2015 NCAA Tournament: Best upset picks, vulnerable top seeds, bracket … – Washington Post
Selection Sunday has arrived, but there’s plenty left to sort out before you start picking your Final Four. Here’s everything you need to get prepared to fill out your bracket. Check back often for updates.
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With the bracket set, it’s time to take a deeper dive into the Field of 68. Read on to find first-round Cinderellas, teetering top seeds and more.
Fancy Stats: Most likely first-round upsets
Picking favorites in the NCAA tournament is the smart play, but what makes March Madness great is the upsets and Cinderella teams who pull off something special. (Read More)
They’re the best teams in the nation. But when one loss can banish anyone from the bracket, it just takes one slip-up to shatter dreams of ladders, scissors and a nylon necklace – even for those occupying the top seed lines. (Read More)
Selection Sunday’s biggest snubs and surprises
The NCAA tournament selection committee made its decision, and as usual, the final cuts were the cruelest. (Read More)
Get 2015 NCAA tournament emoji
Show your March Madness spirit with these mascot emoji. Find your favorite team, save the emoji to your phone and text it to your friends. Because nobody uses their words anymore. (Download Here)
[Tournament schedule, TV times, more information]
Care about college basketball? Root for Iowa State, Villanova, Notre Dame and North Carolina
Once they put aside educational allegiances and office-pool interests, college basketball fans should root for the handful of dangerous teams who play with a combination of pace and skill that doesn’t require toothpicks to keep eyelids open. (Read More)
When it’s Kentucky vs. the field, the field is the underdog
The bracket does not feature a handful of favorites and a swath of dark horses, all jockeying for position, elbowing one another out of the way. It features Kentucky and everyone else. (Read More)
[Feinstein on regional match ups: South | West | Midwest | East]
The bracket is unveiled
The first region has been revealed, starting with Kentucky, unsurprisingly, as the overall No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Here’s how the bracket shakes out so far:
Midwest
1. Kentucky vs. 16. Manhattan/Hampton
2. Kansas vs. 15. New Mexico State
3. Notre Dame vs. 14. Northeastern
4. Maryland vs. 13. Valparaiso
5. West Virginia vs. 12. Buffalo
6. Butler vs. 11. Texas
7. Wichita State vs. 10. Indiana
8. Cincinnati vs. 9. Purdue
Quick take: Kansas hangs on to a No. 2 seed despite losing in the Big 12 title game, but their reward is a spot in Kentucky’s bracket. Meanwhile, the ACC tournament champs end up as the best 3-seed, with Notre Dame getting the nod in the Midwest. In terms of early bubble talk, Purdue, Indiana and Texas ended up on the good side of the bubble. And neither the Boilermakers nor the Hoosiers came particularly close to the cutline, which is surprising.
East
1. Villanova vs. 16. Lafayette
2. Virginia vs. 15. Belmont
3. Oklahoma vs. 14. Albany
4. Louisville vs. 13. UC Irvine
5. Northern Iowa vs. 12. Wyoming
6. Providence vs. 11. Boise State/Dayton
7. Michigan State vs. 10. Georgia
8. North Carolina State vs. 9. LSU
Quick Take: The Cavaliers couldn’t hang on to a No. 1 seed, but they did end up a No. 2 in what looks like a navigable bracket — except for the part where they have to play Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans in the second round. Boise State’s loss in the Mountain West semifinals has put them into the play-in game in Dayton … against Dayton. That seems, um, interesting. LSU was another team many thought may miss the cut, but like Purdue, they land a No. 9 seed.
South
1. Duke vs. 16. North Florida/Robert Morris
2. Gonzaga vs. 15. North Dakota State
3. Iowa State vs. 14. UAB
4. Georgetown vs. 13. Eastern Washington
5. Utah vs. 12. Stephen F. Austin
6. SMU vs. 11. UCLA
7. Iowa vs. 10. Davidson
8. San Diego State vs. 9. St. John’s
Quick Take: Let’s start with the UCLA Bruins … CBS analyst Doug Gottlieb said during the selection special that there’s not a reasonable person in the country who believes UCLA belongs in the bracket. He’s not too far off. The Bruins finished 5-10 against the RPI top 100. That not only got UCLA into the field, the Bruins don’t even have to play a first-four play-in game. That’s stunning. On the top half of the bracket, Duke looks like a safe bet to advance. At the bottom, a potential Iowa State-Gonzaga clash in the Sweet 16 would produce a thriller.
West
1. Wisconsin vs. 16. Coastal Carolina
2. Arizona vs. 15. Texas Southern
3. Baylor vs. 14. Georgia State
4. North Carolina vs. 13. Harvard
5. Arkansas vs. 12. Wofford
6. Xavier vs. 11. BYU/Ole Miss
7. VCU vs. 10. Ohio State
8. Oregon vs. 9. Oklahoma State
Quick Take: With the final region revealed, hope dies for a Murray State miracle bid. BYU and Ole Miss will get the opportunity to earn the 11-seed with the play-in game in Dayton. Wisconsin, winners of the Big Ten tournament Sunday, gets the No. 1 seed, but if everything proceeds according to seed-strength, they’ll have to top a very dangerous Arizona team in the Elite Eight.
In all, the Big 12 and the Big Ten emerge with the most bids, sporting seven apiece.
UCLA made the tournament, and no one is happy about it
This year’s utterly head-scratching decision was the inclusion of UCLA, which not only made the field despite a suspect resume, but also wasn’t even chosen as one of the four teams that will head to Dayton for the play-in games early this week. (Read More)
Dick Vitale plants a kiss on Ashley Judd with a capital ‘K‘
Dick Vitale got a little frisky with actress and Kentucky superfan Ashley Judd before the Wildcats’ win over Arkansas in the SEC championship game on Sunday. (Read More)
Sorting through Saturday’s results
See who clinched an automatic bid to the Big Dance and whether the bid thieves still lurk in the shadows of Selection Sunday’s conference championships. (Read More)
Who are the last teams in? First ones out? Take an in-depth look at the top candidates for an at-large bid, from the locks to the leftovers based on historical analysis. (Read More)
[Sign up for the Post’s Bracket Challenge 2015]
What the heck does the bubble look like? What provides its shape? See where every Top 100 RPI fits and what it means for their status in the NCAA tournament field. (Read More)
Feinstein: Splendor in the Ivy
The game did come down to one shot: an 18-footer by Harvard’s Steve Moundou-Missi — the league’s defensive player of the year — with 7.2 seconds left that gave the Crimson a heart-stopping 53-51 victoryand its fourth straight trip to the NCAA tournament. (Read More)
The Wildcats now try to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their national title with another. (Read More)
The Fighting Irish came to Tobacco Road, beat two of its bluebloods and walked away with the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. (Read More)
After digging a 17-point hole against ninth-ranked Kansas, the Cyclones put together another of their trademark comebacks. (Read More)
Get a jump start on your pools with the Post’s bracket challenge game. Fill out a whole bracket, or pace yourself with round-by-round picks. (Read More)
[See Dan Steinberg’s mock bracket]
Archie is a year removed from a Cinderella run with Dayton. Sean’s Arizona team is steaming towards a possible Final Four run. What will the 2015 NCAA tournament hold for the coaching brothers? (Read More)
Albany’s hero may already be the NCAA tournament’s best story. (Read More)
Bracket pools show NCAA’s struggle with gambling
For the next three weeks, according to gaming industry estimates, nearly 40 million Americans will gamble more than $2 billion on the outcome of a tournament featuring the nation’s best unpaid basketball players. (Read More)
The latest news and analysis on the Washington-area tournament-bound teams.
Maryland fans not happy with seed
Maryland fans entered Sunday’s NCAA tournament selection show feeling pretty confident in their team getting a three seed. Instead, the Terps were given a four seed, with a possible Sweet Sixteen matchup against the top overall seed, undefeated Kentucky. (Read More)
The players didn’t jump to their feet, and instead just stared ahead at the screen as the rest of the bracket was unveiled. (Read More)
Turgeon on tournament bid: ‘We’re ready for anything’
The coach wanted to get one thing straight: Maryland was excited to be in its first NCAA tournament in five seasons. (Read More)
Virginia comes up with a No. 2 seed
After spending most of the season ranked in the top three, a No. 2 seed stung for the program’s fans. (Read More)
Hoyas to face Eastern Washington
Members of the 23rd-ranked Georgetown men’s basketball team were re-energized upon learning Sunday night of their destination in the NCAA tournament. (Read More)
Steinberg: Maryland is onto the NCAAs
It only took a few moments for the deflated Terrapins to start talking about what happens next week after Saturday’s 62-58 loss to Michigan State in Big Ten semis. (Read More)
For Terps, Big Ten loss is a bump in the road
As much as Head Coach Mark Turgeon wanted to conquer another new challenge this weekend, he also was looking at the big picture after the team’s first loss since early February. (Read More)
Tony Bennett’s seed now in full bloom for Cavs
The coach’s approach in lifting the Cavaliers to the top of college basketball stands in contrast to other powers. (Read More)
John Thompson Jr. recovering from surgery
The Hall of Fame former Georgetown coach turned college basketball broadcaster will miss at least part of the NCAA tournament. (Read More)
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