NCAA Tournament Picks: South | West | Midwest | East | Final Four
2014 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
South | West | Midwest | East
2014 NCAA Tournament Picks – South Bracket
By Walter Cherepinsky – @walterfootball
NCAA Tournament Picks: South Bracket First Round
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Albany
No No. 1 seed has ever lost to a No. 16 seed. The top teams are weak this year, but so are the 16s…
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Florida
No. 8 Colorado vs. No. 9 Pittsburgh
I absolutely hate Pittsburgh. I fade Jamie Dixon every single March because he’s a terrible tournament coach. Having said that, the Panthers are the pick here because Colorado lost its second-best player. Plus, the Buffs have to travel two time zones to play this game.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 9 Pittsburgh
No. 5 VCU vs. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin
VCU is vulnerable because it lost its sixth man, but I’m still picking them. Stephen F. Austin is a trendy 12-over-5 pick, so that’s one reason to select VCU. The other is Shaka Smart, who is an incredible tournament coach.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 VCU
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 13 Tulsa
A No. 13 seed has beaten a No. 4 every year in the past several NCAA Tournaments. I don’t think Tulsa’s 162nd-ranked offense will get the job done over UCLA, which is in the top 50 in both offense and defense.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 4 UCLA
No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Dayton
Ohio State is a slumping team, but the matchup here favors them. Dayton has a freshman point guard who has to go up against Aaron Craft and his tremendous defense. The Buckeyes should win this game.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Ohio State
No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Western Michigan
Syracuse has been awful to close out the season, so an upset here wouldn’t totally shock me. But picking a 14 over a No. 3 is pretty dumb.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 3 Syracuse
No. 7 New Mexico vs. No. 10 Stanford
Teddy Covers said it best on a betting podcast on Monday: “If you’ve picked against the Mountain West in the NCAA Tournament the past decade, you’re very wealthy right now.” I’m upset there are only two Mountain West squads to fade.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 10 Stanford
No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 Eastern Kentucky
Fact: The guy on Eastern Kentucky’s logo is the cousin of the dude on the KFC buckets. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I just wanted to write a sentence with “Fact:” at the beginning.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Kansas
NCAA Tournament Picks: South Bracket Second Round
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 9 Pittsburgh
I already have Pittsburgh winning one more game than I initially planned. Florida with a cakewalk to the Sweet 16.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Florida
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 5 VCU
VCU, as I mentioned, is missing its sixth man. However, I’m still going to pick them over UCLA. These teams are about even (VCU slightly above UCLA in KenPom), and Shaka Smart should be able to outcoach Steve Alford, who has a habit of disappointing in March.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 5 VCU
No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 6 Ohio State
I hate both of these teams, and I wanted to have them both lose in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Alas, they both play crappy opponents in Round 1, so one of them has to advance to the Sweet 16. I’ll pick the Buckeyes because they actually showed some signs of life in their conference tournament. They also beat Michigan State in the season finale. Syracuse, on the other hand, has been losing to everyone.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 6 Ohio State
No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 10 Stanford
Kansas has a ridiculously easy slate to get to the Sweet 16, where they’ll likely have Joel Embiid back. It’s almost as if the selection committee wanted them to advance. But the selection committee wouldn’t intentionally give a team an easy road to the Sweet 16, would they? That would be like placing an undefeated mid-major in the toughest bracket known to man!
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Kansas
NCAA Tournament Picks: South Bracket Sweet 16
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 5 VCU
Shaka Smart can only do so much, and Florida is a top-two team in the country. Besides, this will be the first time Smart won’t be the superior coach, as Billy Donovan is a master of winning games in March.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Florida
No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 6 Ohio State
As I said before, I wanted to have Ohio State lose in its first two games. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes could even advance past this game if Joel Embiid isn’t back. This is a tough call because it’s impossible to know what Embiid’s status will be, but there’s a greater chance the Jayhawks are here instead of Ohio State, so I’ll pick Rock Chalk to advance.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 2 Kansas
NCAA Tournament Picks: South Bracket Elite Eight
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Kansas
If Joel Embiid is 100 percent, Kansas can easily make a run to the Final Four. That’s a huge “if,” however. There’s no telling how effective Embiid will be, or if he’ll even return to the court.
Florida is arguably the better team with an Embiid Kansas team anyway, and I trust Billy Donovan in the NCAA Tournament more than Bill Self. Go Gata.
2014 NCAA Tournament Pick: No. 1 Florida
NCAA Tournament Picks: South | West | Midwest | East | Final Four
2014 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
South | West | Midwest | East
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