NCAA tourney viewers guide: What to watch and what to skip Thursday
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For one glorious 36-hour stretch between 12 p.m. EST on Thursday and midnight on Friday, CBS and Turner Sports will televise 32 opening-round NCAA tournament games. Here's a look at which games on Thursday's slate are must-see and which you can afford to click away from until the final two minutes:
THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Northeastern (Midwest Region) — 12:15 EST (CBS)
No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 UAB (South Region) — 12:40 EST (TruTV)
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 Georgia State (West Region) — 1:40 EST (TBS)
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 Texas Southern (West Region) — 2:10 EST (TNT)
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What to watch: In a session without a clear must-watch matchup, you should probably check out one of the field's most entertaining teams. Iowa State's free-flowing offense averages a Big 12 best 78.3 points per game and the Cyclones shoot a league-leading 48 percent from the field. No lead is safe against Iowa State either as the Cyclones have rallied for comeback wins in their last five games.
What to skip: Even though Texas Southern boasts a pair of impressive wins against Michigan State and Kansas State, the 15th-seeded Tigers are not likely to pose a threat to surging Arizona. This is a team that relies heavily on the dribble penetration of its guards, which is not a good formula against an Arizona team with size in the paint and elite defenders on the perimeter.
Potential upsets: The most dangerous underdog in this session might be Georgia State, which boasts a backcourt that includes NBA prospect R.J. Hunter, Kentucky transfer Ryan Harrow and Louisville transfer Kevin Ware. Unfortunately, the Panthers are 313th in defensive rebounding percentage and Baylor gobbles up offensive boards like Tic Tacs. That probably doesn't bode well for Georgia State.
Player to watch: The last time Kevin Ware played in the NCAA tournament, the former Louisville guard suffered a gruesome broken leg against Duke in the 2013 Elite Eight. Ware transferred to Georgia State last spring, paving the way for his return to the NCAA tournament on Thursday as a member of the Panthers. Determined to become known for something besides his brutal injury, Ware is averaging 7.7 points this season.
No. 6 Butler vs. No. 11 Texas (Midwest Region) — 2:45 EST (CBS)
No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 UCLA (South Region) — 3:10 EST (TruTV)
No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Ole Miss (West Region) — 4:10 EST (TBS)
No. 7 VCU vs. No. 10 Ohio State (West Region) — 4:40 EST (TNT)
What to watch: The Texas-Butler game is one of the most compelling of the round of 64 since it features a Longhorns team trying to salvage a season with far more grandiose expectations than a No. 11 seed and a Bulldogs team cast as an underdog in spite of being the higher seed. The Longhorns are just 3-12 against the RPI top 50, yet they're top 25 in the KenPom rankings because they've played so many good teams close.
What to skip: There's not a bad game in this group, but Ole Miss-Xavier probably boasts the least star power and brand-name appeal. To me, it's also the game least likely to produce a Sweet 16 team among these four.
Potential upsets: Two of the double digit seeds — Ohio State and Texas — are actually favored by Las Vegas oddsmakers, so those wouldn't even be real upsets. Of the other two games, UCLA has the better chance to win. The Bruins shouldn't be in the field, but how many times have we seen the team that catches a lot of criticism rally around that and come out with something prove.
Player to watch: Shannon Scott and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State. It will be the responsibility of Ohio State's two ball handling guards to keep the Buckeyes from falling victim to HAVOC. VCU forces 16.2 turnovers per game this season, but Ohio State only commits 11.3.
THURSDAY NIGHT SESSION
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Lafayette (East Region) — 6:50 EST (TBS)
No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Purdue (Midwest Region) — 7:10 EST (CBS)
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Harvard (West Region) — 7:20 EST (TNT)
No. 5 Utah vs. 12 Stephen F. Austin (South Region) — 7:27 EST (TruTV)
What to watch: Utah was on the cusp of cracking the top 10 during most of league play until an ill-timed late slide caused the Utes to slide to a No. 5 seed. Can they recover for the NCAA tournament? Perhaps, but the NCAA didn't make it easy on them with a difficult opening-round pairing against formidable Southland Conference champion Stephen F. Austin.
What to skip: Villanova has no elite talent. Lafayette has no chance to win. Unless it's somehow close into the second half, this is a good one to skip.
Potential upsets: Stephen F. Austin is probably the best bet here. Harvard has sprung opening-round upsets the past two NCAA tournaments against New Mexico and Cincinnati, but this Crimson team hasn't shown that capability this season. The re-emergence of Marcus Paige, the development of Justin Jackson and the strength of its interior game should enable North Carolina to roll.
Player to watch: A.J. Hammons, Purdue. The development of Hammons has helped Purdue recover from a disastrous non-league season that included losses to Gardner-Webb, North Florida and Vanderbilt. The big center is averaging 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds despite ceding playing time to teammate Isaac Haas.
No. 8 NC State vs. No. 9 LSU (East Region) — 9:20 EST (TBS)
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 16 Hampton (Midwest Region) — 9:40 EST (CBS)
No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 12 Wofford (West Region) — 9:50 EST (TNT)
No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 13 Eastern Washington (South Region) — 9:57 EST (TruTV)
What to watch: Eastern Washington shot better than 40 percent from behind the arc as a team, boasts the nation's eighth-best points per possession offense and features the nation's leading scorer in guard Tyler Harvey. Fun team and a scary matchup for Georgetown, which has crashed out of the NCAA tournament in its first or second game all five times it has made the field since its 2007 Final Four appearance.
What to skip: Unless Jesus really does suit up for Edward Joyner Jr., Hampton will be lucky to still be within single digits of top-ranked Kentucky by the first TV timeout.
Potential upsets: It would be an upset if Hampton is within 20 at halftime and Wofford has a history of beating the teams it should beat but not toppling too many formidable power conference foes. That means the best hope of a late-night upset is Eastern Washington. The Eagles beat Indiana this season and should benefit from crowd support in the Pacific Northwest.
Player to watch: Tyler Harvey, the nation's leading scorer, has a remarkable story for how he got to Eastern Washington from Southern California. The sweet-shooting junior once had zero scholarship offers from programs at any level, so he agreed to join Jim Hayford as a walk-on first at Whitworth University and later at Eastern Washington. Now he's a dark-horse NBA prospect and starring on college basketball's biggest stage.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
