Final Four 2015: TV Schedule, Bracket and Predictions for NCAA Semifinals

The teams that make up this weekend's Final Four in Indianapolis are anomalous. It had been more than a half-decade since two No. 1 seeds won their region, let alone three. The last No. 7 seed (Connecticut, last year) that made the final weekend won it all, but only one other team in tournament history, the 1984 Virginia Cavaliers, has advanced to the Final Four as the No. 7 seed.

So, in a way, all four teams enter Lucas Oil Stadium with a chance to make history.

For Kentucky, the implications are obvious. Going 40-0 in today's environment wouldn't just put the Wildcats among college basketball's greatest teams of all time—it'd make them the no-questions-asked GOAT. We can sit here and argue about talent levels from No. 1 through No. 12, but what John Calipari and Co. are attempting to pull off is the hardest feat in college basketball history.

The well of talent is deeper now than ever, and the sheer number of games makes it an exponentially more difficult task. Kentucky will play eight more games than Indiana's 1976 squad and North Carolina's 1957 unit, 10 more than any of the UCLA teams and 11 more than San Francisco in 1956. Couple that with the expanded tournament, and the argument against Kentucky seems more petty than reality-based.

Elsewhere, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan is trying to win his first national championship. Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo are arguably going head-to-head in a battle for all-time tournament supremacy. Come hell or high water, this national championship will etch its way into the history books.

Let's take a look at the Final Four matchups and figure out which teams will play Monday night.

Michigan State vs. Duke

Game Time: 6:09 p.m. ET

TV: TBS

It's pretty easy to break this game down into digestible contrasts. Izzo vs. Krzyzewski. Youth vs. Experience. Season-Long Front-Runners vs. That Team That Lost to Texas Southern.

Any objective analysis also comes with acknowledgement that Michigan State is by far the worst team in this Final Four. The Spartans were a bit under-seeded with a No. 7 and battled through the toughest trek of any remaining team, but they're still not on the same talent level. Every other remaining team has at least two players who would instantly become Michigan State's foundational star.

All of this speaks to the brilliant job Izzo has done to get the Spartans peaking at the right time. Denzel Valentine's done enough over the last month to make me a legitimate believer in his NBA talent. Travis Trice, after being so frustratingly inconsistent all season, has found his groove from beyond the arc at a perfect time. Branden Dawson continues to do funky things that make me totally forget he's 6'6".

“Do I think they might be a little more talented?” Izzo said, per Ashley Dunkak of CBS Detroit. “Yes, but this team right now has something that you die for in sports–some confidence…just an energy about them. Our practice yesterday might have been as good as we’ve had. It’s almost like we’re getting better still at the end of the year, and I don’t think there’s many teams that happens to."

Uncredited/Associated Press

Izzo will have to hope his team's ascent is enough to overcome the talent discrepancy that was apparent the first time these teams played. Four Duke starters scored in double figures, led by 19 points from Quinn Cook, in the Blue Devils' 81-71 victory. Jahlil Okafor dominated inside for 17 points and five rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting.

The team Krzyzewski brings to Indianapolis has also undergone a growth spurt. Though a little thinner after the dismissal of Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke has stayed in rhythm all season long and has shown a surprising defensive commitment this month. As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, the Blue Devils are second in defensive rating for the tournament after barely cracking the top 100 during the regular season.

"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," Jay Bilas said on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike program, per Kevin Ryan of 247Sports. "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 defensive improvement is enough to make me stick with the favorites here. Duke can score with anyone; that's been apparent all season long. Now that Coach K has the team coalescing on the defensive end, it's hard to go in the other direction.

Score Prediction: Duke 68, Michigan State 62

Wisconsin vs. Kentucky

Game Time: 8:49 p.m. ET

TV: TBS

Can the Badgers do it? That's really the only question that matters here. We've got the nation's most efficient offense taking on the nation's most efficient defense, all amid a battle of two wildly different philosophies.

Bo Ryan's built his program on a style that alienates many, flummoxes all and creates superstars out of players who stick around. Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker have continued affirming their first-round statuses over the last couple weeks, with the latter in particular doing a ton to help his stock. It's possible a national championship run foists both Wisconsin stars into serious lottery consideration—a sentence that seems almost blasphemous when talking about Badgers basketball.

"When Sam Dekker does what he did,” Arizona coach Sean Miller told reporters, “and I think some of the shots were very well defended…when he does that with Kaminsky, maybe Kentucky is that school that can beat them. But I'm telling you, I don't know if there is another one out there when they're clicking with that one-two punch.”

Kentucky doesn't have a one-two punch. It has a one-two-three-four-five punch. And then it brings in another of the same. The Wildcats have depth and talent at every position, to a point we have not seen for at least a couple of decades. All-Americans adorn the roster, and Calipari's team is gifted with an almost unfair amount of length.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles are all 6'10" and above with freakish wingspans. When Calipari goes with the Harrisons at the two guard spots, there is often no player on the floor who is listed at less than 6'6".

“They have such a big frontline, and they have so much depth that you never know what's going to happen,” Kaminsky said, per Larry Vaught of The Messenger Advocate. “I feel like they didn't play as many people last year as they do this year so we will see how it's different. I'll just do whatever I have to do, whether it's double teams, one‑on‑one's, whoever is guarding me, I will be ready for whatever.”

Kaminsky may be ready, and so too may be Dekker. I just have no faith in any team taking down Kentucky. Notre Dame may have shown the Wildcats are vulnerable, but we already knew that. Every team in the NCAA tournament is vulnerable, and Wisconsin's mix of three-point shooting, slow-down tactics and veteran leadership could give Kentucky trouble. 

Anyone who says they truly believe that will result in an upset, though, is doing so just to tell everyone they told you so on the off chance it happens.

Score Prediction: Kentucky 69, Wisconsin 61

 

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