Following another entertaining round of conference championships, the field for the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is set, with multiple first and second round match-ups lined up to be highly entertaining. Completing strong campaigns of their own, the Florida Gators, Virginia Cavaliers, Wichita State Shockers and Arizona Wildcats earned the four No. 1 seeds while perennial powers in Duke, Wisconsin, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State and Kansas all earned Top 4 seeds in their respective regions as well. Hoping to make another strong run one year removed from a championship, Louisville and head coach Rick Pitino won’t pay too much attention to their seeding, even if they feel it’s disrespectful.
“I judge it from the eye test,” Pitino said after his Cardinals completed a 29-5 season with a victory over UConn in the American Athletic Conference championship. “Understand something: Every analyst has an agenda, every coach has an agenda. That being said, if you ask me who the best college basketball player in America is, I would say Russ Smith. If you ask me who the best power forward is, I would say Montrezl Harrell. I’m impressed with our guys and what they have done to win a regular-season and conference tournament title. The way we have done it, in the fashion we have done it, fits the eye test.”
While Pitino and the defending champion Cardinals continue to prepare for their opening round match-up against Steve Masiello’s Manhattan Jaspers (No. 13 in Midwest Region), each of the remaining squads who either automatically qualified or received an invitation will keep up with their respective routines for what they hope will be a memorable tournament experience. Set to open on Tuesday, March 18 with two intriguing First Round contests, here’s a complete look at the matchups, dates and times for the First and Second Rounds of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First & Second Round Schedule
*Regions: S = South, W = West, E = East, MW = Midwest
First Round – Wednesday, March 19 (University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio)
No. 16 Texas Southern vs. No. 16 Cal Poly 6:40pm, ET (truTV)
No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Iowa 9:10pm, ET (truTV)
Second Round – Thursday, March 20 (All Times Eastern)
Dayton #11 S vs. Ohio St. #6 S 12:15 PM (CBS)
American #15 W vs. Wisconsin #2 W 12:40 pm (truTV)
Pittsburgh #9 S vs. Colorado #8 S 1:40 PM (TBS)
Harvard #12 E vs. Cincinnati #5 E 2:10 PM (TNT)
W. Michigan #14 S vs. Syracuse #3 S 2:45 PM (CBS)
BYU #10 W vs. Oregon #7 W 3:10 PM (truTV)
Albany #16 S vs. Florida #1 S 4:10 PM (TBS)
Delaware #13 E vs. Michigan St. #4 E 4:40 PM (TNT)
Saint Joe's #10 E vs. Connecticut #7 E 6:55 PM (TBS)
Wofford #15 MW vs. Michigan #2 MW 7:10 PM (CBS)
NC State #12 MW vs. Saint Louis #5 MW 7:20 PM (TNT)
No. Dakota St. #12 W vs. Oklahoma #5 W 7:27 PM (truTV)
UW-Milwaukee #15 E vs. Villanova #2 E 9:25 PM (TBS)
Arizona St. #10 MW vs. Texas #7 MW 9:40 PM (CBS)
Manhattan #13 MW vs. Louisville #4 MW 9:50 PM (TNT)
New Mex. St. #13 W vs. San Diego St #4 W 9:57 PM (truTV)
Second Round – Friday, March 21
Mercer #14 MW vs. Duke #3 MW 12:15 PM (CBS)
Nebraska #11 W vs. Baylor #6 W 12:40 PM (truTV)
Stanford #10 S vs. New Mexico #7 S 1:40 PM (TBS)
Weber St. #16 W vs. Arizona #1 W 2:10 PM (TNT)
TBD vs. UMass #6 MW 2:45 PM (CBS)
UL-Lafayette #14 W vs. Creighton #3 W 3:10 PM (truTV)
Eastern Ky. #15 S vs. Kansas #2 S 4:10 PM (TBS)
Oklahoma St. #9 W vs. Gonzaga #8 W 4:40 PM (TNT)
Geo. Wash. #9 E vs. Memphis #8 E 6:55 PM (TBS)
TBD vs. Wichita St. #1 MW 7:10 PM (CBS)
Providence #11 E vs. N. Carolina #6 E 7:20 PM (TNT)
SF Austin #12 S vs. VCU #5 S 7:27 PM (truTV)
Coast. Car. #16 E vs. Virginia #1 E 9:25 PM (TBS)
Kansas St. #9 MW vs. Kentucky #8 MW 9:40 PM (CBS)
N.C. Central #14 E vs. Iowa St. #3 E 9:50 PM (TNT)
Tulsa #13 S vs. UCLA #4 S 9:57 PM (truTV)
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