2015 NCAA Tournament: Midwest Region Preview

The Kentucky Wildcats are the only undefeated team in college basketball as they come into the tournament 34-0. The Wildcats are the odds on favorite to win the national title as they clinched the overall No. 1 seed for the 2015 NCAA tournament.

The road to the National Championship for Kentucky starts on Thursday, March 19 against the winner of the first play-in game which is played March 17 between Hampton and Manhattan.

Other notable first round match-ups include No. 2 seed Kansas vs. No. 15 seed New Mexico State, No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Northeastern, No. 6 Butler vs. No. 11 Texas, and No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Buffalo.

One of the best games in the first round could be No. 12 Buffalo upsetting No. 5 West Virginia. Buffalo and West Virginia both like to play a fast paced game. However West Virginia has struggled at the end of the season and has suffered through injuries. The Mountaineers look to have their senior point guard Juwan Staten back and if healthy Staten could lead his team to a potential matchup with Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

The Buffalo Bulls, coached by former Duke Player Bobby Hurley, are in the tournament for the first time. The Bulls look to use their athleticism and balanced attack to make a run past the first round.

The Texas Longhorns could be another double digit seed who can make some noise in this region. Texas struggled in conference play with an 8-10 record.  The Longhorns are tall and athletic and played several teams including Kentucky tough this year. Their weakness is their inability is to finish close games.

A potential second round matchup to watch for is the Wichita State Shockers and the Kansas Jayhawks. This could be a war between Kansas guards Wayne Selden Jr. and Frank Mason III and Wichita State guards Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet.

In the Elite Eight expect a matchup between Kentucky and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish won the ACC tournament and are led by guard Jerian Grant. The Wildcats will use their depth and balanced attack to defeat Notre Dame in a close game to clinch a spot in the Final Four.

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Photo credit: wildcatbluenation.com; Willie Cauley-Stein gets a dunk against Vanderbilt.