams would tell you they are completely different this time around. Michigan State’s growth from a bubble team to a Final Four participant is clear, while Duke is much more well-rounded on both sides of the ball.

Suddenly, the Blue Devils are playing defense, and they are doing it about as well as anyone in the country.

Nell Redmond/Associated Press

They are yet to allow more than 57 points in a tournament game, which is a far cry from the team that simply tried to outscore its opponents and looked disinterested on defense earlier in the year. ESPN commentator Jay Bilas described the defensive progression on Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio (via Kevin Ryan of 247Sports):

"
It's been a progression for Duke. Early on this season they might have because their communication wasn't great, their help wasn't great - they're so young. There were times when if they went through a scoring drought or they started missing some shots it affected their defense. That isn't happening anymore.
"

That is a scary notion for Michigan State because Duke is still No. 3 in the country in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted offensive efficiency rankings behind Jahlil Okafor, a resurgent Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook. Any one of them can fill it up at any time, and Winslow in particular has been excellent this tournament as a matchup nightmare at forward.

An overlooked aspect of that offense is its ability to take care of the ball, as CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein noted:

Michigan State can counter with Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine on offense and the uber-athletic Branden Dawson on the boards, but it won’t have enough playmakers to keep up with the Blue Devils for 40 minutes.

Nick Lisi/Associated Press

Yes, the Spartans have also played much better defense in March than they did earlier in the season, but this Duke team is simply loaded with weapons and can now stop teams itself. That combination could beat anyone in the country.

Prediction: Duke 73, Michigan State 66

Kentucky vs. Wisconsin

This is the matchup college basketball deserves.

Kentucky and Wisconsin battled in last year’s Final Four in what was arguably the best game of the 2014 NCAA tournament. Aaron Harrison drilled a cold-blooded three-pointer from approximately three states away, and the Wildcats emerged with a one-point victory. If Saturday’s game is even half as entertaining, it will be appointment viewing.

The thing that is so enticing about this showdown is so many commentators view Wisconsin as the one team that could realistically knock off Kentucky, although Notre Dame gave it an impressive try in the Elite Eight.

The Badgers typically feature five players on the floor at once who can all shoot from three-point range or handle the ball and attack the rim. In theory, that will help them spread the floor and force the giants in Kentucky blue like Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson and Trey Lyles to move around on defense, which will open up lanes to the rim and offensive rebounding opportunities.

That is what Notre Dame did for most of the game against the Wildcats.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Rarely does the opponent have the best player on the floor against Kentucky, but Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky was arguably the top player in all of college basketball this season. He and Sam Dekker, who put on an absolute show against Arizona in the Elite Eight, make up quite a duo that will challenge the Wildcats’ stifling defense.

Ultimately, the pick here is Kentucky, although that is not related to anything Wisconsin can’t do on the floor. The Badgers are loaded with talent and potential mismatches at almost every position and have plenty of size of their own with Kaminsky, Dekker and Nigel Hayes.

Still, the Wildcats have a historically dominant team that is two victories away from becoming the first in the sport’s history to finish 40-0. There are future NBA players on coach John Calipari’s bench, and the argument can be made that if the Wildcats survived the scare Notre Dame gave them, they can survive any challenge.