NCAA Bracket 2019: March Madness Schedule, Bracket Predictions for Marquee Teams

Check the calendar, folks.

We're more than a week into March and barely a week away from Selection Sunday. It's almost Sharpie time in the college basketball world, with less than two weeks separating us from actual 2019 NCAA Tournament games.

This time of year feels fantastic. No bubbles have burst yet, and no brackets have been busted. Optimism reigns supreme, both for the teams vying for a seat at the table and the prognosticators positive this will be the year in which they complete the first perfect bracket.

We won't rain on anyone's parade just yet, but after laying out the upcoming tournament schedule, we will take a realistic look at the bracket predictions for three of college basketball's marquee teams.

March Madness 2019 Schedule

Selection Sunday: March 17

First Four: March 19, 20

First Round: March 21, 22

Second Round: March 23, 24

Sweet 16: March 28, 29

Elite 8: March 30, 31

Final Four: April 6

National Championship: April 8

Duke Holds Onto No. 1 Seed

While the Blue Devils have posted a brilliant 26-4 record, they've also displayed a hint of vulnerability without the injured Zion Williamson.

Of course, that's to be expected when you're talking about a consensus No. 1 NBA draft pick. But still, a relatively rocky close to the campaign combined with Williamson's ongoing absence could potentially put Duke's top seed in jeopardy.

It shouldn't, though.

No one can match the ceiling of the full-strength Blue Devils. Before Williamson went down a minute into their Feb. 20 loss to their rival North Carolina Tar Heels, they'd compiled a blistering 23-2 records. The lone blemishes were a two-point loss to Gonzaga in November at the Maui Invitational and a four-point, overtime loss to Syracuse in mid-January.

If the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman holds true, Duke would be supplying the first (Williamson), second (RJ Barrett), fifth (Cam Reddish) and 24th (Tre Jones) selections in the upcoming draft. Good luck to all the teams trying to handle that much top-level talent.

Kentucky Lands Second Seed

This is not exactly the typical John Calipari-coached team. To wit, Wasserman's aforementioned mock doesn't have a Wildcat going until pick 16—and it's a sophomore, PJ Washington. (For the record, freshmen Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson are also mocked at picks 21 and 22, respectively.)

This is, however, a strong squad nonetheless. KenPom puts Kentucky 12th in offense and eighth on defense. Virginia, Michigan State, Duke and North Carolina are the only other teams with top-12 marks on both ends.

Washington's 14.9 points per game are the fewest for a Wildcats' scoring leader since 2014-15. Of course, that team went 38-1 with its lone defeat in the Final Four, but it was also loaded with NBA talent (Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles).

When this team loses, it's usually due to shooting malfunctions. In its five defeats so far, Kentucky has shot just 41.4 percent from the field and 25.8 percent outside.

Its most recent blunder was a miserable 52-point effort on 31.8/26.3/65.5 shooting during Saturday's loss to Tennessee. While there's time to change this fate, it feels like that loss could be the reason Kentucky falls short of the top line in its region.

Kansas Slips To Fourth Seed

These are almost uncharted waters for Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks. For the first time since his first season in Lawrence (2003-04), Self won't be celebrating at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.

Kansas was mathematically eliminated from contention during Tuesday's loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. It was the Jayhawks' sixth conference defeat of the season, already the most its suffered since 1988-89.

A lack of depth has grown increasingly problematic. Silvio De Sousa never suited up after being ruled ineligible. Udoka Azubuike was lost for the season in early January after tearing ligaments in his right hand. Legerald Vick took a leave of absence for personal matters in early February and has not returned.

"I don't think they ever had a full boat. Never had a full team," one Big 12 coach told ESPN's Jeff Borzello. "You're mixing and matching pieces. How can your team continually get better if you don't have a full team?"

That might explain the reason for Kansas' relative struggles, but it won't change the damage done in the eyes of the selection committee. Unless the Jayhawks go berserk in the Big 12 tournament, they might be bound for a fourth seed, a place they haven't occupied since 2006 when they were bounced out of the first round by 13th-seeded Bradley.