The 2015
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...
involved 68 teams playing in a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
to determine the national champion of men's
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
. The 77th edition of the tournament began on March 17, 2015, and concluded with the
championship game on April 6 at
Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...
in
Indianapolis.
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...
defeated
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
in the championship game, 68–63.
Tyus Jones of Duke was the tournament's
Most Outstanding Player The term Most Outstanding Player may refer to:
* The recipient of the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
* The NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award
* The College World Series Most Outstanding Player in college baseball
* The N ...
.
Schedule and venues
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2015 tournament:
First Four
*March 17 and 18
**
University of Dayton Arena,
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...
(Host:
University of Dayton)
Second and third rounds (Round of 64 and Round of 32)
*March 19 and 21
**
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena,
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
(Hosts:
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until September 5, 1956, w ...
and the
University of North Florida)
**
KFC Yum! Center
The KFC Yum! Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is named after the KFC restaurant chain and Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC. Adjacent to the Ohio River waterfront, it is located on Ma ...
,
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...
(Host:
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
)
**
Consol Energy Center,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...
(Host:
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pitts ...
)
**
Moda Center,
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
(Host:
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
)
*March 20 and 22
**
Time Warner Cable Arena,
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
(Host:
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...
)
**
Nationwide Arena,
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...
(Host:
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...
)
**
CenturyLink Center Omaha,
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...
(Host:
Creighton University)
**
KeyArena,
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
(Host:
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...
)
Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
*March 26 and 28
**Midwest Regional,
Quicken Loans Arena,
Cleveland, Ohio (Host:
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...
and
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in op ...
)
**West Regional,
Staples Center
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
(Host:
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...
)
*March 27 and 29
**East Regional,
Carrier Dome
The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the Universit ...
,
Syracuse, New York (Host:
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
)
**South Regional,
NRG Stadium,
Houston, Texas (Hosts:
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...
, and
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
*April 4 and 6
**
Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...
,
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...
(Hosts:
IUPUI and the
Horizon League
The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...
)
Qualifying and selection procedure

Out of 333 eligible Division I teams, 68 participate 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.
Of the 32 automatic bids, 31 were given to programs that won their
conference tournaments. The
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schoo ...
does not hold a tournament, and awards its bid to the team with the best regular-season record. However, whenever two or more teams are tied for the conference title, league rules call for a
one-game playoff between the top two teams (or a series of such playoffs if more than two teams are tied), which occurred in this year.
[ 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—will play 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 advance to the round of 64.
The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 68.
]
Automatic qualifiers
The following teams are automatic qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid.
Tournament seeds
*See First Four
The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field, and two games contested between the four lowest-seeded "a ...
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
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
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
* – Denotes overtime period
First Four – Dayton, Ohio
The First Four
The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field, and two games contested between the four lowest-seeded "a ...
games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.
Midwest Regional – Cleveland, Ohio
Regional Final summary
Midwest Regional all-tournament team
Regional all-tournament team: Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame; Zach Auguste, Notre Dame; Willie Cauley-Stein
Willie Trill Cauley-Stein (born Willie Durmond Cauley Jr.; August 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats. He previou ...
, Kentucky; Andrew Harrison, Kentucky
Regional most outstanding player: Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky
West Regional – Los Angeles, California
Regional Final summary
West Regional all-tournament team
Regional all-tournament team: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin; Josh Gasser, Wisconsin; T. J. McConnell, Arizona; Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona
Regional most outstanding player: Sam Dekker, Wisconsin
East Regional – Syracuse, New York
Regional Final summary
East Regional all-tournament team
Regional all-tournament team: Denzel Valentine, Michigan State; Terry Rozier, Louisville; Montrezl Harrell, Louisville; Wayne Blackshear, Louisville
Regional most outstanding player: Travis Trice, Michigan State.
South Regional – Houston, Texas
Regional Final summary
South Regional all-tournament team
Regional all-tournament team: Matt Jones, Duke; Justise Winslow, Duke; Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga; Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga
Regional most outstanding player: Tyus Jones, Duke
Final Four
250px, 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).
Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana
Game summaries
Final Four
National Championship
Final Four all-tournament team
* Sam Dekker, Wisconsin
* Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
* Grayson Allen, Duke
* Justise Winslow, Duke
* Tyus Jones, Duke, Most Outstanding Player The term Most Outstanding Player may refer to:
* The recipient of the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
* The NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award
* The College World Series Most Outstanding Player in college baseball
* The N ...
Tournament notes
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...
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
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...
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
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
upset them in the Final Four.
Defending national champion UConn did not qualify.
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...
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).
Atlantic Sun Conference
The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Div ...
champion North Florida
North Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regi ...
, Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
champion UC Irvine
UC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two
** ''University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme
* Universal Century, one of the t ...
, and Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...
champion Buffalo made their first respective appearances in the Division I tournament.
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
The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...
system have reached the Division I tournament in the same year.
Two teams broke appearance droughts of over 20 years with their bids: Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...
champion Northeastern made its first NCAA appearance since 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...
, and American champion Southern Methodist made its first NCAA appearance since 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
.
Harvard and Yale played a one-game playoff at the Palestra. Harvard won in dramatic fashion.
Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
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.
For the first time since 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...
, two 14 seeds recorded wins in the second round. On March 19, Georgia State defeated Baylor and UAB defeated Iowa State.
Of the sixteen games played on March 19, five were decided by one point, a single-day record.
For the first time since 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
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.
For the first time since 2009, multiple 1 seeds reached the Final Four.
For the first time since 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
, two 1 seeds reached the Championship, between Kansas and Memphis (later vacated by Memphis).
Wisconsin was in its first final since 1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January– August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...
, and lost; and Duke in its first final since 2010, and won.
The Wisconsin loss extended the Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...
's losing streak in National Championship games to six. As of 2015, Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...
is the last Big Ten team to win a National Championship, having done so in 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
.
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.
Record by conference
*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
The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States.
The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...
, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 a ...
, Horizon League
The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...
, Ivy, MAC, OVC, Patriot League
The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective g ...
, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...
, 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
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
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.
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.
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
Ronald Jordan Hunter (born October 24, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). Hunter played college basketball for the Georgia State Panthers un ...
, son of stool-bound coach Ron Hunter
Ronald Eugene Hunter (born April 7, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach of the Tulane University Green Wave. His son, R. J. Hunter, was a first-round draft pick for the Boston Celtics.
Hig ...
, 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," 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."
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
The 2015 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball. It began on March 13, 2015, following the 2014–1 ...
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
Greg Gumbel (born May 3, 1946) is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). The older brother of news and sportscaster Bryan ...
(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
Mateen Ahmad Cleaves (born September 7, 1977) is a retired American basketball player. He played parts of six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player for Michigan State, where he led the Sparta ...
(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
Ronald Eugene Hunter (born April 7, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach of the Tulane University Green Wave. His son, R. J. Hunter, was a first-round draft pick for the Boston Celtics.
Hig ...
(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
Lewis Johnson is an American sports commentator and sports reporter. He is one of the few sports broadcasters to have worked for ABC, NBC and CBS. He has also worked for Westwood One, ESPN, the Pac-12 Network and Turner Sports.
Lewis is a graduat ...
– 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.
* 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
Lewis Johnson is an American sports commentator and sports reporter. He is one of the few sports broadcasters to have worked for ABC, NBC and CBS. He has also worked for Westwood One, ESPN, the Pac-12 Network and Turner Sports.
Lewis is a graduat ...
(First Four)/ 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:
=''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
Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London.
Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Au ...
'' broadcasts (known as ''Teamcasts'' during the 2014 tournament), which featured localized commentary and features with specific focuses on each participating team.
*Tom Werme
Tom Werme is a television sports announcer who currently calls ACC College Basketball and Football for ACC on Regional Sports Networks broadcasts produced by Raycom Sports and Major League Lacrosse games for the Charlotte Hounds on ESPN3.
Biogra ...
/Alaa Abdelnaby
Alaa Abdelnaby ( ar, علاء عبد النبي), (born June 24, 1968) is an Egyptian-American former professional basketball player. He played for the Duke Blue Devils and then played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Continent ...
/ Chris Spatola – Duke Team Stream on TNT
* Brian Anderson/Mateen Cleaves
Mateen Ahmad Cleaves (born September 7, 1977) is a retired American basketball player. He played parts of six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player for Michigan State, where he led the Sparta ...
/Shireen Saski Shireen or Shirin is a girl's name of Persians, Persian/Iranian languages, Iranian origin meaning "sweet". It is highly prevalent in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and other Persian speaking places.
People
* Shireen Abu Akleh (1971–2022), Palest ...
– 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
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...
had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.
First Four
* Brandon Gaudin and Alaa Abdelnaby
Alaa Abdelnaby ( ar, علاء عبد النبي), (born June 24, 1968) is an Egyptian-American former professional basketball player. He played for the Duke Blue Devils and then played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Continent ...
– at Dayton, Ohio
Second and Third rounds
* Tom McCarthy and Donny Marshall – Jacksonville, Florida
*John Sadak
John Sadak (born September 15, 1979) is an American TV/radio sports announcer with the Cincinnati Reds, CBS Sports, Westwood One radio, CBS Sports Network, the ESPN family of networks and Fox Sports 1.
Personal life
Sadak is a two-time Rowan Uni ...
and Bill Frieder – Louisville, Kentucky
*Scott Graham
Scott Graham (born June 10, 1965) is an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of the Philadelphia Phillies, his work with NFL Films, and his studio hosting of ''The NFL on Westwood One''. He has lived and worked near Philadelphia ...
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
The 2015 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball. It began on March 13, 2015, following the 2014–1 ...
* 2015 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
The 2015 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 62 teams to determine the men's collegiate basketball national champion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The ...
* 2015 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The 2015 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was played between March and April 2015, with the Final Four played April 5 & 7. The regional locations, after a one-year experiment allowing tournament teams to host, returned to four neutra ...
* 2015 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
The 2015 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament was the 34th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's collegiate basketball in the United States.
California (PA) defeated Califor ...
* 2015 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
The 2015 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament that involved 64 teams playing to determine the winner of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. It began on March 6, 2015, and concluded ...
* 2015 National Invitation Tournament
* 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament
* 2015 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2015 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 78th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. 2015 tou ...
* 2015 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
The 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball national championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured thirty-two teams playing in a single-elimination format. Th ...
* 2015 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
The 2015 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament was the tournament held by the NAIA to determine the national champion of women's college basketball among its Division I members in the United States and Canada for the 2014–15 basketba ...
* 2015 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
* 2015 College Basketball Invitational
The 2015 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) was a single-elimination tournament of 16 NCAA Division I teams that did not participate in the NCAA tournament or the NIT. The opening games and the quarterfinals were held in mid-March on the home ...
* 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
References
{{2014–15 NCAA Division I championships navbox
Ncaa tournament
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Basketball in Indianapolis
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...
2010s in Indianapolis
2010s in Cleveland
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...
Basketball in Houston
Sports competitions in Indianapolis
Sports competitions in Houston
NCAA Division I Men's Basketball
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...