Tyler Arnold’s Entire 2015 NCAA Tournament Predictions

If you’re looking for perhaps a little more in-depth coverage on games, be sure to check out my round by round breakdown for the tournament, starting with the round of 64. For this we will keep it nice and simple. Provide my picks through each region of the 2015 NCAA Tournament and provide a reasoning here or there.

Of course let us all remember that the chances of creating a perfect bracket this year is 1 in 1,610,543,269 according to FiveThirtyEight. It’s never been done to anybody’s knowledge, and you can call bullshit on anybody who claims otherwise. The odds change based on the quality of top talent in the tournament, as this year many people will tell you there is heavy chances that chalk teams will run rampant, as opposed to many years where there are more upsets all throughout the tourney.

These would be the picks in my personal bracket that I am running with in our TRS bracket pool. Which anybody who is willing to join in and partake in some smack talk is willing to join. We’re playing at ESPN and you can find access to the group here. Come play and see if you can beat myself, or some of the other TRS writers.

I will break this down for each region all the way up until the Final Four, at which point we will continue below the rest of the regions and proceed taking the regional winners. I will give the seeding and matchups with my predictions in BOLD.

Midwest

Round of 64

1 Kentucky/ 16 Hampton

2 Kansas/ 15 New Mexico State

3 Notre Dame/ 14 Northeastern

4 Maryland/ 13 Valparaiso

5 West Virginia/ 12 Buffalo

A lot of people are joining in on the bandwagon that Buffalo will be one of possibly a few to take down a 5 seed as a 12. As long as Staten returns for the Mountaineers, I don’t see it.

6 Butler/ 11 Texas

7 Wichita State/ 10 Indiana

8 Cincinnati/ 9 Purdue

Neither team impresses, but I’ll give the nod to the boilermakers who played in a tougher Big Ten.

Round of 32

1 Kentucky/ 9 Purdue

2 Kansas/ 7 Wichita State

It was very tempting to take the Shockers here as I think they will come into this tournament with a chip on their shoulder hoping to ruin Kentucky’s perfect season after what happened to them last year, but I don’t think they’ll make it.

3 Notre Dame/ 6 Butler

4 Maryland/ 5 West Virginia

Sweet 16

1 Kentucky/ 4 Maryland

2 Kansas/ 3 Notre Dame

The Irish has a scary good offense that will score on you in a hurry. The Jayhawks won’t keep up.

Elite 8

1 Kentucky/ 3 Notre Dame

This game will be very thrilling. Kentucky boasts a great defense but I think the Irish will put up a hell of a fight. Most think Kentucky will win this outright, but I have faith in the Irish. If you’re playing multiple brackets take a gamble and throw the Irish in on one.

East

Round of 64

1 Villanova/ 16 Lafayette

2 Virginia/ 15 Belmont

3 Oklahoma/ 14 Albany

4 Louisville/ 13 UC Irvine

5 Northern Iowa/ 12 Wyoming

This game and pick scares me. Northern Iowa played a hell of a season, but I think they’re being over hyped for a season where their primary competition was Wichita St, whom I think regressed.

6 Providence/ 11 Dayton/Boise State

Doesn’t matter who gets the draw. I think Dayton makes it a more interesting game, but the Friars are too good this season.

7 Michigan State/ 10 Georgia

8 NC State/ 9 LSU

Round of 32

1 Villanova/ 8 NC State

The Wildcats are the weakest 1 seed in this tournament, and there is just something I like about the Wolfpack. Even if Villanova survives this challenge, don’t expect them to be going much further.

2 Virginia/ 7 Michigan State

3 Oklahoma/ 6 Providence

With a nice guard duo, I think the Friars will come out and surprise the Sooners. I think they could even take their season as far as the Elite 8 under the right circumstance, and that is if Virginia continues to have health issues.

4 Louisville/ 12 Wyoming

Sweet 16

2 Virginia/ 6 Providence

4 Louisville/ 8 NC State

Elite 8

2 Virginia/ 4 Louisville

I think the Cavaliers are one the best teams in the country, and as long as they don’t fall apart I have a hard time imagining they don’t make a Final Four run.

West

Round of 64

1 Wisconsin/ 16 Coastal Carolina

2 Arizona/ 15 Texas Southern

3 Baylor/ 14 Georgia State

4 North Carolina/ 13 Harvard

5 Arkansas/ 12 Wofford

6 Xavier/ 11 Ole Miss

Watching Ole Miss with their streaky shooting and zero regard to mentally sane basketball play would scare the hell out of me. How do you game plan for that?

7 VCU/ 10 Ohio State

8 Oregon/ 9 Oklahoma State

Round of 32

1 Wisconsin/ 9 Oklahoma State

2 Arizona/ 7 VCU

I can only hope Shaka Smart and the Rams play this talented Arizona team well. They’re by no means perfect, and had more than a few close calls throughout the season. There is potential for them to fall here, but I’m playing safe.

3 Baylor/ 11 Ole Miss

I think by this point the Bears will have seen enough Ole Miss tape in these games to have a general idea of how to win this game.

4 North Carolina/ 5 Arkansas

Sweet 16

1 Wisconsin/ 4 North Carolina

Any time I take Wisconsin deep in a tournament they always seem to let me down. This will be a tough game for them, and very likely could mark their exit, but I’ve got big plans for the Badgers.

2 Arizona/ 3 Baylor

Elite 8

1 Wisconsin/ 2 Arizona

As if the matchup with UNC won’t have my heart beating out my chest, this game is sure to cause hair loss. Arizona is a great team, but I think Wisconsin knows they are one of the few teams who can challenge Kentucky, and they will somehow find a way to power into the Final Four.

South

Round of 64

1 Duke/ 16 North Florida/Robert Morris

Even with Duke’s early exits recently, expect them to stick around for a few games. They get what I would call the easiest road to the Elite 8.

2 Gonzaga/ 15 North Dakota State

3 Iowa State/ 14 UAB

4 Georgetown/ 13 Eastern Washington

The Hoyas are a giant waiting to fall, and while I think the Eagles will give them quite the scare here, I think they ultimately outlast Eastern Washington.

5 Utah/ 12 Stephen F Austin

I like Utah a lot, but would honestly not be surprised one bit to see them lose here.

6 SMU/ 11 UCLA

7 Iowa/ 10 Davidson

Davidson has depth and they are stacked with shooters, a scary combo if they get hot.

8 SDSU/ 9 St. John’s

Round of 32

1 Duke/ 8 SDSU

2 Gonzaga/ 10 Davidson

I think Gonzaga has gotten much better this year, but I just have that sneaking feeling that if Davidson beats Iowa, they’re toppling the Zags too.

3 Iowa State/ 11 UCLA

4 Georgetown/ 5 Utah

Regardless of who wins between Utah and Stephen F Austin, I think the victor can topple the Hoyas in this round.

Sweet 16

1 Duke/ 5 Utah

3 Iowa State/ 10 Davidson

Elite 8

1 Duke/ 3 Iowa State

I think Duke is talented and posses without a doubt one of the best players in the country in Jahil Okafor, but the Cyclones roster is just oozing with talent. I can definitely see them taking this squad into the Final Four.

Final Four

1 Kentucky/ 1 Wisconsin

The popular pick for many is to have the undefeated Wildcats win outright. I believe that if the Badgers can get to this point, using likely Wooden Award winner Frank “the tank” Kaminsky they can somehow find a way to topple Calipari’s squad. Bo Ryan’s team has impressed me and I think they have just enough goofiness in them to make it happen.

2 Virginia/ 3 Iowa State

I think the Cyclones are one of the most talented and complete rosters in college basketball. I think by this point the nagging injuries will be catching up the Cavs. If healthy I could definitely see this team playing for a championship, but I have to give my nod to the Cyclones on this one.

Championship

1 Wisconsin/ 3 Iowa State

Again sticking with Frank “the tank” Kaminsky, I honestly can see the Badgers sending him out on top. This team impresses me and if they can survive Arizona who I think will be their toughest opponent, there is no doubt they can power through the remainder of the bracket and walk out as victors.

So what do you think? I thought I had the right balance of chalk in this year, but just enough upsets to match the theme.

Here is my bracket for those interested in a more visual approach.

Don’t forget you’re more than welcomed to join in our bracket pool and attempt to show me up. I always welcome the challengers and a healthy dose of smack talk. Let the madness begin.

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