Thursday, March 19, 2015

NCAA Bracket 2015: Updated Schedule and Predictions After Wednesday's 1st ...



The final two participants in the 2015 NCAA tournament round of 64 were determined during Wednesday's first-round March Madness action.

Robert Morris benefited from 19 turnovers committed by North Florida and hung tough down the stretch to defeat the Ospreys 81-77 in the opening contest.

Then the Dayton Flyers took their home court and staged a tremendous comeback for the home fans, knocking off Boise State 56-55.

Check out the updated schedule and bracket below, along with further analysis on what lies ahead in the Big Dance amid the real chaos that is just commencing.

All Your Bracket Essentials

Key Tournament Information

Dates: March 17 through April 6

Channels: CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV

Live Stream:March Madness Live

Bracket and Schedule

Updated NCAA Tournament Predictions

Led by senior Jordan Sibert, who drilled the game-winning three-pointer versus Boise State, Dayton is a formidable 11th seed. The Flyers were in that same slot in the bracket and ran all the way to the Elite Eight in 2014.

Although Dayton's next game will be just down the road in Columbus, Providence has a great chance to advance to the round of 32 thanks to the talent it boasts across the board.

Point guard Kris Dunn can penetrate and take advantage of Dayton's lack of size inside. Friars forward LaDontae Henton is going to be a tough matchup with his scoring versatility.

But that game isn't until Friday. The real March mania starts Thursday, with a host of second-round games on the slate.

Several showdowns with serious upset potential loom on the immediate schedule. Stephen F. Austin won a game in last year's tournament and is a trendy 12-over-5 pick against Utah.

CBS Sports expert Seth Davis went as far to say that the Lumberjacks could win multiple games in the NCAA tourney:

In that same South region, No. 13 Eastern Washington is garnering hype against traditional powerhouse Georgetown.

Eagles coach Jim Hayford even went as far to guarantee that his squad would defeat the Hoyas, per Jim Rome:

But in terms of who will ultimately emerge from the South, Duke looks like a fairly strong bet as the No. 1 seed to advance to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

The Blue Devils have been my pick from when the bracket was first released to meet the prohibitive favorite Kentucky Wildcats in the national championship game, and that won't change now. It's just hard to envision a scenario in which Kentucky falls.

A relatively easy road to navigate in the Midwest region helps, as does a perfect 34-0 record that features wins in all kinds of ways. This Wildcats bunch has the look of a historic team.

Kentucky coach John Calipari has defied critics to reload every year and now may have his best team since arriving in Lexington. The "succeed and proceed" philosophy should continue to work in the years to come.

However, the leadership Kentucky has benefited from with the Harrison twins and Willie Cauley-Stein returning, not to mention an epic freshman class, may be a combination Calipari doesn't quite obtain again for a long time. That's why the Wildcats have to take advantage of their unique makeup and race into the record books.

With a totally bought-in team, an elite defense and a myriad of go-to scoring options in the event it does play a tight game, Kentucky has all the tools to go 40-0.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2401847-ncaa-bracket-2015-updated-schedule-and-predictions-after-wednesday-1st-round



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