NCAA Tournament 2014: Updated Schedule, Bracket and Odds for Final Four Teams

R. Cory SmithMar 31, 2014

Oh, the NCAA tournament.

March Madness certainly lived up to its name, and just four teams survived the gauntlet to keep hopes of a National Championship alive.

While No. 1 Florida lived up to expectations as the top overall seed, every other program in the Final Four pulled off upsets to reach the national semifinals.

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Unlike last year, when Wichita State made the Final Four, the glass slipper didn't quite fit for long enough to help No. 11 Dayton get past the Gators.

As for this year's surprising teams, both come in the form of familiar programs. In fact, both No. 7 UConn and No. 8 Kentucky have claimed a National Championship in the last three seasons, with the Huskies taking the 2011 title and the Wildcats winning one in 2012.

With the action starting back on Saturday, here's a look at the full schedule, odds and storylines heading into the huge weekend for college basketball.

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Live Stream
April 5	No. 1 Florida vs. No. 7 UConn	6:09 p.m.	TBS, TNT, truTV	NCAA.com
April 5	No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Kentucky	8:49 p.m.	TBS, TNT, truTV	NCAA.com
April 7	TBA vs. TBA	9:10 p.m.	CBS	NCAA.com

Team	Odds
Florida	1-1
Kentucky	5-2
Wisconsin	7-2
UConn	8-1

*Odds provided by Vegas Insider.

SEC Domination ... in Basketball?

For seven straight years, the SEC ruled college football by lifting the crystal ball every season. But after going 0-2 in the BCS, all seemed lost for the college powerhouse.

Then came basketball, where the perceived weak conference in basketball entered just three teams into the NCAA tournament, with one having to contend in a play-in game just to make the round of 64.

Well, that weakness has turned into a strength as the SEC is currently 11-1 in the tournament with more programs remaining in the Final Four than any other conference.

Colin Cowherd of ESPN brings up an interesting point about the teams in the conference:

While many fans in the SEC might not have cared prior to the start of the season, they are certainly rooting for two of the better basketball schools in the conference.

Both Kentucky and Florida have multiple national championships and a combined three in just the past decade. With that type of track record, expectations were high coming into the season for both.

But one fan in Big Blue Nation took his hope of winning a title a little further than most, as Darren Rovell of ESPN reminds his followers:

It's good looking ink, but was laughable midway through the regular season. Nowadays, the Wildcats fan looks brilliant as the program is just two wins away from winning it all.

Having two teams in the tournament semifinal is not new for the SEC, though. In the history of postseason play, the conference has featured multiple teams in the Final Four four separate times and have experienced great outcomes every time it's happened, as ESPN Stats & Info notes:

Both programs have experience on this huge stage and have come out on top before. With each one on separate sides of the bracket, the Gators and Wildcats could end up playing in a rematch of the SEC tournament championship.

First Timers Club

UConn and Wisconsin both have National Championships in the history of their programs—the Huskies obviously much more recently—but have never reached the final weekend with their current regime.

Bo Ryan has been with the Badgers for 13 seasons and has experienced several successful years with the team, including three regular season Big Ten titles and one tournament title, five Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight prior to the 2013-14 season.

But this year was a special one thanks to the talents of an emerging star in Frank Kaminsky, as Sports Illustrated notes:

As for UConn, Kevin Ollie has breathed new life into a program and has brought the Huskies to the final weekend of the college season in just his second year as a head coach—at any level.

The 41-year-old former point guard not only made the Final Four in his second season at the helm, but also did so in his first ever crack at the postseason, per SportsCenter:

While he doesn't have any sort of history in the Final Four as a head coach like Ryan, Ollie was an assistant coach for the 2010-11 team that took home the National Championship under Jim Calhoun.

Rather than being content with getting far in the tournament, Ollie spoke about his expectations going up against Michigan State, per Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post:

"Our game plan was simple: We wanted to hit first,” Ollie said. “Everybody was kind of picturing them as the giant, and we didn’t want to wait for the giant. We wanted to go meet our giant."

That attitude will no doubt remain the same going against the No. 1 overall seed in Florida. As for Ryan, his Badgers face the daunting task of stopping a talented Kentucky team maturing at the right time.

With both making it farther than they have ever been in their coaching careers—Ryan's clearly a little longer—either one could come away with the first Division I National Championship during their tenures as well.

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