NCAA Tournament Bracket 2018: Updated Predictions for Round of 64

Texas Southern and Syracuse's First Four victories on Wednesday finalized the 64-team field for the first round of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Sixteen games will take place on Thursday, with the rest of the first-round action going down on Friday. You can find picks for all 32 games below as well some teams and players to watch in each regional.

Bracket

First-Round Predictions

South Regional

No. 1 Virginia over No. 16 UMBC, No. 8 Creighton over No. 9 Kansas State, No. 5 Kentucky over No. 12 Davidson, No. 4 Arizona over No. 13 Buffalo, No. 6 Miami (Florida) over No. 11 Loyola-Chicago, No. 3 Tennessee over No. 14 Wright State, No. 7 Nevada over No. 10 Texas, No. 2 Cincinnati over No. 15 Georgia State

West Regional

No. 1 Xavier over No. 16 Texas Southern, No. 9 Florida State over No. 8 Missouri, No. 5 Ohio State over No. 12 South Dakota State, No. 4 Gonzaga over No. 13 UNC Greensboro, No. 6 Houston over No. 11 San Diego State, No. 3 Michigan over No. 14 Montana, No. 7 Texas A&M over No. 10 Providence, No. 2 North Carolina over No. 15 Lipscomb

East Regional

No. 1 Villanova over No. 16 Radford, No. 8 Virginia Tech over No. 9 Alabama, No. 5 West Virginia over No. 12 Murray State, No. 4 Wichita State over No. 13 Marshall, No. 6 Florida over No. 11 St. Bonaventure, No. 3 Texas Tech over No. 14 Stephen F. Austin, No. 10 Butler over No. 7 Arkansas, No. 2 Purdue over No. 15 CSU Fullerton

Midwest Regional

No. 1 Kansas over No. 16 Penn, No. 8 Seton Hall over No. 9 Kansas State, No. 5 Clemson over No. 12 New Mexico State, No. 4 Auburn over No. 13 Charleston, No. 6 TCU over No. 11 Syracuse, No. 3 Michigan State over No. 14 Bucknell, No. 7 Rhode Island over No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 2 Duke over No. 15 Iona

What To Watch

South Regional

While my picks are quite chalky throughout the first round (they get weird in the later rounds with Cincinnati and Purdue meeting in the national championship), keep an eye on a few potential upsets in the South regional.

Notably, Davidson should give Kentucky a serious test and could even win that game outright thanks to senior forward Peyton Aldridge (21.5 points per game) and freshman guard Kellan Grady (18.0 points per game).

Elsewhere, Loyola-Chicago could pull off an upset over Miami, although the Hurricanes have just a 1.5-point edge, according to OddsShark. The Ramblers went 28-5 this season and have five players who posted double digits in scoring.

As for the top four seeds, they should all advance easily. Virginia's defense (ranked first in efficiency per the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings) will be too strong for UMBC, Purdue's well-balanced attack is going to cause problems for numerous teams this March, Tennessee's defense will prove to be too tough for Wright State and Arizona big man DeAndre Ayton will be almost impossible to guard against Buffalo.

West Regional

Every so often, a player arrives on the March Madness scene and takes over. Stephen Curry did so for Davidson in 2008 before becoming an NBA star. Kemba Walker did the same for UConn in 2011.

Mike Daum of South Dakota State could be that player this year. The South Dakota State forward is a dominant scoring and rebounding threat, as he averages 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds, per game. He's 6'9" and 250 pounds and can attack from the outside or inside, making him a very tough player to guard.

The Jackrabbits hung with No. 1 Gonzaga in the first round last year, as they trailed by just four at the half. The Bulldogs eventually pulled away in what was a sloppy, low-scoring affair (66-46), but the Jackrabbits impressed for more than half of the game.

Now they're back as a No. 12 seed and could pull off the upset against Ohio State, who is a tough team but could have trouble containing Daum.

East Regional

If you're looking for a fun underdog to root for in the NCAA tournament, Marshall should be your first stop. The Thundering Herd are led by head coach Dan D'Antoni, whose brother Mike coaches the NBA's Houston Rockets.

Like his brother, Dan D'Antoni orchestrates a successful, fast-paced offense. Per Pomeroy, Marshall is ranked a scorching sixth out of 351 Division I teams in pace. Marshall is also 12th in Division I in points per game (84.3).

Junior guard Jon Elmore leads the team with 22.8 points per game and also stuffs the rest of the stat sheet with 6.9 assists and 6.0 rebounds. Junior guard C.J. Burks scores 20.5 points per night, while junior forward Ajdin Penava leads the team in boards (8.6) while also contributing on the scoring front (15.5 points per game).

Perhaps this Marshall team can make a run and remind fans of another low seed that operated at a breakneck pace and upset a couple teams (the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast squad).

Midwest Regional

This is the potential future NBA star regional, as a host of players who could end up being lottery picks in the 2018 NBA draft can be found here.

All of Duke's starters could be first-round picks next year, and freshmen bigs Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr. should go in the lottery.

Michigan State junior center Jaren Jackson and sophomore forward Miles Bridges are predicted to go No. 3 and No. 12 in Sports Illustrated's latest NBA mock draft.

From the Big 12, Oklahoma point guard Trae Young looks like a top-10 pick, and Kansas' Devonte' Graham could go in the back end of the first round (SI has him at No. 30).

We're in for a treat if Michigan State and Duke meet in the Sweet 16. The two teams met earlier this year, with Duke winning 88-81. With so much at stake this time around, it will be great to watch potentially seven first-rounders share the floor.