2015 NCAA tournament bracket
2015 NCAA tournament bracket, The 2015 NCAA men's college basketball tournament is getting down to the nitty-gritty as four more teams will see their runs toward a national title come to an end Friday in the Sweet 16.
Most observers probably expected the likes of Duke and Gonzaga to still be in the running, but the fact that teams such as UCLA and North Carolina State still have a chance to advance to the Elite Eight is what makes March Madness truly great.
Here is a look at the entire Sweet 16 schedule for Friday and a fully updated bracket reflecting Thursday's results. To keep up with all of Friday's action, check out Bleacher Report's college basketball page.
Duke is a talent-rich team capable of beating anyone in the country, but in order to get past an underrated Utah squad in the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils will need another dominant performance out of freshman center Jahlil Okafor.
Okafor has been nearly unstoppable through two NCAA tournament games, as he has scored 20 or more points in both contests and joined some elite company in the process, according to ESPN Stats & Info:San Diego State had no answer for him in the round of 32, as he filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 26 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal. After seeing him up close and personal, Aztecs forward Skylar Spencer was in awe of Okafor's ability, per Viv Bernstein of The New York Times.
"I played against big players before, but I haven't played against anybody that big with that skill set," Spencer said.
While San Diego State is a strong defensive team, it couldn't figure out a way to contain the 6'11" beast from Chicago. It has long been assumed that Okafor will be the No. 1 overall selection in the 2015 NBA draft if he decides to declare, and ESPN's Mike Greenberg believes he has cemented that status:Okafor can remove any remaining doubt against the Utes if he is able to victimize 7-footer Jakob Poeltl. The big Austrian's play is a big reason why Utah has made it this far, but he has yet to encounter a player of Okafor's ilk.
Provided Okafor plays anything like he did in the second and third rounds, the Blue Devils figure to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight.Gonzaga is arguably deeper and more talented than it has ever been, but perhaps the biggest reason for the Bulldogs' success has been the play of former Kentucky forward Kyle Wiltjer.
In his first season with the Zags, Wiltjer has developed into the go-to guy for head coach Mark Few's team. He is averaging over 17 points and six rebounds per game, and he is seemingly a different player since his time with the Wildcats, according to ESPN College Basketball:As good as Wiltjer has been all season long, he has raised his play to another level during the NCAA tourney. As pointed out by Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, the Portland, Oregon, native is performing like one of the best players in college basketball:Wiltjer certainly has the benefit of some complementary players as well, which is what makes him and Gonzaga as a whole so dangerous. The Bulldogs can't afford to take No. 11 UCLA lightly despite the fact that many didn't believe the Bruins deserved to make the NCAA tournament field, though.
UCLA is talented enough to pull off the upset, but if Wiltjer continues to be as locked in as he is right now, it will take a herculean effort for the Bruins to move on.There is something about the month of March that brings out the best in Tom Izzo's teams at Michigan State. This year's version is no exception, and the emergence of guard Travis Trice over the course of the season has undoubtedly been a huge factor.
Trice leads the team with nearly 15 points and five assists per game, and he has been spectacular for the Spartans in the NCAA tournament thus far. He looked especially good in Michigan State's round-of-32 upset over Virginia, as he took it to one of the best defensive teams in the country.
Sam Vecenie of CBSSports.com points out that Trice was able do something that very few others have in the form of breaking the Cavaliers' vaunted transition defense:Trice has been the catalyst in Michigan State's run to the Sweet 16, and he'll have to be great again against Oklahoma in order to cancel out the play of high-scoring guard Buddy Hield.
The Spartans have gone from being an underdog to almost being expected to reach the Final Four. That isn't an easy change in roles to handle, but an Izzo-coached team should be able to do it, especially with a player like Trice at the controls.
Most observers probably expected the likes of Duke and Gonzaga to still be in the running, but the fact that teams such as UCLA and North Carolina State still have a chance to advance to the Elite Eight is what makes March Madness truly great.
Here is a look at the entire Sweet 16 schedule for Friday and a fully updated bracket reflecting Thursday's results. To keep up with all of Friday's action, check out Bleacher Report's college basketball page.
Duke is a talent-rich team capable of beating anyone in the country, but in order to get past an underrated Utah squad in the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils will need another dominant performance out of freshman center Jahlil Okafor.
Okafor has been nearly unstoppable through two NCAA tournament games, as he has scored 20 or more points in both contests and joined some elite company in the process, according to ESPN Stats & Info:San Diego State had no answer for him in the round of 32, as he filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 26 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal. After seeing him up close and personal, Aztecs forward Skylar Spencer was in awe of Okafor's ability, per Viv Bernstein of The New York Times.
"I played against big players before, but I haven't played against anybody that big with that skill set," Spencer said.
While San Diego State is a strong defensive team, it couldn't figure out a way to contain the 6'11" beast from Chicago. It has long been assumed that Okafor will be the No. 1 overall selection in the 2015 NBA draft if he decides to declare, and ESPN's Mike Greenberg believes he has cemented that status:Okafor can remove any remaining doubt against the Utes if he is able to victimize 7-footer Jakob Poeltl. The big Austrian's play is a big reason why Utah has made it this far, but he has yet to encounter a player of Okafor's ilk.
Provided Okafor plays anything like he did in the second and third rounds, the Blue Devils figure to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight.Gonzaga is arguably deeper and more talented than it has ever been, but perhaps the biggest reason for the Bulldogs' success has been the play of former Kentucky forward Kyle Wiltjer.
In his first season with the Zags, Wiltjer has developed into the go-to guy for head coach Mark Few's team. He is averaging over 17 points and six rebounds per game, and he is seemingly a different player since his time with the Wildcats, according to ESPN College Basketball:As good as Wiltjer has been all season long, he has raised his play to another level during the NCAA tourney. As pointed out by Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, the Portland, Oregon, native is performing like one of the best players in college basketball:Wiltjer certainly has the benefit of some complementary players as well, which is what makes him and Gonzaga as a whole so dangerous. The Bulldogs can't afford to take No. 11 UCLA lightly despite the fact that many didn't believe the Bruins deserved to make the NCAA tournament field, though.
UCLA is talented enough to pull off the upset, but if Wiltjer continues to be as locked in as he is right now, it will take a herculean effort for the Bruins to move on.There is something about the month of March that brings out the best in Tom Izzo's teams at Michigan State. This year's version is no exception, and the emergence of guard Travis Trice over the course of the season has undoubtedly been a huge factor.
Trice leads the team with nearly 15 points and five assists per game, and he has been spectacular for the Spartans in the NCAA tournament thus far. He looked especially good in Michigan State's round-of-32 upset over Virginia, as he took it to one of the best defensive teams in the country.
Sam Vecenie of CBSSports.com points out that Trice was able do something that very few others have in the form of breaking the Cavaliers' vaunted transition defense:Trice has been the catalyst in Michigan State's run to the Sweet 16, and he'll have to be great again against Oklahoma in order to cancel out the play of high-scoring guard Buddy Hield.
The Spartans have gone from being an underdog to almost being expected to reach the Final Four. That isn't an easy change in roles to handle, but an Izzo-coached team should be able to do it, especially with a player like Trice at the controls.