NCAA Tournament 2014 Predictions And TV Schedule For Tuesday Games

The 2014 NCAA tournament kicks off Tuesday night to decide the first four winners and we thought we’d offer our first four predictions to help out brackets everywhere. After the NCAA tournament committee decided to expand the field to 68 teams several years ago, it has taken time for fans to adjust to the idea of a “first four” play in style game. Until this season, the games have been reserved for mid-major teams playing to simply lose in the NCAA tournament.

As always, the 2014 NCAA Tournament committee chairman, Ron Wellman, had a lot of defending to do in the decisions made for the tournament bracket. One of the major points to be defended was the inclusion of NC State and Xavier at the exclusion of teams like SMU, who many thought deserved a seat at the table. But regardless of what all the couch potato 2014 NCAA tournament committee’s of one out there think, the bracket is set and the games will be underway soon. So here are some first four predictions (as well as the TV schedules for each game).

#16 Albany Great Danes vs. #16 Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (Tuesday, March 18, 6:40 pm EST, truTV)

The Great Danes of Albany are making their second straight NCAA tournament appearance, losing to Duke University in the first round last season as a 15 seed. The Great Danes are not nearly as good this year as they were last year, needing a surprise run through the America East conference tournament. They beat both Vermont and Stony Brook, the top two teams in the conference, to earn their automatic bid into the 2014 NCAA tournament.

Mount St. Mary’s comes out of the Northeast conference, one of the historically weakest conferences in the tournament. The Mountaineers sport one of the worst records in the 2014 NCAA tournament field at 16-16. Mount St. Mary’s stunned conference favorite Robert Morris to get the NEC automatic bid. The Mountaineers play an upbeat style of basketball designed to score points quickly.

Considering the winner of this one gets Florida, the winner ultimately doesn’t matter. But we like the Albany Great Danes to move on, as their defense will take down Mount St. Mary’s.

#12 NC State Wolfpack vs. #12 Xavier Musketeers (Tuesday, March 18, 9:10 pm EST, truTV)

The biggest matchup of the first four in Dayton gets going Tuesday night, as NC State takes on Xavier. These are two bubble teams that were all over the board in pre tournament bracket predictions. Featuring mainstays in two of the countries power house conferences, this game will be the first one to have a true NCAA tournament “feel”.

NC State features ACC player of the year and scoring expert, T.J. Warren. Warren dominated defenses this season, putting up 24.8 points per game and trailing only Doug McDermott in terms of all around scoring ability. The Wolfpack were mediocre most of the season, but their ability to beat top 50 teams on the road impressed the committee. They also showed an ability to never quit in the ACC tournament.

Xavier comes into the NCAA tournament after finishing third in the new Big East conference. Unfortunately, they ran into red hot Creighton in the semifinals of the conference tournament and lost a tough one. The Musketeers were as inconsistent in their season as the Wolfpack and never seemed to establish an identity. They did show a propensity to get hurt by big time scorers, like McDermott.

NC State will come out the winners of this matchup and go on to face Saint Louis, in a game they can win if T.J. Warren has the will to take them their. Stay tuned for more 2014 NCAA tournament predictions following the games Tuesday night.

[Images Via Bing]