First Round Thoughts and Saturday Viewing Guide

Well we were in for quite a first round of the NCAA Tournament. Thursday was the best first day I've ever seen, with seemingly almost every game coming down to the last possession. Among the notable games: Villanova needing overtime to survive being upset by 15 seed Robert Morris, Murray State getting a buzzer-beater to take down Vanderbilt, and Ohio pulling off a big upset in manhandling Georgetown. Wake Forest also pulled off a nice win for the ACC, beating Texas. Wake almost blew it in regulation, only to see Texas blow an 8 point lead in overtime.

On Friday, there weren't nearly as many close games. There were still highlights, among them: Cornell looking very strong in upsetting Temple, Wisconsin holding off Wofford on the last possession, and Michigan State hanging on against New Mexico State. The ACC had a solid day as well, with Georgia Tech pulling off a modest upset against Oklahoma State. Maryland and Duke won their first games with relative ease. Clemson and Florida State had disappointing showings and will be going home early.

So what can we expect for Saturday's second round games? Here's a preview:

#2 Villanova vs. #10 St. Mary's (1:05 p.m., WDBJ)
If you go based off of how the teams looked on Thursday, you'd have to give the edge to St. Mary's. They looked very good against a strong Richmond team. The big question mark is whether Villanova's game against Robert Morris was just a wakeup call or a sign of a team in decline.

#5 Butler vs. #13 Murray State (3:20 p.m.)
This is not the most attractive game on paper, but it is a good matchup between two great teams. Butler is 29-4 and has won 21 games in a row. Murray State is 31-4. I like Butler in this one.
#6 Tennessee vs. #14 Ohio (3:35 p.m., WDBJ)
This could be a very interesting game, if Ohio comes out with the same firepower it did on Thursday. Ohio proved it could play with the big boys, and wants to keep this streak going. Tennessee will not overlook this opponent, though, and I'm sure is happy Ohio knocked off Georgetown, making their road to the Sweet 16 easier.

#1 Kansas vs. #9 Northern Iowa (5:40 p.m.)
Northern Iowa had one of the more exciting wins on Thursday and is a strong 29-4 on the year. Meanwhile, Kansas struggled a bit in its first round game against Lehigh. But I wouldn't bet on the upset.
#3 Baylor vs. #11 Old Dominion (5:45 p.m., WDBJ)
Like in the Tennessee game, Baylor is another team that was glad to see an upset, not having to play Notre Dame. Old Dominion is a good team, but I think Baylor has too much size and athleticism for them.
#3 New Mexico vs. #11 Washington (5:50 p.m.)
This is a very compelling matchup between two of the west's best teams. Washington looked very strong in its comeback win over Marquette, while New Mexico struggled to put away Montana. New Mexico can quiet a lot of its skeptics with a win here.

#2 Kansas State vs. #7 BYU (8:10 p.m.)
Kansas State had a very ho-hum win in its first game, while BYU had to go to double overtime to beat Florida. Don't expect BYU to roll over, though. Jimmer Fredette and company have a real chance to pull the upset.
#1 Kentucky vs. #9 Wake Forest (8:15 p.m., WDBJ)
This is the only game with an ACC team playing today and the game I'm looking forward to seeing most. I want to see if Wake Forest's speed can keep up with Kentucky. Al-Farouq Aminu must have a good game if Wake has a chance.