NCAA Tournament 2014: Bracket, Games, Previews And Predictions
By Nathan Giese
South Region:
(1) Florida Gators vs. (16) winner of Albany Great Danes vs. Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
Florida swept the SEC regular season and conference tournament championships, going 18-0 overall. With only two losses on the year, both by late shots on the road, the Gators appear to be a heavy favorite to win the national championship.
Albany and Mount St. Mary’s will play the first First Four game in Dayton, Ohio for the right (if you can call it that) to play Florida on Thursday. No 16-seed has ever defeated a 1-seed and that’s not going to change here.
Prediction: Florida by 20+
(8) Colorado Buffaloes vs. (9) Pittsburgh Panthers
The Buffaloes were able to survive much of this season without their top player in Spencer Dinwiddie and finished fifth in the Pac-12 standings with a 21-10 overall record. Colorado has relied on Askia Booker to carry the load for most of the season after the Dinwiddie injury.
Pittsburgh scratched and clawed their way to a respectable season but one that wasn’t very remarkable. They also finished fifth in their conference, falling behind in the ACC without a marquee win against the top four teams. Their defense is solid and Talib Zanna has been a huge contributor to their physicality.
Prediction: Pittsburgh in 5
(5) VCU Rams vs. (12) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Finishing one game back in the Atlantic 10 standings and losing in the conference championship game, the VCU Rams have a history of surprising people. Shaka Smart’s “Havoc” defense gives opponents fits, especially when they face mid-majors that don’t have the speed to keep up with them.
Stephen F. Austin has not lost a game since November, finishing the year 18-0 in the Southland and 31-2 overall. Desmond Heymand and Thomas Walkup will be the primary ball handlers for the Lumberjacks against the Havoc defense. The team as a whole only commits 11 turnovers per game.
Prediction: VCU by 12
(4) UCLA Bruins vs. (13) Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Kyle Anderson of UCLA is one of the most versatile, athletic players in the nation. He has the size and length of a forward and passes like a point guard (which is his current position). The Bruins are in good hands when Anderson has the ball. He and Jordan Adams are a formidable tandem. UCLA is coming off it’s biggest win of the season, defeating Arizona in the Pac 12 tournament championship.
Tulsa finished in a four-way tie for first in Conference USA and have won 11 straight games since the beginning of February. Sophomore forward James Woodard does it all for the Golden Hurricane, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and three-point shooting. He’s a dynamic player in his own right but it might not be enough to keep the streak alive.
Prediction: UCLA by 10
(6) Ohio State Buckeyes vs. (11) Dayton Flyers
This one’s going to be fun.
Ohio State comes into the NCAA Tournament after a very sporadic Big Ten run for them. They’ve been great then they’ve been awful. Aaron Craft can do many things but he’s not a scorer and he’s often left with the ball in his hands having to make a big shot to win the game. That doesn’t bode well.
Dayton has to love this game. They’ll be playing an in-state rival in the first round of the tournament. It’s bragging rights, it’s hunger and so much more. The Flyers want to win this game and if Ohio State doesn’t bring their A-game, something they’ve rarely done this season, we could have an upset on our hands.
Prediction: Dayton by 6
(3) Syracuse Orange vs. (14) Western Michigan Broncos
What a plummet by Syracuse. After being ranked No.1 for a good chunk of the season the Orange lost their mojo somewhere along the way as well as five of their last seven games of the season. Jim Boeheim better figure something out because the streak of winning close games and getting lucky is over.
Western Michigan has something going for them right now. Finishing tied for the conference lead in the MAC and winning the conference tournament, the Broncos have lost twice since January 19, going 14-2 during that stretch. If David Brown is hot (leading scorer for Western Michigan with 19.4 points per game) and is hitting from three-point range (he averages at least seven three-point attempts per game) then the Broncos could keep their hot streak going.
Prediction: Syracuse escapes by 2
(7) New Mexico Lobos vs. (10) Stanford Cardinal
New Mexico is seeded rather low this time around and you can expect the Lobos to play with a chip on their shoulder. Cameron Bairstow has been the most improved player in the country this season as he and Alex Kirk make up an incredible inside duo for the Lobos. Also don’t forget about Kendall Williams and his pure athleticism and scoring prowess.
A little surprised to see Stanford make the field at such a high seed but those are the breaks when you play for a power conference apparently. The Cardinal finished sixth in a mediocre Pac 12 conference and was maybe that win at home against UCLA? I’m not sure but Stanford is playing with house money right now and they really have nothing to lose.
Prediction: New Mexico by 15
(2) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (15) Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Coming off of yet another Big 12 regular season championship the Kansas Jayhawks have been trying to figure out their team without Joel Embiid, who will miss the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with a back injury. Andrew Wiggins has stepped up his game with Embiid out but it’s shown that the Jayhawks are missing that inside presence.
Eastern Kentucky is going to test Kansas’ guards. The Colonels shoot 39 percent from three-point range and are led by the dangerous Glenn Cosey (18.8 points per game, 42 percent from three). Eastern Kentucky showed during the Ohio Valley tournament that if they are hitting from downtown they are hard to beat.
Prediction: Kansas by 13