Assuming that you have access to cable TV destination truTV, the NCAA has made it possible to watch every single game in the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournatment. (Sorry, it’s the first two rounds. That mess the last two nights does NOT count) Great, right? Well, it still doesn’t account for the fact that many of the games run concurrently, and, in the first two days, some of them are out-right dogs. I’m looking at you, Kansas-Boston U. Admittedly, the networks do a decent job of staggering, but some games are a bet to be better than others.
Chances are, you don’t have a legit dog in this fight, as some 280 Division I schools don’t make the tournament. So, what to watch? You’re busy, and probably too lazy to drag a second or even third television into the same room to put them all up together. Let’s take a look at the schedule and highlight the stuff worth watching:
March 17
Early Games
12:15 p.m.: East Region: No. 5 West Virginia vs. Clemson, CBS
12:40 p.m.: Southeast Region: No. 8 Butler vs. No. 9 Old Dominion, truTV
1:40 p.m.: Southwest Region: No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 Morehead State, TBS
The pick: Butler v. ODU. Butler went to the title game last year, remember? Some people think they’re better than the 8 seed they received, and others think they’ll be bounced in the first round. 8-9 games are generally closely contested, and I don’t think anyone believes that WVU will have much trouble with a Clemson team that’s probably at least a little gassed from playing late Tuesday and making the trip to Tampa Bay from Dayton.
Mid-Day Games
2:10 p.m.: West Region: No. 7 Temple vs. No. 10 Penn State, TNT
2:40 p.m.: East Region: No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Princeton, CBS
3:10 p.m.: Southeast Region: No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. UNC-Asheville, truTV
4:10 p.m.: Southwest Region: No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Richmond, TBS
4:40 p.m.:
West Region: No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 15 Northern Colorado
The pick(s): Ugh, is it any surprise that these games are on in the middle of the work day? Nobody outside of Pennsylvania wants to see PSU-Temple, and unless Princeton has some magic, Kentucky might run them off the floor in the first 15 minutes. You’ll have to hope that Morehead State gives Louisville some run in the 1:40 game, at least enough to get you to Vandy-Richmond at 4:10. This one has potential, simply because for as great as the SEC is in football, you can’t trust them in hoops outside the states of Kentucky and Florida most years.
Post-Dinner Games
6:50 p.m: Southeast Region: No. 2 Florida vs. No. 15 UC-Santa Barbara
7:15 p.m.: Southeast Region: No. 3 BYU vs. No. 14 Wofford, CBS
7:20 p.m.: West Region: No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Bucknell, TNT
7:27 p.m.:
Southeast Region: No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Belmont, truTV
The pick: Now things get interesting. The Jimmer Show starts at 7:15, and if he gets going early, you might as well stick around. Heck, he tends to score in bursts, so if Wofford sticks around for the first 10 minutes, it could be fun. Otherwise, make your way over to ‘The tru” for Wisconsin-Belmont, which has a lot of folks pick as a trendy upset. Belmont can flat shoot it, and Wisconsin couldn’t break 40 against Penn State in the Big-Ten tournament. In other words, don’t let the seeds fools you.
Night-Time Games
9:25 p.m.: Southeast Region: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Michigan State, TBS
9:45 p.m.: Southeast Region: No. 6 St. John’s vs. No. 11 Gonzaga, CBS
9:55 p.m.: West Region: No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Missouri, TNT
10:05 p.m.:
Southeast Region: No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Utah State, truTV
The Pick: Christ, CBS, thanks for cramming three potentially good games into the last hour. Here, I’d toggle between the first three games until KSU-Utah State tips. Utah State is another situation where I advise you to ignore the seeds. USU was ranked in the top 25 for a while this season, and again, if they get hot, they could make KSU sweat.
March 18
Early Games
12:15 p.m.: West Region: No. 4 Texas vs. No. 13 Oakland, CBS
12:40 p.m.: West Region: No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Tennessee, truTV
1:40 p.m.:
Southwest Region: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Akron, TBS
The pick: Happy Friday! These games suck. MI-TN is the only one with any potential here, I think, and Michigan is awful. Want to see an 8 seed who probably should have been forced to play a play-in game? Watch Michigan. Go out to lunch instead.
Mid-Day Games
2:10 p.m.: East Region: No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova, TNT
2:40 p.m.: West Region: No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 12 Memphis, CBS
3:10 p.m.: West Region: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Hampton, truTV
4:10 p.m.: Southwest Region: No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Florida State, TBS
4:40 p.m.:
East Region: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 UTSA/Alabama State
The pick: Arizona has probably one of the more exciting athletes in the tournament in Derrick Williams. Memphis will run with them though, so it will probably be the most entertaining game of this bunch. Texas A&M-FSU will be interesting only in that someone has to win.
Post-Dinner Games
6:50 p.m.: Southwest Region: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Boston University, TBS
7:15 p.m.: East Region: No. 2 UNC vs. No. 15 Long Island, CBS
7:20 p.m.: Southwest Region: No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 St. Peter’s, TNT
7:27 p.m.:
East Region: No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Marquette, truTV
The pick: Xavier-Marquette. Really, the other three games will probably be blowouts, and Marquette is probably better than an 11 seed, but not quite good enough, if I was picking (and I did).
Late Night Games
9:20 p.m.: Southwest Region: No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Illinois, TBS
9:40 p.m.: East Region: No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Georgia, CBS
9:55 p.m.: Southwest Region: No. 6 Georgetown vs. No. 11 VCU, TNT
10:05 p.m.
East Region: No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State, truTV
The pick: Illinois is not a 9 seed. Seriously, the Big-Ten is not that good at basketball. Go UW-UGA here. Washington’s Isiah Thomas is cold-blooded, and they just knocked off Arizona, so this will likely be the most entertaining of this bunch.
As always, though, keep an eye on the scores. CBS, as a rule, has always done a good job of keeping viewers informed of when something special is happening or about to happen.
And lastly, if you haven’t done so yet, you still have a short amount of time to sign up for the Crasstalk March Madness Bracket on CBS. The password is honeybadger.
Update (4:50PM)-Congrats to A Piece of the Continent, for being the only person in the Crassballin’ Bracket to get each of the first 4 games correct. Jerk.
A big reason why I love basketball so much is growing up in the 90s in suburban Chicago under the magic of Michael Jordan and the Bulls. One of my first memories growing up is my dad coming home from Montgomery Ward with a brand new Mitsubishi 46-inch TV and watching Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals, or more commonly known as “The Shrug” game.
