For Jon Teitel’s interview with Yale G Miye Oni – CLICK HERE
For Jon Teitel’s interview with NC Central C Raasean Davis – CLICK HERE
For today’s UTR Postseason News, Notes and CIT Games – CLICK HERE
This year was a rare year in that both of the lower-level First Four games were very competitive in Dayton. North Carolina Central looked like they might be the lowest-rated KenPom team to ever win an NCAA Tournament game, but North Dakota State did mount a late comeback for a 78-74 victory and will advance to play Duke in the first round of the East Region on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina.
In the nightcap, Arizona State won in an ugly game with St. John’s that the Sun Devils were never seriously threatened despite a close score in the final four minutes of that game. They will advance to play Buffalo in Tulsa in the West Region on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES (all times Eastern)
(10) MINNESOTA VS (7) LOUISVILLE (12:10 PM, CBS, Des Moines) – This should be a fantastic opener for the Tournament today. Will Louisville finally pull of their post-Duke hangover with their first win against someone not named Notre Dame in a month, or will Minnesota continue their momentum from the Big 10 Tournament where they beat Purdue?
(14) YALE VS (3) LSU (12:40 PM, TruTV, Jacksonville) – This game has Upset Alert written all over it with Will Wade’s suspension (and possible termination to follow), but will a Yale team that was up and down in the Ivy League be able to pull this one off?
(12) NEW MEXICO STATE VS (5) AUBURN (1:30 PM, TNT, Salt Lake City) – New Mexico State has become a March staple in the tournament and will be looking for their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1993 – will they get it against a red-hot Auburn team that beat Tennessee twice within the span of 9 days?
(13) VERMONT VS (4) FLORIDA STATE (2:00 PM, TBS, Hartford) – The Catamounts and their fans will be making a roughly 3-4 hour trip from Burlington to the XL Center to take on a Florida State that is also on a roll with a win against Virginia and a relatively close loss against a Duke team with Zion Williamson in the lineup in the ACC Tournament.
(15) BRADLEY VS (2) MICHIGAN STATE (approx. 2:40 PM, CBS, Des Moines) – There were rumblings that Michigan State should have had a #1 seed after their Big 10 Championship, but they shouldn’t have too much trouble against a Bradley team that won the Missouri Valley Championship for the first time since 1988.
(11) BELMONT VS (6) MARYLAND (approx. 3:10 PM, TruTV, Jacksonville) – Fun fact in the NCAA Tournament – at least one First Four team has won a first round game since the field expanded to 68 in 2011. This game also features the potential for this to happen again – Maryland is also coming off of an early Big 10 Tournament exit against Nebraska last week. Belmont is coming off of their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory against Temple on Tuesday night.
(13) NORTHEASTERN VS (4) KANSAS (approx. 4:00 PM, TNT, Salt Lake City) – Kansas was able to get 2 wins in the Big 12 in a pseudo-neutral environment before losing to Iowa State in the championship game – they need to be weary of a Northeastern team that got hot late in the year and beat Hofstra in the CAA Championship.
(12) MURRAY STATE VS (5) MARQUETTE (approx. 4:30 PM, TBS, Hartford) – This will definitely have the most star power of the afternoon games with Ja Morant and Markus Howard. Marquette finished the year ice cold with home losses to Creighton and Georgetown and a loss in the Big East semis against Seton Hall. Murray State got the auto bid with an OVC Championship victory against Belmont.
(10) FLORIDA VS (7) NEVADA (6:50 PM, TNT, Des Moines) – Nevada is another team that stumbled down the stretch, and probably wasn’t surprising when they went down to San Diego State in the Mountain West semifinals. Florida ran hot and cold in the SEC, but did get a significant win in the SEC Tournament against a depleted LSU team.
(15) ABILENE CHRISTIAN VS (2) KENTUCKY (7:10 PM, CBS, Jacksonville) – Abilene Christian is one of two teams making their NCAA Tournament debut this year, but their stay figures to be a short one against Kentucky.
(11) SAINT MARY’S VS (6) VILLANOVA (7:20 PM, TBS, Hartford) – While Saint Mary’s fans figure to be outnumbered by Nova fans tonight, it didn’t faze them in the WCC Tournament where they upset Gonzaga to snag an automatic bid into the field. Villanova didn’t dominate the Big East like they had in recent years, but nonetheless remain a threat to make a significant postseason run.
(16) FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON VS (1) GONZAGA (7:27 PM, TruTV, Salt Lake City) – FDU came back from an 11-point deficit to beat Prairie View in their First Four matchup on Tuesday, but appear to be way overmatched against a Gonzaga team that will be in a bad mood after their loss to Saint Mary’s in the WCC Championship 9 days ago.
(15) MONTANA VS (2) MICHIGAN (approx. 9:20 PM, TNT, Des Moines) – This was a curious decision by the Selection Committee to put a rematch from last season’s NCAA Tournament into the bracket this season. Outside of 3 losses to Michigan State, the Wolverines have looked superb and could make another deep postseason run this year.
(10) SETON HALL VS (7) WOFFORD (approx. 9:40 PM, CBS, Jacksonville) – Seton Hall’s return to the NCAA Tournament was a surprise given last year’s senior class that departed, but they will have their hands full against a Wofford team that ran the table against a strong SoCon this year.
(14) OLD DOMINION VS (3) PURDUE (approx. 9:50 PM, TBS, Hartford) – It took a few tries, but Jeff Jones and Old Dominion are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. Getting their first NCAA tournament win since 2010 (a 1st-round win against Notre Dame) might be a tall order against Purdue, though.
(9) BAYLOR VS (8) SYRACUSE (approx. 9:57 PM, TruTV, Salt Lake City) – Syracuse will be without the services of Frank Howard in this game, but this still looks to be an evenly matched game between both teams.