NCAA Bracket 2014: Picks, Odds Advice, Updated Schedule After 2nd-Round Day 2

R. Cory SmithMar 21, 2014

Now that brackets are thoroughly shattered along with the dreams of several top seeds coming into the NCAA tournament, it's time to just enjoy March for what it is—madness at its finest.

Whether it was the likes of North Dakota State winning its first ever tournament game on Day 1 or Mercer knocking off Duke to clinch its first victory in the NCAA field on Day 2, there wasn't a stale moment in the round of 64.

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As the field now turns its sights toward the round of 32, seven double-digit seeds remain with hopes of reaching the Sweet 16 or even the Elite Eight and beyond. Cinderella teams like NDSU and Harvard will once again take the stage on Saturday to see if the glass slipper still fits.

Before the action in the round of 32 officially gets underway, here's a look at the final scores from Friday, along with a look ahead to the rest of the weekend's schedule.

Region	Team	Team	Result
Region	Team	Team	Result
Region	Team	Team	Result
Region	Team	Team	Result
South	No. 7 New Mexico	No. 10 Stanford	Stanford 58-53
South	No. 2 Kansas	No. 15 E. Kentucky	Kansas 80-69
South	No. 5 VCU	No. 12 Stephen F. Austin	SFA 77-75
South	No. 4 UCLA	No. 13 Tulsa	UCLA 76-59
East	No. 8 Memphis	No. 9 Geo. Washington	Memphis 71-66
East	No. 6 North Carolina	No. 11 Providence	UNC 79-77
East	No. 1 Virginia	No. 16 Coastal Carolina	Virginia 70-59
East	No. 3 Iowa State	No. 14 NC Central	ISU 93-75
Midwest	No. 3 Duke	No. 14 Mercer	Mercer 78-71
Midwest	No. 6 UMass	No. 11 Tennessee	Tennessee 86-67
Midwest	No. 1 Wichita State	No. 16 Cal Poly	WSU 64-37
Midwest	No. 8 Kentucky	No. 9 Kansas State	Kentucky 56-49
West	No. 6 Baylor	No. 11 Nebraska	Baylor 74-60
West	No. 1 Arizona	No. 16 Weber State	Arizona 68-59
West	No. 3 Creighton	No. 14 UL-Lafayette	Creighton 76-66
West	No. 8 Gonzaga	No. 9 Oklahoma State	Gonzaga 85-77

Region	Matchup	Pick
South	No. 1 Florida vs. No. 9 Pittsburgh	Florida
South	No. 11 Dayton vs. No. 3 Syracuse	Syracuse
East	No. 12 Harvard vs. No. 4 Michigan State	Michigan State
East	No. 7 Connecticut vs. No. 2 Villanova	Villanova
West	No. 12 North Dakota State vs. No. 4 San Diego State	North Dakota State
West	No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 2 Wisconsin	Wisconsin
Midwest	No. 5 Saint Louis vs. No. 4 Louisville	Louisville
Midwest	No. 7 Texas vs. No. 2 Michigan	Michigan

Region	Matchup	Pick
South	No. 10 Stanford vs. No. 2 Kansas	Kansas
South	No. 12 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 4 UCLA	UCLA
East	No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 1 Virginia	Virginia
East	No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Iowa State	North Carolina
West	No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Arizona	Arizona
West	No. 6 Baylor vs. No. 3 Creighton	Creighton
Midwest	No. 14 Mercer vs. No. 11 Tennessee	Mercer
Midwest	No. 8 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Wichita State	Wichita State

Odds Advice

Syracuse (-7) vs. Dayton

After a terrific start to the season, the Syracuse Orange have struggled down the stretch and stumbled their way into a No. 3 seed after being a near lock for a 1 seed.

What this all means for Dayton is that the Orange are now ripe for the picking. But with talent at nearly every spot on the court and offensive firepower that can take down any opponent, Cuse once again looked like a contender for the National Championship.

One of the biggest reasons for the team's success in the opener against Western Michigan was the resurgence of Trevor Cooney. The three-point assassin got going from behind the arc and led the team in scoring, as SportsCenter notes:

Along with Cooney, the Orange have the likes of C.J. Fair, Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant who can all spread the ball around and score with ease. As for the defense of Cuse, it goes without saying that Jim Boeheim's version of the 2-3 zone makes for one of the toughest sets in the country to break.

Picking against the Orange isn't a smart bet to take. Seth Davis of CBS found that out last year after the opener for Syracuse, as he had to wear an orange wig on air. Dan Dakich of ESPN also stuck to his word and paid off a bet for ESPN CNY by singing.

Though Dayton pulled off the shocker over Ohio State University and got in-state bragging rights, the Flyers will need a Herculean effort to take down Syracuse. Take the points and the win for Syracuse in this one.

Prediction: Syracuse 81, Dayton 72

North Dakota State (+3) vs. San Diego State

Don't let the seeding fool you with North Dakota State.

After putting on a memorable performance against Oklahoma in their tournament opener, the Bison are primed for another upset against San Diego State. Head coach Saul Phillips has his team in the tournament for the first time ever and plans to get to a Sweet 16, per Sporting News:

For a school that is most known for its football, the basketball program is now the one making noise. Thanks to sharp shooting from Lawrence Alexander, who finished with 28 points, a .667 shooting percentage and going 4-of-7 from behind the arc against the Sooners, the Bison might wear the glass slipper all the way into the Sweet 16.

Along with Alexander, senior TrayVonn Wright is a versatile scorer for NDSU and Taylor Braun is the assassin that helped put the Bison over the top. With that type of scoring on its side, North Dakota State will continue it's glorious run over San Diego State.

Prediction: North Dakota State 76, San Diego State 73

Wisconsin (-4) vs. Oregon

Coming in as a No. 2 seed, Wisconsin was not a trendy pick to make it to the Final Four. But after a convincing 75-35 win over American University on Thursday, the Badgers showed they can score and shut teams down defensively.

American was a slow, methodical team that wore down the clock with possessions, but they were undone by Wisconsin's effort on both ends of the court. The Badgers will have to prove themselves yet again when they face off against a fast-paced Oregon team that is just as flashy on offense as their jerseys.

Despite the huge change in offensive styles between their first and second games, junior Josh Gasser spoke about the team's confidence facing the Ducks, per Mike Lucas of UWBadgers.com:

"
We’ve seen teams that like to get up and down and we’ve seen teams that like to slow it down. A team like Oregon is going to push the pace a little bit more and try to play above the rim a little bit more.
It’s definitely going to be a different type team than we faced (Thursday). They will play faster and there will be more athletes on the floor. But if we follow our rules and the scouting report defensively you can see what can happen.
"

Along with Gasser, the rest of the team clearly doesn't appear to be lacking any confidence or charisma. Freshman Nigel Hayes had some fun with his coach in a video posted by the Badgers' official Twitter account:

Senior Ben Brust had his scoring touch as he contributed 17 points in the opening game for the Badgers to go along with Traevon Jackson's team-leading 18. As for the Ducks, the sharp shooting of Joseph Young and inside presence of Elgin Cook, who combined for 42 points against BYU, could be enough to keep them in the game.

But with Brust approaching the school's career three-point shooting record—he needs just three to tie Tim Locum—the senior will be motivated to get the job done from behind the arc.

While Oregon might look like a team that can cover the spread and potentially even win, trust the Badgers to win by five or more over the Ducks.

Prediction: Wisconsin 76, Oregon 68

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