Tuesday, March 17, 2015

NCAA Tournament: First Four and Day 1 Viewing Guide

Every game of the tournament is, of course, available online or on various channels on TV. But if you can only watch just one game at a time, follow our bolded games to see what we think will be the best action from the First Four and the games on Thursday. Friday's viewing guide is coming soon.

Tuesday, March 17

6:40PM, truTV - (16) Hampton vs. (16) Manhattan - The First Four games are easy because they are one right after the other. No decisions need to be made. The winner of this one gets Kentucky. Congratulations.

9:10PM, truTV - (11) BYU vs. (11) Ole Miss - Xavier gets the winner of this one. Ole Miss has slumped down the stretch, but that doesn't mean they can't win. The NCAA Tournament will always surprise you.

Wednesday, March 18

6:40PM, truTV - (16) Robert Morris vs. (16) North Florida - Duke has struggled early in the tournament in recent years. If that trend is to continue, one of these teams will have to play extremely well. The Blue Devils are the best they have been in a long time. North Florida would give them the better game.

9:10PM, truTV - (11) Dayton vs. (11) Boise St. - One of our biggest Selection Sunday shockers was Dayton as an 11 seed and one of the last four in. We thought the Flyers were safe. Now they get a home game against Boise St. It won't be easy, but give the edge to Dayton in their home arena.

Thursday, March 19

12:15PM, CBS - (14) Northeastern vs. (3) Notre Dame - The first game of the day is naturally where you should start your viewing. Tune into Northeastern and Notre Dame, but only for a few minutes because better games are ahead.

12:40PM, truTV - (14) UAB vs. (3) Iowa St. - UAB has not had the kind of season that past UAB teams have had. Nevertheless, the Blazers are used to playing and winning games in the NCAA Tournament. It will be a tough task to take down Iowa St., but UAB won't be intimidated.

1:40PM, TBS - (14) Georgia St. vs. (3) Baylor

2:10PM, TNT - (15) Texas Southern vs. (2) Arizona

2:45PM, CBS - (11) Texas vs. (6) Butler - By the time the early games are finishing up, Texas and Butler will be getting started, which is a great game to get the next wave started. Texas came into the season as the favorite to win the Big 12. They did not do that. They didn't even get close. In fact, lots of people don't even think they should be in the tournament. Butler had the opposite season. They were picked to finish 6th in the Big East, but had a solid year and earned their at-large spot. This should be a close game worth having on until the end.

3:10PM, truTV - (11) UCLA vs. (6) SMU

4:10PM, TBS - (11) Ole Miss vs. (6) Xavier - When they Texas/Butler game has been decided, flip over to Ole Miss against Xavier. This would have been a close game regardless of who won the First Four game.

4:40PM, TNT - (10) Ohio St. vs. (7) VCU

6:50PM, TBS - (16) Lafayette vs. (1) Villanova - All the game should be finished around the time this one is getting started. See if the Leopards can hang with Villanova for just 20 minutes before the next game gets going.

7:10PM, CBS - (9) Purdue vs. (8) Cincinnati - Eight-Nine match-ups are always fun because the teams are usually so evenly matched. The winner of this game probably gets Kentucky, though, so don't spend too much time here. Chances are these teams won't be around past the weekend.

7:20PM, TNT - (13) Harvard vs. (4) North Carolina

7:27PM, truTV - (12) Stephen F. Austin vs. (5) Utah - Now we're talking. This is the game to watch for awhile. Stephen F. Austin had another great season in Southland play. They won a tournament game last year too, so they're used to this situation. Utah looked for parts of the season like a 3-4 seed. They have fallen to a 5, but that doesn't mean they can't get back their mid-season form. It will be interesting to see which style of play wins out here - SFA likes to score and Utah will try to slow it down.

9:20PM, TBS - (9) LSU vs. (8) NC State

9:40PM, CBS - (16) TBD vs. (1) Kentucky

9:50PM, TNT - (12) Wofford vs. (5) Arkansas - This is another 12-5 match-up that could result in an upset. The Terriers will want to keep it low scoring, but that will be a difficult task against the offense of Arkansas.

9:57PM, truTV - (13) Eastern Washington vs. (4) Georgetown - We like both of these late night match-ups, so you'll have to use your best judgement. See which game is the most competitive and watch that one. Eastern Washington is looking to be the next team to take out Georgetown early in the tournament. The Hoyas, for their part, are trying to figure out how to get back to the Sweet 16.

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