2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2014–15 season. The 77th edition of the tournament began on March 17, 2015, and concluded with the championship game on April 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

2015 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	2014–15
Teams	68
Finals site	Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Champions	Duke Blue Devils (5th title, 11th title game, 16th Final Four)
Runner-up	Wisconsin Badgers (2nd title game, 4th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Kentucky Wildcats (17th Final Four) Michigan State Spartans (9th Final Four)
Winning coach	Mike Krzyzewski (5th title)
MOP	Tyus Jones (Duke)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2014 2016»

The Final Four consisted of Kentucky (who went in undefeated at 38–0), Wisconsin, making their second consecutive trip to the Final Four, Michigan State, making their first Final Four since 2010 (also held in Indianapolis) and the 7th under head coach Tom Izzo, and Duke, making their first appearance since their 2010 national championship. Duke defeated Wisconsin in the championship game, 68–63, clinching their 5th national championship under Mike Krzyzewski. Tyus Jones of Duke was the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Unlike the past three tournaments, this tournament featured fewer upsets, with 7. However, for the first time since the 1995 tournament, two of the No. 14 seeds won in the same tournament. In the West Region, #14 Georgia State of the Sun Belt Conference defeated #3 Baylor. In the South Region, #14 UAB of Conference USA defeated #3 Iowa State.

Three teams made their NCAA tournament debuts, North Florida from the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN), UC Irvine from the Big West Conference (BWC), and Buffalo from the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Schedule and venues

Dayton

Jacksonville

Louisville

Pittsburgh

Portland

Charlotte

Columbus

Omaha

Seattle

2015 First Four (orange) and first and second rounds March 19 and 21 (green) March 20 and 22 (Blue)

Cleveland

Los Angeles

Houston

Syracuse

Indianapolis

2015 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2015 tournament:^[1]

First Four

• March 17 and 18
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and Second rounds (round of 64 and round of 32)

• March 19 and 21
  • Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida (Hosts: Jacksonville University, University of North Florida)
  • KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville)
  • Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: Duquesne University)
  • Moda Center, Portland, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon)
• March 20 and 22
  • Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
  • Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska (Host: Creighton University)
  • KeyArena, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)

Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 26 and 28
  • Midwest Regional, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio (Hosts: Cleveland State University, Mid-American Conference)
  • West Regional, Staples Center, Los Angeles (Host: Pepperdine University)
• March 27 and 29
  • East Regional, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University)
  • South Regional, NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas (Hosts: University of Houston, Rice University)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 4 and 6
  • Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: IUPUI, Horizon League)

Indianapolis hosted the Final Four for the seventh time, having previously hosted in 2010, and also the second Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Qualifying and selection procedure

The 2015 bracket displayed on the JW Marriott Indianapolis

Further information: NCAA basketball tournament selection process

Out of 333 eligible Division I teams, 68 participated in the tournament. Eighteen Division I teams were ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.^[4]

Of the 32 automatic bids, 31 were given to programs that won their conference tournaments. The Ivy League did not hold a tournament, but held a one-game playoff to break a tie in the regular season conference standings, with the winner receiving the automatic bid.^[5] The remaining 36 bids were granted on an "at-large" basis, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee to the teams it deemed to be the best 36 teams that did not receive automatic bids.

Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the main tournament bracket.

The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 68.

Further information: 2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament qualifying teams

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams are automatic qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid.

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	Notre Dame	34th	2013
America East	Albany	5th	2014
A–10	VCU	14th	2014
American	SMU	11th	1993
Atlantic Sun	North Florida	1st	Never
Big 12	Iowa State	17th	2014
Big East	Villanova	34th	2014
Big Sky	Eastern Washington	2nd	2004
Big South	Coastal Carolina	4th	2014
Big Ten	Wisconsin	21st	2014
Big West	UC Irvine	1st	Never
Colonial	Northeastern	8th	1991
C-USA	UAB	15th	2011
Horizon	Valparaiso	9th	2013
Ivy League	Harvard	5th	2014
MAAC	Manhattan	8th	2014
MAC	Buffalo	1st	Never
MEAC	Hampton	5th	2011
Missouri Valley	Northern Iowa	7th	2010
Mountain West	Wyoming	15th	2002
Northeast	Robert Morris	8th	2010
Ohio Valley	Belmont	7th	2013
Pac-12	Arizona	30th	2014
Patriot	Lafayette	4th	2000
SEC	Kentucky	55th	2014
Southern	Wofford	4th	2014
Southland	Stephen F. Austin	3rd	2014
SWAC	Texas Southern	6th	2014
Summit	North Dakota State	3rd	2014
Sun Belt	Georgia State	3rd	2001
West Coast	Gonzaga	18th	2014
WAC	New Mexico State	22nd	2014

Tournament seeds

Midwest Region – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Kentucky	SEC	34–0	Auto	1
2	Kansas	Big 12	26–8	At-large	8
3	Notre Dame	ACC	29–5	Auto	12
4	Maryland	Big Ten	27–6	At-large	14
5	West Virginia	Big 12	23–9	At-large	19
6	Butler	Big East	22–10	At-large	23
7	Wichita State	Missouri Valley	28–4	At-large	26
8	Cincinnati	American	22–10	At-large	29
9	Purdue	Big Ten	21–12	At-large	36
10	Indiana	Big Ten	20–13	At-large	37
11	Texas	Big 12	20–13	At-large	41
12	Buffalo	Mid American	23–9	Auto	48
13	Valparaiso	Horizon	28–5	Auto	51
14	Northeastern	Colonial	23–11	Auto	56
15	New Mexico State	WAC	23–10	Auto	59
16*	Manhattan	MAAC	19–13	Auto	67
	Hampton	MEAC	16–17	Auto	68

West Region – Staples Center, Los Angeles

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Wisconsin	Big Ten	31–3	Auto	4
2	Arizona	Pac-12	31–3	Auto	6
3	Baylor	Big 12	24–9	At-large	10
4	North Carolina	ACC	24–11	At-large	13
5	Arkansas	SEC	26–8	At-large	18
6	Xavier	Big East	21–13	At-large	24
7	VCU	Atlantic 10	26–9	Auto	28
8	Oregon	Pac-12	25–9	At-large	30
9	Oklahoma State	Big 12	18–13	At-large	34
10	Ohio State	Big Ten	23–10	At-large	39
11*	Mississippi	SEC	20–12	At-large	43
	BYU	West Coast	25–9	At-large	44
12	Wofford	Southern	28–6	Auto	49
13	Harvard	Ivy	22–7	Auto	52
14	Georgia State	Sun Belt	24–9	Auto	55
15	Texas Southern	SWAC	22–12	Auto	61
16	Coastal Carolina	Big South	24–9	Auto	64

East Region – Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Villanova	Big East	32–2	Auto	2
2	Virginia	ACC	29–3	At-large	5
3	Oklahoma	Big 12	22–10	At-large	11
4	Louisville	ACC	24–8	At-large	15
5	Northern Iowa	Missouri Valley	30–3	Auto	20
6	Providence	Big East	22–11	At-large	22
7	Michigan State	Big Ten	23–11	At-large	25
8	North Carolina State	ACC	20–13	At-large	31
9	LSU	SEC	22–10	At-large	35
10	Georgia	SEC	21–11	At-large	40
11*	Boise State	Mountain West	25–8	At-large	45
	Dayton	Atlantic 10	25–8	At-large	46
12	Wyoming	Mountain West	25–9	Auto	47
13	UC Irvine	Big West	21–12	Auto	54
14	Albany	America East	24–8	Auto	58
15	Belmont	Ohio Valley	22–10	Auto	60
16	Lafayette	Patriot	20–12	Auto	63

South Region – NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Duke	ACC	29–4	At-large	3
2	Gonzaga	West Coast	32–2	Auto	7
3	Iowa State	Big 12	25–8	Auto	9
4	Georgetown	Big East	21–10	At-large	16
5	Utah	Pac-12	24–8	At-large	17
6	SMU	American	27–6	Auto	21
7	Iowa	Big Ten	21–11	At-large	27
8	San Diego State	Mountain West	26–8	At-large	32
9	St. John's	Big East	21–11	At-large	33
10	Davidson	Atlantic 10	24–7	At-large	38
11	UCLA	Pac-12	20–13	At-large	42
12	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	29–4	Auto	50
13	Eastern Washington	Big Sky	26–8	Auto	53
14	UAB	C-USA	19–15	Auto	57
15	North Dakota State	Summit	23–9	Auto	62
16*	North Florida	Atlantic Sun	23–11	Auto	65
	Robert Morris	NEC	19–14	Auto	66

*See First Four

Since the 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the four 1 seeds have been seeded overall. This was the third time Kentucky was the overall top seed. The previous time was in the 2012 tournament. Duke was the overall 3 seed for the fourth time, previously advancing to the Final Four in two of those years: 2004 and 2010. Villanova was a 1 seed for the second time in school history; 2006 was the other time. This was the first 1 seed for Wisconsin.

Bracket

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

	March 17 – West Region
	11	BYU	90
	11	Ole Miss	94

	March 17 – Midwest Region
	16	Hampton	74
	16	Manhattan	64

	March 18 – East Region
	11	Boise State	55
	11	Dayton	56

	March 18 – South Region
	16	North Florida	77
	16	Robert Morris	81

Midwest Regional – Cleveland, Ohio

	First Round Round of 64 March 19–20					Second round Round of 32 March 21–22					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 26					Regional Final Elite 8 March 28
	1	Kentucky	79
	16	Hampton	56
						1	Kentucky	64
	Louisville – Thu/Sat
						8	Cincinnati	51
	8	Cincinnati	66OT
	9	Purdue	65
											1	Kentucky	78
											5	West Virginia	39
	5	West Virginia	68
	12	Buffalo	62
						5	West Virginia	69
	Columbus – Fri/Sun
						4	Maryland	59
	4	Maryland	65
	13	Valparaiso	62
																1	Kentucky	68
																3	Notre Dame	66
	6	Butler	56
	11	Texas	48
						6	Butler	64
	Pittsburgh – Thu/Sat
						3	Notre Dame	67OT
	3	Notre Dame	69
	14	Northeastern	65
											3	Notre Dame	81
											7	Wichita State	70
	7	Wichita State	81
	10	Indiana	76
						7	Wichita State	78
	Omaha – Fri/Sun
						2	Kansas	65
	2	Kansas	75
	15	New Mexico State	56

Regional Final summary

TBS

Saturday, March 28 8:49 pm EDT

Box Score

#3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 66, #1 Kentucky Wildcats 68
Scoring by half: 31–31, 35–37
Pts: Zach Auguste – 20 Rebs: Zach Auguste, Pat Connaughton – 9 Asts: Jerian Grant – 6		Pts: Karl-Anthony Towns – 25 Rebs: Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles – 5 Asts: Towns – 4

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 19,464 Referees: Chris Rastatter, Joe DeRosa, David Hall

Midwest Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame; Zach Auguste, Notre Dame; Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky; Andrew Harrison, Kentucky^[6]

Regional most outstanding player: Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky^[7]

West Regional – Los Angeles, California

	First Round Round of 64 March 19–20					Second round Round of 32 March 21–22					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 26					Regional Final Elite 8 March 28
	1	Wisconsin	86
	16	Coastal Carolina	72
						1	Wisconsin	72
	Omaha – Fri/Sun
						8	Oregon	65
	8	Oregon	79
	9	Oklahoma State	73
											1	Wisconsin	79
											4	North Carolina	72
	5	Arkansas	56
	12	Wofford	53
						5	Arkansas	78
	Jacksonville – Thu/Sat
						4	North Carolina	87
	4	North Carolina	67
	13	Harvard	65
																1	Wisconsin	85
																2	Arizona	78
	6	Xavier	76
	11	Ole Miss	57
						6	Xavier	75
	Jacksonville – Thu/Sat
						14	Georgia State	67
	3	Baylor	56
	14	Georgia State	57
											6	Xavier	60
											2	Arizona	68
	7	Virginia Commonwealth	72
	10	Ohio State	75OT
						10	Ohio State	58
	Portland – Thu/Sat
						2	Arizona	73
	2	Arizona	93
	15	Texas Southern	72

Regional Final summary

TBS

Saturday, March 28 3:09 pm PDT

Box Score

#2 Arizona Wildcats 78, #1 Wisconsin Badgers 85
Scoring by half: 33–30, 45–55
Pts: Brandon Ashley, R. Hollis-Jefferson – 17 Rebs: R. Hollis-Jefferson – 8 Asts: T. J. McConnell – 5		Pts: F. Kaminsky III – 29 Rebs: F. Kaminsky III – 6 Asts: Nigel Hayes – 4

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 19,125 Referees: Pat Adams, Michael Stephens, Mike Eades

West Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin; Josh Gasser, Wisconsin;^[8] T. J. McConnell, Arizona; Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona^[9]

Regional most outstanding player: Sam Dekker, Wisconsin^[10]

East Regional – Syracuse, New York

	First Round Round of 64 March 19–20					Second round Round of 32 March 21–22					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 27					Regional Final Elite 8 March 29
	1	Villanova	93
	16	Lafayette	52
						1	Villanova	68
	Pittsburgh – Thu/Sat
						8	NC State	71
	8	NC State	66
	9	LSU	65
											8	NC State	65
											4	Louisville	75
	5	Northern Iowa	71
	12	Wyoming	54
						5	Northern Iowa	53
	Seattle – Fri/Sun
						4	Louisville	66
	4	Louisville	57
	13	California-Irvine	55
																4	Louisville	70
																7	Michigan State	76OT
	6	Providence	53
	11	Dayton	66
						11	Dayton	66
	Columbus – Fri/Sun
						3	Oklahoma	72
	3	Oklahoma	69
	14	Albany	60
											3	Oklahoma	58
											7	Michigan State	62
	7	Michigan State	70
	10	Georgia	63
						7	Michigan State	60
	Charlotte – Fri/Sun
						2	Virginia	54
	2	Virginia	79
	15	Belmont	67

On February 20, 2018, the NCAA announced that the wins and records for Louisville's 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, and 2014–15 seasons were vacated due to the sex scandal at Louisville.^[11] Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Louisville removing the wins from its own record.

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 29 2:20 pm EDT

Box Score

#7 Michigan State Spartans 76, #4 Louisville Cardinals 70 (OT)
Scoring by half: 32–40, 33–25 Overtime: 11–5
Pts: Travis Trice – 17 Rebs: Branden Dawson – 11 Asts: Denzel Valentine – 6		Pts: Wayne Blackshear – 28 Rebs: Montrezl Harrell – 9 Asts: Montrezl Harrell – 4

Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York Attendance: 24,404 Referees: Pat Driscoll, Doug Shows, Verne Harris

East Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Denzel Valentine, Michigan State; Terry Rozier, Louisville; Montrezl Harrell, Louisville; Wayne Blackshear, Louisville^[12]

Regional most outstanding player: Travis Trice, Michigan State.^[13]

South Regional – Houston, Texas

	First Round Round of 64 March 19–20					Second round Round of 32 March 21–22					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 27					Regional Final Elite 8 March 29
	1	Duke	85
	16	Robert Morris	56
						1	Duke	68
	Charlotte – Fri/Sun
						8	San Diego State	49
	8	San Diego State	76
	9	St. John's	64
											1	Duke	63
											5	Utah	57
	5	Utah	57
	12	Stephen F. Austin	50
						5	Utah	75
	Portland – Thu/Sat
						4	Georgetown	64
	4	Georgetown	84
	13	Eastern Washington	74
																1	Duke	66
																2	Gonzaga	52
	6	SMU	59
	11	UCLA	60
						11	UCLA	92
	Louisville – Thu/Sat
						14	UAB	75
	3	Iowa State	59
	14	UAB	60
											11	UCLA	62
											2	Gonzaga	74
	7	Iowa	83
	10	Davidson	52
						7	Iowa	68
	Seattle – Fri/Sun
						2	Gonzaga	87
	2	Gonzaga	86
	15	North Dakota State	76

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 29 4:05 pm CDT

Box Score

#2 Gonzaga Bulldogs 52, #1 Duke Blue Devils 66
Scoring by half: 26–31, 26–35
Pts: Kyle Wiltjer – 16 Rebs: Kyle Wiltjer, Przemek Karnowski, Byron Wesley – 5 Asts: Przemek Karnowski, Byron Wesley, Gary Bell – 2		Pts: Matt Jones, Justise Winslow – 16 Rebs: Jahlil Okafor – 8 Asts: Tyus Jones – 6

NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas Attendance: 20,744 Referees: Mike Stuart, Doug Sirmons, Jeffrey Anderson

South Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Matt Jones, Duke; Justise Winslow, Duke; Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga; Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga^[14]

Regional most outstanding player: Tyus Jones, Duke^[15]

Final Four

Lucas Oil Stadium before the national championship game between Duke and Wisconsin

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region plays (Kentucky's Midwest Region) against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Wisconsin's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region plays (Michigan State's East Region) against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Duke's South Region).

Final Four - Indianapolis, IN

	National Semifinals Final Four Saturday, April 4					National Championship Game Monday, April 6
	MW1	Kentucky	64
	W1	Wisconsin	71
						W1	Wisconsin	63
						S1	Duke	68
	E7	Michigan State	61
	S1	Duke	81

Game summaries

Final Four

TBS

Saturday, April 4 6:09 p.m. EDT

Box Score

#E7 Michigan State Spartans 61, #S1 Duke Blue Devils 81
Scoring by half: 25–36, 36–45
Pts: Denzel Valentine – 22 Rebs: Denzel Valentine – 11 Asts: Travis Trice, Lourawls Nairn Jr. – 5		Pts: Justise Winslow – 19 Rebs: Justise Winslow – 9 Asts: Tyus Jones – 4

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 72,238 Referees: Bryan Kersey, Pat Adams, Mike Eades

TBS

Saturday, April 4 9:06 p.m. EDT

Box Score

#W1 Wisconsin Badgers 71, #MW1 Kentucky Wildcats 64
Scoring by half: 36–36, 35–28
Pts: F. Kaminsky III – 20 Rebs: F. Kaminsky III – 11 Asts: F. Kaminsky III, Traevon Jackson, Bronson Koenig – 2		Pts: Karl-Anthony Towns – 16 Rebs: Karl-Anthony Towns – 9 Asts: Andrew Harrison – 4

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 72,238 Referees: Verne Harris, John Higgins, Doug Sirmons

National Championship

Main article: 2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

CBS

Monday, April 6 9:18 p.m. EDT

Box Score

#W1 Wisconsin Badgers 63, #S1 Duke Blue Devils 68
Scoring by half: 31–31, 32–37
Pts: F. Kaminsky III - 21 Rebs: F. Kaminsky III - 12 Asts: Bronson Koenig - 4		Pts: Tyus Jones - 23 Rebs: Justise Winslow - 9 Asts: Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson - 2

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 71,149 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Michael Stephens, Pat Driscoll

Final Four all-tournament team

^[16]

• Sam Dekker, Wisconsin
• Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
• Grayson Allen, Duke
• Justise Winslow, Duke
• Tyus Jones, Duke, Most Outstanding Player

Tournament notes

Kentucky entered the tournament unbeaten. After 22 years without an unbeaten team in the tournament, following UNLV in 1991, this is the second consecutive tournament with an unbeaten team (after Wichita State in the previous). The Wildcats, by beating Cincinnati in the third round, set an NCAA men's record with 36 straight wins to start a season. They would win two more before Wisconsin upset them in the Final Four.

Defending national champion UConn did not qualify.

Kansas extended its streak of consecutive tournament appearances to 26 in a row. They have made each NCAA Tournament dating back to 1990. Kansas would qualify again the next two seasons to set the record for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances formerly held by North Carolina (1975–2001).

With both Buffalo and Albany winning their respective conferences and reaching the tournament, this is the first time two schools in the State University of New York system have reached the Division I tournament in the same year.^[17]

Two teams broke appearance droughts of over 20 years with their bids: Colonial Athletic Association champion Northeastern made its first NCAA appearance since 1991, and American champion Southern Methodist made its first NCAA appearance since 1993.

Harvard and Yale played a one-game playoff at the Palestra. Harvard won in dramatic fashion.^[5]

Dayton played a First Four game at their home arena, which is usually not allowed during the men's tournament. The NCAA selection committee indicated that putting Dayton in its home arena "falls within the context" of the committee's procedures.^[18]

Of the sixteen games played on March 19, five were decided by one point, a single-day record.

For the first time since 2007 and the fourth time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, all four 5 seeds won their Second Round games. This was also the first time since 2007 that there were four 4 vs. 5 matchups in the third round.

On March 20, all but one "chalk" team won their game (there was only one upset), compared to the four upsets the previous day.

Michigan State reached its seventh Final Four in the last 18 seasons—the best mark in the nation during that time span.^[19]

For the first time since 2009, multiple 1 seeds reached the Final Four.

For the first time since 2008, two 1 seeds reached the Championship, between Kansas and Memphis (later vacated by Memphis).

Wisconsin was in its first final since 1941, and lost; and Duke in its first final since 2010, and won.

The Wisconsin loss extended the Big Ten Conference's losing streak in national championship games to six. As of 2015, Michigan State is the last Big Ten team to win a National Championship, having done so in 2000.

Upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2015 tournament saw a total of 7 upsets; 4 of them were in the first round and 3 of them were in the second round.

Round	Midwest	West	East	South
First round	None	No. 14 Georgia State defeated No. 3 Baylor, 57–56	No. 11 Dayton defeated No. 6 Providence, 66–53	No. 14 UAB defeated No. 3 Iowa State, 60–59 No. 11 UCLA defeated No. 6 SMU, 60–59
Second Round	No. 7 Wichita State defeated No. 2 Kansas, 78–65	None	No. 8 NC State defeated No. 1 Villanova, 71–68 No. 7 Michigan State defeated No. 2 Virginia, 60–54	None
Sweet 16	None	None	None	None
Elite 8	None	None	None	None

Record by conference

Conference	Bids	Record	Win %	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG	NC
ACC	6	17–5	.773	6	6	5	3	1	1	1
Big Ten	7	12–7	.632	7	5	2	2	2	1	–
SEC	5	6–5	.545	5	2	1	1	1	–	–
Pac-12	4	8–4	.667	4	4	3	1	–	–	–
West Coast	2	3–2	.600	1	1	1	1	–	–	–
Big 12	7	5–7	.417	7	3	2	–	–	–	–
Big East	6	5–6	.455	6	4	1	–	–	–	–
Missouri Valley	2	3–2	.600	2	2	1	–	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	3	2–3	.400	3	1	–	–	–	–	–
Mountain West	3	1–3	.250	2	1	–	–	–	–	–
American	2	1–2	.333	2	1	–	–	–	–	–
Conference USA	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Sun Belt	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
MEAC	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Northeast	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–	–

• The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (second round), round of 32 (third round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
• The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for Atlantic 10, MEAC, NEC, and SEC.
• The Atlantic Sun and MAAC each had one representative, eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1.
• The America East, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon League, Ivy, MAC, OVC, Patriot League, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, and WAC each had one representative, eliminated in the second round with a record of 0–1.

Media coverage

Story headlines

The round of 64 started off with multiple upsets with majority of the upsets coming out of the Big 12 conference. The television coverages of CBS and Turner had one of the best overall ratings on March 20, 2015. According to Nielsen estimates, exclusive coverage of the opening full round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV averaged a 6.6 overnight household rating/14 share — up 10% from last year and the highest since the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day.^[20]

One of the upsets that happened was UAB upsetting No. 3 seed Iowa State 60–59. The 19-15 UAB Blazers qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011 by winning three-straight to earn the Conference USA tournament title and an automatic bid.^[21]

Baylor, a No. 3 seed, took on No. 14 seed Georgia State and with less than three minutes to go, Georgia State staged a 13–0 run to beat Baylor. "The comeback was punctuated with a three by R. J. Hunter, son of stool-bound coach Ron Hunter, that has already produced a moment sure to go down in history – the elder Hunter, who already tore his Achilles celebrating the team's Sun Belt conference tourney victory, fell off that stool in ecstasy after his son's three dropped to give the Panthers the 57-56 lead that would be the final margin,"^[22] according to Andy Hutchins.

However, the most talked about headline was UCLA not only making the tournament despite a poor performance in the Pac-12, but also with a call with 13 seconds left when UCLA took on SMU and coach Larry Brown. A late second goaltending that cost SMU the game sparked a lot of attention in sports media and social media. The Bruins moved on to play UAB in the round of 32. Both teams played each other earlier in the season, when UCLA beat the Blazers 88–76 in the Bahamas back in November. Sam Vecenie a CBS writer, was quoted saying, "Funny part of that story? It was the last-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Cool to see how these two teams have turned around their season."^[23]

Television

The year 2015 marked the fifth year of a 14-year partnership between CBS and Turner cable networks TBS, TNT, and truTV to cover the entire tournament under the NCAA March Madness banner. TBS aired the Final Four for the second consecutive year.

• First Four – truTV
• Second and third rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV
• Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) – CBS and TBS/2015 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament National Championship – CBS
• National semifinals (Final Four) – TBS, TNT, truTV
  • TBS provided traditional coverage; TNT and truTV each gave team-specific broadcasts.
• National Championship – CBS
• Reese's College Basketball All Star Game– CBS

Studio hosts

• Greg Gumbel (New York City and Indianapolis) – second round, third round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Ernie Johnson Jr. (New York City, Atlanta and Indianapolis) – second round, third round, regional semi-finals, Final Four and national championship game
• Matt Winer (Atlanta) – First Four, second round and third round

Studio analysts

• Charles Barkley (New York City and Indianapolis) – second round, third round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Mateen Cleaves (Atlanta) – First Four, second round and third round
• Seth Davis (Atlanta and Indianapolis) – First Four, second round, third round, regional semi-finals, Final Four and national championship game
• Jamie Dixon (Atlanta) – second round
• Doug Gottlieb (New York City) – Regionals
• Anthony Grant (Atlanta) – second round
• Ron Hunter (Atlanta) – regional semi-finals
• Clark Kellogg (New York City and Indianapolis) – second round, third round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Reggie Miller (Indianapolis) – Final Four and national championship game
• Wally Szczerbiak (Atlanta and New York City) – First Four and Second Round
• Kenny Smith (New York City and Indianapolis) – second round, third round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Steve Smith (Atlanta and Indianapolis) – regional semi-finals, Final Four and national championship game
• Buzz Williams (Atlanta) – second round

Commentary teams

• Jim Nantz/Bill Raftery/Grant Hill/Tracy Wolfson – First and Second Rounds at Charlotte, North Carolina; South Regional at Houston, Texas; Final Four and National Championship at Indianapolis, Indiana
• Marv Albert or Brian Anderson/Chris Webber/Len Elmore/Lewis Johnson – First and Second Rounds at Omaha, Nebraska; Midwest Regional at Cleveland, Ohio
  • Anderson called the Midwest Regional final after Albert withdrew from the game due to illness.^[24]
• Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce – First and Second Rounds at Louisville, Kentucky; East Regional at Syracuse, New York
• Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Rachel Nichols – First and Second Rounds at Portland, Oregon; West Regional at Los Angeles, California
• Ian Eagle/Doug Gottlieb/Evan Washburn – First Four at Dayton, Ohio; First and Second Rounds at Columbus, Ohio
• Brian Anderson/Steve Smith/Lewis Johnson (First Four) or Dana Jacobson (Pittsburgh) – First Four at Dayton, Ohio; First and Second Rounds at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Spero Dedes/Mike Gminski/Jaime Maggio – First and Second Rounds at Seattle, Washington
• Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Erdahl – First and Second Rounds at Jacksonville, Florida

Sources:^[25][26]

Team Stream broadcasts

For the second consecutive year, the semifinals were exclusive to cable, with TBS airing the standard broadcast with Nantz, Raftery, Hill, and Wolfson. TNT and TruTV aired Team Stream by Bleacher Report broadcasts (known as Teamcasts during the 2014 tournament), which featured localized commentary and features with specific focuses on each participating team.^[27][28][29]

• Tom Werme/Alaa Abdelnaby/Chris Spatola – Duke Team Stream on TNT
• Brian Anderson/Mateen Cleaves/Shireen Saski – Michigan State Team Stream on truTV
• Dave Baker/Rex Chapman/Michael Eaves – Kentucky Team Stream on TNT
• Wayne Larrivee/Mike Kelley/Phil Dawson – Wisconsin Team Stream on truTV

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.^[30]

First Four Brandon Gaudin and Alaa Abdelnaby – at Dayton, Ohio Second and Third rounds Tom McCarthy and Donny Marshall – Jacksonville, Florida John Sadak and Bill Frieder – Louisville, Kentucky Scott Graham and Kevin Grevey – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Wayne Larrivee and Mike Montgomery – Portland, Oregon Gary Cohen and Kelly Tripucka – Charlotte, North Carolina Dave Sims and Jim Jackson – Columbus, Ohio Kevin Kugler and Will Perdue – Omaha, Nebraska Kevin Calabro and P. J. Carlesimo – Seattle, Washington

Regionals Ian Eagle and P. J. Carlesimo – East Regional at Syracuse, New York Gary Cohen and Bill Frieder – Midwest Regional at Cleveland, Ohio Kevin Kugler and Will Perdue – South Regional at Houston, Texas Wayne Larrivee and Donny Marshall – West Regional at Los Angeles, California Final Four Kevin Kugler, Clark Kellogg, and Jim Gray – Indianapolis, Indiana

See also

• 2015 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2015 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2015 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2015 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2015 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2015 National Invitation Tournament
• 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament
• 2015 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2015 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2015 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2015 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2015 College Basketball Invitational
• 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament