N.C.A.A. Tournament Viewers Guide

It’s N.C.A.A. Tournament Time; your humble diarist knows this because his employer sent out an e-mail reminding everyone that using up loads of bandwidth to watch basketball over the internet is a violation of company policy.

My response: Come and get me.

Anyway, the first round of the Tournament is annually the greatest two days in sports, so let’s break down what the viewer can expect, by time-slot. Let’s first start with announcer pairings, by site:

Greensboro, N.C.: Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg
Kansas City: Tim Brando, Mike Gminski
Philadelphia: Carter Blackburn/Dick Enberg, Jay Bilas
Portland, Ore.: Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner
Miami: Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel
Dayton, Ohio: Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery
Minneapolis: Gus Johnson, Len Elmore
Boise: Craig Bolerjack, Bob Wenzel

Now that we’ve got the voices set, let’s get to the games, starting with Thursday. All times E.D.T.:

12:20 p.m. – South Region (Greensboro, N.C.): No. 9 Butler vs. No. 8 Louisiana State (-2.5)
12:25 p.m. – West Region (Kansas City): No. 15 California State-Northridge vs. No. 2 Memphis (-19.5)
12:30 p.m. – West Region (Philadelphia): No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Brigham Young (-2)

Like the 9s here. Though they’re not very significant, we can hope for a couple of close games to tip off the Tourney.

2:30 p.m. – West Region (Portland, Ore.): No. 12 Northern Iowa vs. No. 5 Purdue (-8)
(approx.) 2:50 p.m. – South Region (Greensboro, N.C.): No. 16 Radford vs. No. 1 North Carolina (-26)
(approx.) 2:55 p.m. – West Region (Kansas City): No. 10 Maryland vs. No. 7 California (-1)
(approx.) 3 p.m. – West Region (Philadelphia): No. 16 Tennessee-Chattanooga vs. No. 1 Connecticut (-20.5)

I don’t believe in the Big Ten. That being said, Northern Iowa is even less athletic. The game of the slot here is Cal and U-Md. If the good Greivis Vasquez shows up, the Terps should win.

(approx.) 4:55 p.m. – West Region (Portland, Ore.): No. 13 Mississippi State vs. No. 4 Washington (-5)

Ah, the Slot of Death, while CBS affiliates east of the Rockies are showing local news – though credit CBS for putting this game on CBS College Sports network. Good thing; this could be a good one.

7:10 p.m. – East Region (Greensboro, N.C.): No. 10 Minnesota vs. No. 7 Texas (-4)
7:10 p.m. – South Region (Kansas City): No. 10 Michigan vs. No. 7 Clemson (-5)
7:20 p.m. – East Region (Philadelphia): No. 14 American vs. No. 3 Villanova (-16.5)
(approx.) 7:25 p.m. – South Region (Portland, Ore.): No. 13 Akron vs. No. 4 Gonzaga (-12.5)

Welcome to the Big Ten Bloodbath. Honestly, I don’t see any of these games being particularly close, though at least one undoubtedly will.

(approx.) 9:40 p.m. – East Region (Greensboro, N.C.): No. 15 Binghamton vs. No. 2 Duke (-21.5)
(approx.) 9:40 p.m. – South Region (Kansas City): No. 15 Morgan State vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (-16.5)
(approx.) 9:50 p.m. – East Region (Philadelphia): No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth vs. No. 6 California-Los Angeles (-7)
(approx.) 9:55 p.m. – South Region (Portland, Ore.) No. 12 Western Kentucky vs. No. 5 Illinois (-4.5)

So U.C.L.A. has to come all the way across the country to play V.C.U.? I’m taking the points.

And now, onto Friday:

12:15 p.m. – South Region (Miami): No. 14 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 3 Syracuse (-12)
12:25 p.m. – East Region (Dayton, Ohio): No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State (+2)
12:30 p.m. – West Region (Boise): No. 11 Utah State vs. No. 6 Marquette (-4.5)
12:30 p.m. – Midwest Region (Minneapolis): No. 14 North Dakota State vs. No. 3 Kansas (-10)

As much as I’d love to see North Dakota State give the Jayhawks a game, I don’t see it. Everyone and their mother are picking Utah State. I am, too.

(approx.) 2:45 p.m. – South Region (Miami): No. 11 Temple vs. No. 6 Arizona State (-4.5)
(approx.) 2:55 p.m. – East Region (Dayton, Ohio): No. 16 East Tennessee State vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh (-19.5)
(approx.) 3 p.m. – West Region (Boise): No. 14 Cornell vs. No. 3 Missouri (-13)
(approx.) 3 p.m. – Midwest Region (Minneapolis): No. 11 Dayton vs. No. 6 West Virginia (-8.5)

Temple can pull the upset only if Dionte Christmas goes off. I can’t wait for Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-Mo.) tweets during the Mizzou game.

7:10 p.m. – Midwest Region (Miami): No. 12 Arizona vs. No. 5 Utah (pick ‘em)
7:10 p.m. – Midwest Region (Dayton, Ohio): No. 16 Morehead State vs. No. 1 Louisville (-21)
7:20 p.m. – Midwest Region (Minneapolis): No. 10 Southern California vs. No. 7 Boston College (+2)
7:25 p.m. – East Region (Boise): No. 13 Portland State vs. No. 4 Xavier (-10.5)

No respect for B.C. or Utah here. Probably for good reason; those should both be tight games.

(approx.) 9:40 p.m. – Midwest Region (Miami): No. 13 Cleveland State vs. No. 4 Wake Forest (-7.5)
(approx.) 9:40 p.m. – Midwest Region (Dayton, Ohio): No. 9 Siena vs. No. 8 Ohio State (-3)
(approx.) 9:50 p.m. – Midwest Region (Minneapolis): No. 15 Robert Morris vs. No. 2 Michigan State (-16.5)
(approx.) 9:55 p.m. – East Region (Boise): No. 12 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Florida State (-2.5)

I really like the Seminoles here giving just 2.5. Also, Ohio State would lose to Siena if the game wasn’t at UD Arena.