NCAA Tournament 2014: TV Schedule and Picks for 2nd-Round Contests
March Madness is upon us, ladies and gents, and the craziness will certainly begin quite early in the 2014 NCAA tournament. Expect the upsets to occur as early as Thursday.
The round of 64 comes with both easy and difficult predictions. For one, you can pretty much lock each No. 1 seed in to the round of 32. A No. 1 seed has never lost to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament—ever.
Unfortunately for those of you filling out brackets—which should be everyone, right?—not every selection is that easy. There are a few close games in the round of 64 that will be decided by a coin flip for some fans.
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That's not the best way to fill your bracket.
Here's a breakdown of the three games in the round of 64 I think will be the closest.
Schedule
Full Second-Round Predictions
Predictions for Close Games
Saint Louis (5) vs. NC State (12)
The Saint Louis Billikens are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, and one would think that defense would give them the edge in the second round against an NC State team that needed to beat Xavier just to make the field of 64.
The Wolfpack defeated Xavier handily, however, and that should scare the Billikens. In the 74-59 win, sophomore T.J. Warren scored 25 points and led the charge. Warren is the best player in this second-round matchup, and he'll need to take over in order for NC State to win.
| First Four (Game 1) | 6:30 p.m. | TruTV |
| First Four (Game 2) | 9 p.m. | TruTV |
| First Four (Game 3) | 6:30 p.m. | TruTV |
| First Four (Game 4) | 9 p.m. | TruTV |
| Second Round | 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Second Round | 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 9:55 p.m. | TruTV |
| Second Round | 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 6:45 p.m., 9:15 p.m. | TBS |
| Second Round | 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 9:45 p.m. | TNT |
| Second Round | 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Second Round | 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 9:55 p.m. | TruTV |
| Second Round | 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 6:45 p.m., 9:15 p.m. | TBS |
| Second Round | 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 9:45 p.m. | TNT |
| Third Round | 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Third Round | 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Third Round | 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. | TBS |
| Third Round | 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Third Round | 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Third Round | 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. | TBS |
| Third Round | 7:30 p.m. | TruTV |
| Sweet Sixteen | 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Sweet Sixteen | 7:15 p.m., 9:55 p.m. | TBS |
| Sweet Sixteen | 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Sweet Sixteen | 7:15 p.m., 9:55 p.m. | TBS |
| Elite Eight | 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m. | TBS |
| Elite Eight | 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m. | TBS |
| Final Four (Game 1), Final Four Game 2 | 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m. | TBS, TNT, TruTV |
| National Championship Game | 9 p.m. | CBS |
The forward has been dynamic all year. He averaged 24.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season, and he has scored at least 20 points in all but four games. That type of consistency will be hard to combat.
In order for the Billikens to contain Warren, they'll have to throw him a variety of different looks. Double-teams might work, but Warren has shown the ability to find open teammates when he needs to. The best strategy would be to have help ready for the on-ball defender at all times.
The Billikens are the higher seed—and possibly the better overall team—but the presence of Warren swings this game in the Wolfpack's favor.
Colorado (8) vs. Pittsburgh (9)
| Fri, March 21 at 9:25 p.m. | (1) Virginia Over (16) Coastal Carolina |
| Fri, March 21 at 6:55 p.m. | (9) George Washington Over (8) Memphis |
| Thu, March 20 at 2:10 p.m. | (12) Harvard Over (5) Cincinnati |
| Thu, March 20 at 4:40 p.m. | (4) Michigan State Over (13) Delaware |
| Fri, March 21 at 7:20 p.m. | (6) North Carolina Over (11) Providence |
| Fri, March 21 at 9:50 p.m. | (3) Iowa State Over (14) NC Central |
| Thu, March 20 at 6:55 p.m. | (7) Connecticut Over (10) Saint Joseph's |
| Thu, March 20 at 9:25 p.m. | (2) Villanova Over (15) Milwaukee |
| Thu, March 20 at 4:10 p.m. | (1) Florida Over (16) Albany |
| Thu, March 20 at 1:40 p.m. | (9) Pittsburgh Over (8) Colorado |
| Fri, March 21 at 7:27 p.m. | (12) Stephen F. Austin Over (5) VCU |
| Fri, March 21 at 9:57 p.m. | (4) UCLA Over (13) Tulsa |
| Thu, March 20 at 12:15 p.m. | (6) Ohio State Over (11) Dayton |
| Thu, March 20 at 2:45 p.m. | (3) Syracuse Over (14) Western Michigan |
| Fri, March 21 at 1:40 p.m. | (10) Stanford Over (7) New Mexico |
| Fri, March 21 at 4:10 p.m. | (2) Kansas Over (15) Eastern Kentucky |
| Fri, March 21 at 2:10 p.m. | (1) Arizona Over (16) Weber State |
| Fri, March 21 at 4:40 p.m. | (9) Oklahoma State Over (8) Gonzaga |
| Thu, March 20 at 7:27 p.m. | (5) Oklahoma Over (12) North Dakota State |
| Thu, March 20 at 9:57 p.m. | (13) New Mexico State Over (4) San Diego State |
| Fri, March 21 at 12:40 p.m. | (11) Nebraska Over (6) Baylor |
| Fri, March 21 at 3:10 p.m. | (3) Creighton Over (14) Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Thu, March 20 at 3:10 p.m. | (7) Oregon Over (10) BYU |
| Thu, March 20 at 12:40 p.m. | (2) Wisconsin Over (15) American |
| Fri, March 21 at 7:10 p.m. | (1) Wichita State Over (16) Cal Poly/Texas Southern |
| Fri, March 21 at 9:40 p.m. | (8) Kentucky Over (9) Kansas State |
| Thu, March 20 at 7:20 p.m. | (12) NC State Over (5) Saint Louis |
| Thu, March 20 at 9:50 p.m. | (4) Louisville Over (13) Manhattan |
| Fri, March 21 at 2:45 p.m. | (6) Massachusetts Over (11) Iowa |
| Fri, March 21 at 12:15 p.m. | (3) Duke Over (14) Mercer |
| Thu, March 20 at 9:40 p.m. | (7) Texas Over (10) Arizona State |
| Thu, March 20 at 7:10 p.m. | (2) Michigan Over (15) Wofford |
For Pittsburgh to pull off the mini-upset against No. 8 Colorado, senior Talib Zanna needs to step up. Forward Lamar Patterson recognizes that, as he told the Associated Press, via The Gazette, that Zanna is the one that gets things going for the rest of the team:
"He's a leader, he's a senior, and when you see him going, it just gets the ball rolling. Everything was clicking."
The senior broke out this year, averaging 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds in just over 30 minutes per game. He isn't a big threat defensively, but his skills on offense are what make him one of the most valuable Panthers. He shot 57.5 percent from the floor this season, and the Buffaloes will need to do their best to always have a hand in the 6'9" Nigerian's face.
On the other side, the Buffaloes simply don't look as cohesive on offense as they did earlier in the season. Without Spencer Dinwiddie on the floor, the Buffaloes aren't the same team.
They played well enough since his injury to secure a mid-level seed, but I don't expect them to make it out of the first round. Look for the Panthers to ride Zanna into the round of 32.
UCLA (4) vs. Tulsa (13)
The UCLA Bruins may have knocked off Arizona to win the Pac-12 Championship, but the Tulsa Golden Hurricane won the Conference USA tournament after a four-way tie atop the standings at the end of the regular season.
Playing in one of the most competitive conference this year, Tulsa is no slouch as a No. 13 seed.
UCLA clearly has the advantage in star power. Jordan Adams leads the team with 17.2 points per game, but Kyle Anderson is basically a walking stat line. He averages 14.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. Either player has the chance to steal the show in the NCAA tournament, but I like Anderson because of his solid all-around game.
Josh Peter of USA Today also likes Anderson's game:
"At 6 feet 9 inches, Anderson towers over most opposing point guards. He is languid but quick enough to lead the fast break. Thin but strong enough to fight for rebounds. Quicker to pass than shoot, but often light's out from 3-point range.
"
Tulsa relies on more of a team approach to win games, and it works. Still, the presence of a player or two that can take over a game makes me lean towards UCLA. You wouldn't be wrong to go with Tulsa on your bracket, but I'm going with star power on mine.
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