NCAA bracket predictions 2014: Hard to bet against Florida
The Gators haven’t lost since Dec. 2. After winning the SEC Tournament on Sunday, they’re primed to take home the whole thing in Dallas. Make sure you download our printable NCAA bracket here.
Kevin C. Cox
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
College basketball's regular season has been all about parity and depth, and it's reflected in the announcement of the final field of 68 in the NCAA Tournament. Each region has multiple landmines waiting to blow up your bracket. In a season defined by widespread talent across Division I, there seems to be no safe bets to reach the Final Four in Dallas. Each region has its own set of intrigue.
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The South is just murderous, with No. 1 overall seed Florida, a possibly Joel Embiid-less Kansas, a talented Syracuse team that can’t seem to get out of its own way and fourth-seeded UCLA, who just earned an extremely impressive victory in the Pac-12 title game against the No. 1 seed in the West, Arizona.
The most intriguing matchup of the first weekend could be the Jayhawks vs. No. 7 New Mexico, who have a behemoth in the middle in 7-foot center Alex Kirk. Kansas will have a major talent advantage on the wings, but can point guard Naadir Tharpe hold his own on both sides of the ball to allow the Jayhawks to make a run?
New Mexico is no slouch. The Lobos won the Mountain West Tournament and beat Cincinnati earlier in the season. It’s easy to fall in love with the NBA potential on the Jayhawks roster, but that could be a tough matchup for Bill Self’s team. That’s an upset to keep your eye on.
Florida vs. UCLA in the Sweet 16 would be a fantastic matchup, as well. The Gators haven’t lost since Dec. 2, but this particular Bruins team boasts a lot of firepower. If the Gators can get past the Bruins, they’ll be the favorites to cut down the nets in Dallas.
The Midwest is a lot of fun, too. It’s easy to complain about Louisville’s placement as a four seed, but it’ll have a favorable path to the Sweet 16. There, the Cardinals are likely to meet No. 1 Wichita State, that is if the undefeated Shockers can get by a possible matchup with Kentucky in the round of 32. Yes, that’s a meeting of a team that was supposed to go 40-0 vs. one that actually went 34-0.
Michigan and Duke would make for a juicy Sweet 16 meeting in the bottom half of the bracket, but the Blue Devils better be on upset alert with Mercer in the first round. The Bears are formidable.
It’s hard to see how anyone picks Wichita State over Louisville if it gets that far with the way the Cards are playing right now. Somehow, I don’t think the Shockers will mind. They’re used to it at this point after making a run to the Final Four last year.
In the West, Arizona will be tested by No. 9 Oklahoma State in the second round, but the Wildcats should have enough athletes to defend the perimeter against the Cowboys to get past them.
The rest of the West is an interesting clash in style, most notably with Creighton surrounded by a group of long defensive teams. How much magic will Doug McDermott have in March?
The East is extremely deep. All eyes will be on the Cincinnati vs. Harvard meeting in the first round as a No. 5 vs. No. 12 game. No. 6 North Carolina and No. 7 UConn have the type of elite guard play that usually shines in March. Providence just proved it’s no afterthought too by outlasting Creighton in the Big East title game. No. 1 Virginia should be leery of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game between Memphis and George Washington, but the Hoos’ defense should be enough to propel them.
In the end, I like Florida, Iowa State, Arizona and Louisville to reach the Final Four, with Florida winning the whole thing. The Gators have aced every test thrown their way thus far. This isn’t the time to doubt them.
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