NCAA Tournament progresses with 16 more games Friday
The NCAA Tournament continues, with 16 more games set for Friday. The first full day of March Madness was largely favorable for higher-seeded teams. Only two lower-seeded teams, including No. 12 seed McNeese State, managed to secure wins on Thursday. McNeese State’s victory over Clemson keeps its team manager and former Syracuse guard in the spotlight. The tournament will cut the field down to 32 teams by the end of Friday. Friday's action starts with an 8 vs. 9 matchup between Mississippi State and Baylor at 12:15 p.m. on CBS. The Oklahoma Sooners, featuring former Syracuse guard Brycen Goodine, will face defending champion Connecticut later in the night at 9:25 p.m. on TNT. Duke's Maliq Brown may not play due to a shoulder injury. Duke's coach Jon Scheyer said Brown is eager to return, but his status is uncertain. Predictive analytics show Duke has a 27.1% chance of winning the tournament, while Florida, another No. 1 seed, has a 69.7% chance of reaching the Final Four. Here is Friday's TV schedule for the first round: - (8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Baylor, 12:15 p.m. | CBS - (2) Alabama vs. (15) Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m. | truTV - (3) Iowa State vs. (14) Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m. | TNT - (5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State, 2:00 p.m. | TBS - (1) Duke vs. (16) Mount St. Mary’s, 2:50 p.m. | CBS - (7) Saint Mary’s vs. (10) Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m. | truTV - (6) Ole Miss vs. (11) North Carolina, 4:05 p.m. | TNT - (4) Maryland vs. (13) Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m. | TBS - (1) Florida vs. (16) Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m. | TNT - (3) Kentucky vs. (14) Troy, 7:10 p.m. | CBS - (7) Marquette vs. (10) New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. | TBS - (4) Arizona vs. (13) Akron, 7:35 p.m. | truTV - (8) UConn vs. (9) Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m. | TNT - (6) Illinois vs. (11) Xavier, 9:45 p.m. | CBS - (2) Michigan State vs. (15) Bryant, 10:00 p.m. | TBS - (5) Oregon vs. (12) Liberty, 10:10 p.m. | truTV Thursday's results included several significant wins, with top seeds like Houston and Auburn prevailing comfortably.