Saturday Games (all times Eastern)
(13) FURMAN vs. (5) SAN DIEGO State (12:10 PM, CBS) – Furman advanced to the 2nd round with a furious comeback in the closing seconds against Virginia; for the Paladins to advance to the Sweet 16, they will need to pull off another upset against a San Diego State team that survived an upset bid of their own against Charleston on Thursday. The Aztecs snapped what was an 11-game losing streak by the Mountain West in NCAA Tournament play.
(5) DUKE vs. (4) TENNESSEE (approx. 2:40 PM, CBS) – Duke continued their red-hot play with a blowout win against Oral Roberts in their opener; Tennessee needed a full 40 minutes to survive against a game Louisiana squad on Thursday. With the Vols out a key starter, Duke will likely be favored in this game.
(8) ARKANSAS vs. (1) KANSAS (5:15 PM, CBS) – Arkansas was a team that started the year on a hot streak before injuries cooled off the Razorbacks. They have since righted the ship and did not have much trouble against Illinois in their opener. Kansas won their opener against Howard with interim head coach Norm Roberts on the bench; Bill Self was still recovering from a procedure performed during the Big 12 Tournament. (UPDATE – Self will not be on the bench for today’s game)
(15) PRINCETON vs. (7) MISSOURI (6:10 PM, TNT) – Princeton pulled off the major stunner on Thursday with a comeback against Arizona; it was the Tigers’ first victory in the NCAA Tournament since 1998. They now face a Missouri team that beat Utah State in their opener on Thursday.
(9) AUBURN vs. (1) HOUSTON (7:10 PM, TBS) – This could be an interesting setup with Auburn having a “home court” advantage against a Houston team that had to play a full 40 minutes against Northern Kentucky on Thursday. And I use quotes because while the crowd normally pulls for the underdog to win, I have a hard time imagining a partisan Alabama crowd pulling for their archrival in this one.
(10) PENN STATE vs. (2) TEXAS (approx. 7:45 PM, CBS) – Penn State had no trouble against Texas A&M in their opener and won in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2001 NCAA Tournament; that year also saw the Nittany Lions pull off a stunner against UNC to advance to the Sweet 16 that year. Texas also snapped what I believe was a 6-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament with their win against Colgate.
(7) NORTHWESTERN vs. (2) UCLA (approx. 8:40 PM, TNT) – UCLA is now the last team remaining from the Pac-12 after their 1st-round victory; they will take on a Northwestern team that is making only their 2nd NCAA Tournament appearance of any kind.
(8) MARYLAND vs. (1) ALABAMA (approx. 9:40 PM, TBS) – The nightcap in Birmingham will feature a Maryland team that had their biggest win away from home since November with their comeback victory against West Virginia. They will take on an Alabama team that beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with ease.
Sunday Games (all times Eastern)
(11) PITTSBURGH vs. (3) XAVIER (12:10 PM, CBS) – We nearly had an occurrence where a 1, a 2, a 3 AND a 4 seed could have lost their first-round games. Xavier needed a 13-point comeback against Kennesaw State to move on to the 2nd round; they will face a Pittsburgh team that won a rock fight against Iowa State on Friday. They held the Cyclones to 23% shooting from the field in their win.
(6) KENTUCKY vs. (3) KANSAS STATE (approx. 2:40 PM, CBS) – Kentucky exorcised their ghosts from last year’s run with a win against Providence in their opener; they will be looking to avenge a loss to Kansas State in the 2018 NCAA Tournament when both teams met in the Sweet 16 that year.
(7) MICHIGAN STATE vs. (2) MARQUETTE (5:15 PM, CBS) – Marquette secured their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2013 when they beat Vermont on Friday; Michigan State secured their spot for the 2nd round when they opened the 2nd half against USC on a run and ended up beating the Trojans without too much trouble.
(5) SAINT MARY’S vs. (4) CONNECTICUT (6:10 PM, TNT) – For one half, Iona looked like they were prime to upset UConn, but the Huskies shifted into overdrive for the 2nd half and completely overran the Gaels in their opening game. Saint Mary’s survived a potential 5-12 upset with their win against VCU on Friday.
(6) CREIGHTON vs. (3) BAYLOR (7:10 PM, TBS) – This is a rematch from the 2014 2nd round when Baylor pulled off a mild upset in what turned out to be Doug McDermott’s last game at Creighton. The Bluejays outlasted NC State in their opener; Baylor also had a brief scare against UC-Santa Barbara before kicking into another gear and pulling away from the Gauchos in their opener.
(16) FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON vs. (9) FLORIDA ATLANTIC (approx. 7:45 PM, TruTV) – FDU’s upset against Purdue may have been even bigger from a NET standpoint than UMBC’s win against Virginia 5 years ago; it was also the first win for a Northeast Conference team in the NCAA Tournament outside of the First Four. They will play a Florida Atlantic team that had multiple lead changes against Memphis and ultimately got a game-winner with less than 5 seconds to play.
(5) MIAMI vs. (4) INDIANA (approx. 8:40 PM, TNT) – Indiana played well into the night in their victory against Kent State on Friday; they will take on a Miami team that closed their game against Drake with a 16-1 run in the final 5:40 of their game to move on to Sunday night’s matchup.
(6) TCU vs. (3) GONZAGA (approx. 9:40 PM, TBS) – Mike Miles Jr. hit the game-winner against Arizona State to help the Horned Frogs advance to the 2nd round; Gonzaga advanced with a win against Grand Canyon on Friday.