NCAA Tournament 2014: Bracket, Games, Previews And Predictions

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West Region:

(1) Arizona Wildcats vs. (16) Weber State Wildcats

Mar 14, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats celebrate against the Colorado Buffaloes during the second half in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Conference college basketball tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Wildcats defeated the Buffaloes 63-43. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Clearly one of the top teams in the country even without Brandon Ashley, the Arizona Wildcats only suffered three losses this year and one of them was to a streaking UCLA team in the Pac 12 tournament championship game. Nick Johnson has been fantastic this year, winning Pac 12 Player of the Year and should be a top candidate for first team All-America as well.

Most famous for being the school that built Damian Lillard into an NBA All-Star, Weber State would be a potential upset pick if it weren’t for that pesky 16-seed stigma of never winning. Davion Berry (19.1 points, 4.3 rebounds) will do everything he can to keep the Wildcats in the game but it’ll be a losing battle.

Prediction: Arizona by 18

(8) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (9) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Gonzaga wasn’t its normal, dominate self this year but they still managed to win the West Coast Conference championship outright in the regular season and sealed their fate with a win in the conference championship game. Sam Dower will present a lot of problems down low against the Cowboys.

Marcus Smart has come back from his suspension and Oklahoma State suddenly looks like the team many expected them to be at the beginning of the season. Winners in five of their last seven games (most recently losing to Kansas in overtime in the Big 12 quarterfinals) the Cowboys have Smart, LeBryan Nash and Markel Brown who can be dominant and electric. They are more determined than ever to make a statement.

Prediction: Oklahoma State by 9

(5) Oklahoma Sooners vs. (12) North Dakota State Bison

Oklahoma is one of those surprise teams from the preseason. Not much was expected from the Sooners before the season but they’re back in the NCAA Tournament as a 5-seed. Oklahoma has four players with double-digit scoring averages (led by Buddy Hied at 16.8 per game) and another one just outside of 10 points per game. The Sooners are a balanced team.

Considering it’s a 5-12 matchup, expect North Dakota State to be a sexy upset pick. The Bison took home conference championship in both the regular season and conference tournament in the Summit League. Taylor Braun is a legitimate scoring threat with great touch from beyond the arc while Marshall Bjorklund is very efficient in the paint. The Bison led the nation in field goal percentage at 51 percent.

Prediction: North Dakota State by 1

(4) San Diego State Aztecs vs. (13) New Mexico State Aggies

Mar 1, 2014; Fresno, CA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Xavier Thames (2) holds onto a loose ball next to forward Dwayne Polee II (5) against the Fresno State Bulldogs in the first half at the Save Mart Center at Fresno State. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

One of the most purely underrated teams in the nation this season, San Diego State probably feels like they should be a bit higher seed but this game shouldn’t be a problem for them. Steve Fisher knows how to get teams to play well when they need to most and Xavier Thames, Mountain West Player of the Year, has one more shot to make memories with the Aztecs.

New Mexico State is probably best known for having a 7’5″ center by the name of Sim Bhullar, who connects on 64 percent of his field goal attempts. He’ll get some headlines because of his height but it’s Daniel Mullings and his 16.8 points per game that keeps the Aggies hopes alive against the Aztecs, if only for a short while.

Prediction: San Diego State by 16

(6) Baylor Bears vs. (11) Nebraska Cornhuskers

Perhaps the hottest team in the country right now, Baylor comes in having won 10 of their final 12 games of the season and playing their way back into the NCAA Tournament after being considered a repeat NIT competitor. Cory Jefferson has been huge for the Bears down the stretch on their way to the Big 12 tournament championship game.

What a great story. Nebraska entered the year projected to finish dead last in the Big Ten standings. Not only did they exceed that but they ended up fourth in the conference and a higher seed than Iowa, who was ranked for most of the year. But all good stories must come to an end at some point. The Cornhuskers don’t have the size to keep up with Baylor.

Prediction: Baylor by 12

(3) Creighton Bluejays vs. (14) UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns

Doug McDermott has been written and spoken about a lot this season so we’ll save a bit of ink here. He’s good. Creighton’s decent. Ethan Wragge though also likes to shoot. The Blue Jays can shoot.

Lafayette enters as the Sun Belt’s automatic bid after defeated Georgia State in the conference championship game 82-81 in overtime. The Ragin’ Cajuns definitely have one of the most unique team names in the NCAA Tournament and also have one of the best dynamic scoring duos in college basketball. Elfrid Payton (19.1) and Shawn Long (18.9) account for 46 percent of Lafayette’s total offense so Creighton better work on shutting those two scorers down.

Prediction: Creighton by 13

(7) Oregon Ducks vs. (10) BYU Cougars

Before losing 8 of 10, the Oregon Ducks started the year 13-0 and looked like a surprise team in college basketball. Since that poor stretch the Ducks won eight games in a row before falling to UCLA in the Pac 12 tournament. Joseph Young and Mike Moser have been stellar for Oregon this season and were instrumental in helping turn their season back around.

BYU was expected to be a bubble team but the 10-seed says they were pretty cleanly into the tournament field. The Cougars, however, will be playing without Kyle Collinsworth who injured his knee in the WCC tournament and is out for the remainder of the season. Collinsworth was second on the team in scoring and led in team in rebounding and assists. Tyler Haws is good but his shooting can only take BYU so far. Oregon faced BYU earlier in the year and won in overtime at home, 100-96.

Prediction: Oregon by 14

(2) Wisconsin Badgers vs. (15) American Eagles

Mar 15, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers coach Bo Ryan talks to his team in a timeout during a game against the Michigan State Spartans in the semifinals of the Big Ten college basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Michigan State defeats Wisconsin 83-75. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Wisconsin has its best offensive team in years under Bo Ryan, having four players averaging in double-digits and two more just outside of 10 points per game. Their defense is their foundation but it’s their revamped offensive look with Frank Kaminksy and Ben Brust leading the way that could help the Badgers make a run.

American is just happy to be dancing but they want to be the latest 15-seed to upset a 2-seed, much like Florida Gulf Coast did last year on their way to the Sweet 16. Center Tony Wroblicky will be the key if the Eagles want to stay in the game as he is top two on the team in scoring, rebounding and assists.

Prediction: Wisconsin by 20+