2014 March Madness Bracketology Predictions and Projections – NCAA Bracket Field of 68 from Expert March Madness Bracket Prognosticators(UPDATED March 4th): The field of 68 for this year’s 2014 NCAA Tournament won’t be announced until Sunday, March 16th but teams are already starting to punch and secure their March Madness tickets by playing well enough to cement themselves into at-large bids at minimum – barring any unforseen late season collapses. Many teams not able to submit a resume good enough to earn an at-large bid will still be able to earn the Automatic bids in next month’s exciting Conference Tournament action. Of course, some less fortunate programs will most likley play themselves completely out and off the “March Madness Bubble” by losing must-win games in their March Madness Postseason Conference Tournaments. Who will make it in this year’s 2014 Field of 68 as this year’s 36 at-large selections? We got a pretty good handle on who will be in the field and have listed our March Madness Expert Predictions below as we will be updating this list regularly the next few weeks as we get set to finally see the field announced so we can get down to our main business and start forecasting and predicting the WINNERS of each game and round in this year’s NCAA Tournament 2014 Bracket. Well, let’s cut to the chase and stop the talk, let’s get down to picking and predicting who will make it in and out of this year’s 2014 March Madness Bracket baby!
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NOTE: This March Madness Bracket UPDATE was last updated at March 16th at 12:40 PM EST. Please bookmark and check back for future updates!
AAC Conference
LOCKS: Louisville, Cincinnati, SMU, UConn, Memphis
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE
NOTES: Pretty cut and dry. This league has 5 very good teams that will all secure NCAA Tournament bids and the bottom 5 teams in this league stink. It remains to be seen just how good the 5 teams that make the NCAA field truly are as they have had the luxury of having easy wins versus the bottom 5 scrub teams all season long.
ACC Conference
LOCKS: Virginia, Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke, Pittsburgh
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NC State, Florida St, Clemson
NOTES: The ACC is very top heavy this season and really doen’t deserve more than 5 teams. NC State and Florida State are two of the 1st 4 teams OUT with no shot at getting IN.
ATLANTIC 10 Conference
LOCKS: Saint Louis, VCU, Massachusetts, St Joe’s, George Washington
“Bubble Teams” IN: Dayton
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE
NOTES: This conference is very good and underrated nationally. All 5 of the teams listed as LOCKS above can easily make runs to the Sweet 16 with a little luck in the draw and maybe even to the Elite 8 or Final Four. Yes, folks, these teams are that good. The one team on the “BUBBLE” at the moment is Dayton, but with a RPI of 43 and 3 wins over Top 25 RPI teams they will get IN the field.
BIG EAST Conference
LOCKS: Villanova, Creighton, Providence
“Bubble Teams” IN: Xavier
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE
NOTES: Providence was the last team IN before they solved that problem by winning the Big East Tournament with a huge win over Creighton. The Friars most likely jumped ahead of Xavier in the seeding and should get a 10 or 11 seed as their RPI is 42 and went 2-1 against Creighton this season.
BIG 10 Conference
LOCKS: Michigan, Michigan St, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio St
“Bubble Teams” IN: Nebraska
“Bubble Teams” OUT: Minnesota
NOTES: Minnesota had to win against Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament but that loss keeps them OUT for sure.
BIG 12 Conference
LOCKS: Kansas, Iowa St, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas St
“Bubble Teams” IN: Oklahoma St, Baylor
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE
NOTES: This league will get 7 teams and deservedly so. Even with their loss to an undermanned Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma State is still comfortably in the field with a good RPI of 45 plus 5 wins over RPI Top 50 teams.
Conference USA Conference
LOCKS: NONE
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: So Miss
NOTES: So Miss has a strong RPI of 31 but just 1 win over RPI Top 50 teams. They simply don’t have enough quality wins to warrant an at-large bid. They will be one of the first four left OUT.
Horizon League Conference
LOCKS: NONE
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE
NOTES: This is a one bid league this year. Only the Horizon League Tournament winner will make the field and it should be either Green Bay or Cleveland St.
IVY League Conference
LOCKS: Harvard
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE
NOTES: The IVY league is a one-bid league like almost always again this year. Nothing to see here folks, let’s move along…
Missouri Valley Conference
LOCKS: Wichita St
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE
NOTES: Wichita St deserves a #1 seed in the Big Dance and should get it.
Mountain West Conference
LOCKS: San Diego St, New Mexico
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: NONE.
NOTES: This is a two bid league. End of story.
Pac 12 Conference
LOCKS: Arizona, UCLA, Arizona St, Colorado, Stanford, Oregon
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: California, Utah
NOTES: The PAC 12 has been an outstanding league this season and deserves 6 bids. California had a great shot at being the 7th but a disappointing close to to regular season and an opening round loss to Colorado in the Pac 12 Tournament has pushed them OUT for good.
Southeastern Conference(SEC)
LOCKS: Florida, Kentucky
“Bubble Teams” IN: Tennessee
“Bubble Teams” OUT: Arkansas, Missouri, Georgia
NOTES: Arkansas is officially OUT after losing to South Carolina in the SEC tournament. Georgia is far OUT with their loss in the SEC simis plus a poor RPI of 76, while Missouri is OUT with a loss against Florida in the SEC quarters. Simple as that.
West Coast Conference
LOCKS: Gonzaga, BYU
“Bubble Teams” IN: NONE
“Bubble Teams” OUT: St Mary’s
NOTES: Gonzaga and BYU are LOCKS. This nonsense that BYU is somehow on the “BUBBLE” with a RPI of 33 and 3 wins against RPI Top 50 teams is absurd. They may be one of the last four IN, but they are a LOCK nevertheless. St Mary’s has no chance. End of story.
LAST FOUR BUBBLE TEAMS IN THE FIELD: Nebraska, Xavier, BYU, Dayton
LAST FOUR BUBBLE TEAMS OUT OF THE FIELD: So Miss, NC State, Minnesota, Florida St
BREAKDOWN BY LEAGUE:
7: Big 12
6: Big Ten, A-10, Pac 12
5: ACC, AAC
4: Big East
3: SEC
2: Mountain West, WCC
1: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, CUSA, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern Athletic, Summit, Sun Belt, Western Athletic (22)
2014 NCAA TOURNAMENT DATES
Selection Sunday
March 16
First Round
March 18-19
UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
Second-Third Rounds
March 20, 22
First Niagara Center (Buffalo, N.Y.)
BMO Harris Bradley Center (Milwaukee)
Amway Center (Orlando, Fla.)
Veterans Memorial Arena (Spokane, Wash.)
March 21, 23
PNC Arena (Raleigh, N.C.)
AT&T Center (San Antonio)
Viejas Arena (San Diego)
Scottrade Center (St. Louis)
South Regional
March 27, 29
FedExForum (Memphis, Tenn.)
West Regional
March 27, 29
Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.)
East Regional
March 28, 30
Madison Square Garden (New York)
Midwest Regional
March 28, 30
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
National Semifinals
April 5
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Championship Game
April 7
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
