The opening round of the NCAA Tournament was about as chalk as it’s been in recent memory. The upsets were hardly a shock, and mostly a result of poorly seeded teams. The better team won almost every game, with USC’s win over SMU holding as the only true bracket buster.
March Madness schedule 2017: Villanova and Arizona face under-seeded threats in Saturday’s 2nd round
The first round bored, but the second round looks promising.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
There was some exciting action.
Northwestern and Vanderbilt gave a thriller until the final seconds on a boneheaded Commodores mistake; Michigan and Oklahoma State ran up the scoreboard until the Cowboys drew blanks; Princeton executed its final possessions miserably to lose to Notre Dame; and a flagrant bad call gave Arkansas the win over Seton Hall.
But we’re still searching for the bracket buster, the buzzer-beater, and the defining moments of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Maybe the Round of 32 will bring them.
Games should tighten up as power conference schools collide. The defending champion Villanova Wildcats are in for a challenge against a star-studded and under-appreciated Wisconsin team. The Badgers aren’t a true No. 8 seed.
The Arizona Wildcats are in for a similar awakening as they take on a four-loss Saint Mary’s team that checks in statistically among the best in the nation. A widely inexperienced core, the Wildcats should see some fight against the Gaels.
Here is the full Saturday schedule (all times ET):
No. 4 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 12:10 p.m.
West region (Buffalo, N.Y.) | TV: CBS
No. 1 Villanova Wildcats vs. No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers, 2:40 p.m.*
East region (Buffalo, N.Y.) | TV: CBS
No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. No. 8 Northwestern Wildcats, 5:15 p.m.
West region (Salt Lake City, Utah) | TV: CBS
No. 3 Florida State Seminoles vs. No. 11 Xavier Musketeers, 6:10 p.m.
West region (Orlando, Fla.) | TV: TNT
No. 4 Butler Bulldogs vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 7:10 p.m.
South region (Milwaukee, Wisc.) |TV: TBS
No. 2 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 7 Saint Mary’s Gaels, 7:45 p.m.*
West region (Salt Lake City, Utah) | TV: CBS
No. 4 Florida Gators vs. No. 5 Virginia Cavaliers, 8:40 p.m.*
East region (Orlando, Fla.) | TV: TNT
No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 5 Iowa State Cyclones, 9:40 p.m.*
Midwest region (Milwaukee, Wisc.) | TV: TBS
*approximate game time
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