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NCAA March Madness Round of 32 (Day 1) Open Thread

After the first two day of the NCAA Tournament, only two Pac-12 teams remain. So much for the conference being strong this year. Meanwhile, Indiana faces Kentucky in one of today's most interesting matchups.

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Well, the "strong" Pac-12 continued to falter on Friday. Seventh-seeded Oregon State lost to Virginia Commonwealth 75-67 and fourth-seeded UC Berkeley lost to thirteenth-seeded Hawaii 77-66.

That leaves just Utah who will face Gonzaga today and Oregon who will face St. Joseph tomorrow night as the only Pac-12 teams left in the Tournament.

In other action yesterday, Northern Iowa defeated Texas on a buzzer-beater three-pointer from half-court by Paul Jesperson. Meanwhile, Cincinnati lost Because forward Octavius Ellis did not release his game-tying dunk until after time expired and, therefore, didn't count.

Today's action had three No. 1 seeds playing, but the more compelling games may be the games with two of the No. 3 seeds and two of the No. 4 seeds. Miami will face the No. 11 seed Wichita St. Shockers who are coached by Gregg Marshall whom many Bruin fans would like to see replace Steve Alford in Westwood. No. 4 Duke will face twelfth-seeded Yale who defeated Baylor on Thursday. In a matchup of teams UCLA beat, Utah will square off against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

But, the most interesting game of the day may be Kentucky vs. Indiana. Hoosier Coach Tom Creen has led a resurgence this year in Bloomington, but the rumors are that he may still be on the hot seat. Does he need his Hoosiers to win to save his job? I don't know. But, even if they lose and he gets fired, do any of us really think the Hoosiers would take Alford off our hands after this season? I sure don't.

This is your NCAA Round of 32 (Day 1) Open Thread.

Saturday, March 19: Round of 32 Games

Time TV Location Region Game PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST//REPORTER
9:10a CBS Providence South (3) Miami-Florida Hurricanes vs. (11) Wichita State Shockers Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore//Evan Washburn
After Conc. CBS Providence West (4) Duke Blue Devils vs. (12) Yale Bulldogs Eagle/Webber/Elmore//Washburn
2:15p CBS Des Moines East (4) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (5) Indiana Hoosiers Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery//Tracy Wolfson
3:10p TNT Denver Midwest (4) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (12) Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas//Jamie Erdahl
4:10p TBS Raleigh Midwest (1) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (9) Butler Bulldogs Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner//Lewis Johnson
After Conc. CBS Des Moines South (1) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (9) Connecticut Huskies Nantz/ Hill/ Raftery//Wolfson
After Conc. TNT Denver Midwest (3) Utah Utes vs. (11) Gonzaga Bulldogs Catalon/Lappas//Erdahl
After Conc. TBS Raleigh East (1) North Carolina Tar Heels vs. (9) Providence Friars Harlan/Miller/Bonner//Johnson