March Madness 2014 Bracket: Updated Predictions and Round 2 Analysis

Now that the play-in games for the 2014 NCAA tournament are in the books, the field of 64 has come to fruition. This is the time to break out your bracket and get to work, as Wednesday's results brought about some shifts in the paths that some teams must take to reach the promised land.

Before you ink your printable brackets, be sure to look over the updated field. There may be even more surprises than were originally anticipated.

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Let's take a look at updated predictions for the entire second round of the NCAA tournament and analyze some of the crucial games as March Madness continues.

Round 2 Predictions

Region	Matchup	Winner
South	Albany vs. Florida	Florida
South	Pitt vs. Colorado	Pitt
South	Stephen F. Austin vs. VCU	VCU
South	Tulsa vs. UCLA	UCLA
South	Dayton vs. Ohio State	Ohio State
South	W. Michigan vs. Syracuse	Syracuse
South	Stanford vs. New Mexico	New Mexico
South	E. Kentucky vs. Kansas	Kansas
West	Weber State vs. Arizona	Arizona
West	Gonzaga vs. Oklahoma State	Oklahoma State
West	North Dakota State vs. Oklahoma	North Dakota State
West	New Mexico State vs. San Diego State	San Diego State
West	Nebraska vs. Baylor	Baylor
West	Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Creighton	Creighton
West	BYU vs. Oregon	Oregon
West	American vs. Wisconsin	Winsonsin
East	Coastal Carolina vs. Virginia	Virginia
East	George Washington vs. Memphis	Memphis
East	Harvard vs. Cincinnati	Cincinnati
East	Delaware vs. Michigan State	Michigan State
East	Providence vs. North Carolina	North Carolina
East	NC Central vs. Iowa State	Iowa State
East	St. Joe's vs. UConn	St. Joe's
East	UW-Milwaukee vs. Villanova	Villanova
Midwest	Cal Poly vs. Wichita State	Wichita State
Midwest	Kansas State vs. Kentucky	Kentucky
Midwest	N.C. State vs. St. Louis	St. Louis
Midwest	Manhattan vs. Louisville	Louisville
Midwest	Tennessee vs. Massachusetts	Tennessee
Midwest	Mercer vs. Duke	Duke
Midwest	Arizona State vs. Texas	Arizona State
Midwest	Wofford vs. Michigan	Michigan

Round 2 Analysis

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All right, let's go over some crucial information needed to ensure a great start to your bracket followed by some analysis of specific round of 64 matchups.

Despite some of the No. 1 seeds not exactly looking like, well, No. 1 seeds, they will all emerge victorious in the round of 64. Some of them could see an early exit in this year's tournament, but it won't happen right off the bat.

The same can be said for other top-ranked teams. In fact, it can be speculated that there are No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds that look stronger than their No. 1  counterparts.

The madness starts with the No. 5 seeds.

Beware of the West Region's No. 5 Oklahoma. The Sooners are poised to be upset by a very good—albeit underrated—North Dakota State team.

The Bison have a nicely balanced team, ranking 47th-overall in offense and 61st in the nation on defense. The most staggering statistic is the Bison were the most efficient team in the NCAA from the floor, hitting 50.9 percent of their shots.

Oklahoma has a powerful offense; however, the team could find itself behind early against a North Dakota State team that is very experienced and executes with precision.

Now that the Volunteers have secured the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, Massachusetts is officially on upset alert. UMass has been unspectacular lately, dropping three of its last five games, including two to unranked teams.

Tennessee's stout 16th-ranked defense had the team rolling on a five-game winning streak before being derailed in a close 56-49 game by No. 1 Florida in the SEC tournament. The Volunteers should move on to the round of 32 here.

The 8-9 games are generally the toughest to predict; they usually feature two teams that match up very evenly.

This year, it looks as though one lower seed is a lock to earn a victory. The Pittsburgh Panthers stout defense and suddenly surging offense should be enough to take down a slumping Colorado team.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are another team to consider. They have been brilliant since the return of Marcus Smart to the lineup, but face a tough, well-rounded Gonzaga team in the round of 64. If the Cowboys can light up the scoreboard early, they should be able to earn the win.