Note: This post is from 2009. To view our 2010 March Madness coverage, use the following links:
- March Madness 2010 Schedule, Sites, and Tickets
- MSF Bracket Challenge
- Mens NCAA Tournament Bracket, TV Schedule, Announcers, Spreads
- Midwest Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- East Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- South Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- West Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- History of Final Four in Indianapolis
- Women’s NCAA Tournament Schedule, Sites, Tickets
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Three double-digit seeds will still be alive and fighting for their tournament lives when the second round games tip off on Saturday around 1:00. As I did yesterday and today, I’ll compile all of the relevant information on each game into a handy-dandy viewer’s guide. After a long week of work, a late night last night hanging out with one of my best friends ever who is in town for a visit, and probably a late night tonight, I’m not planning on waking up early tomorrow.
So I’m posting this now, lest I sleep all the way through to noon. (yeah right, “sleeping in” for me means 7:30 at the latest.)
Anyway, enough blabbering. The first day of the second round, as always, features a number of interesting
games and compelling questions:
- Will Ty Lawson be healthy enough to play for North Carolina? Will it matter, considering the Tar Heels are playing a team from the SEC?
- Did Cal-State Northridge wake Memphis (and yawning coach John Calipari, right) up, or will they somnambulate tomorrow and get upended by Maryland?
- Who will win the 3-point battle between AJ Abrams’ Longhorns and Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils?
- Does Michigan have an answer for Blake Griffin?
- Will I continue falling down the ranks in the MSF Bracket Challenge?
All of these questions and more will be answered beginning with UCLA-Villanova tipping off at 1:05 ET. Here is the complete schedule for Saturday:
NCAA Tournament Second Round TV Schedule and Spreads — Saturday Games
East #3 Villanova v East #6 UCLA
- TV Time: 1:05 PM
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
- Announcers: Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas
- Point Spread: Villanova -2 1/2
- Over-Under: 145
- My pick: Villanova
West #2 Memphis v West #10 Maryland
- TV Time: 3:20 PM
- Location: Kansas City, MO
- Announcers: Tim Brando and Mike Gminski
- Point Spread: Memphis -9 1/2
- Over-Under: 131 1/2
- My pick: Maryland
West #1 UConn v West #9 Texas A&M
- TV Time: 3:35 PM
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
- Announcers: Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas
- Point Spread: UConn -10 1/2
- Over-Under: 139 1/2
- My pick: UConn
West #4 Washington v West #5 Purdue
- TV Time: 5:40 PM
- Location: Portland, OR
- Announcers: Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner
- Point Spread: Washington -1 1/2
- Over-Under: 139 1/2
- My pick: Purdue (I realize this differs from my official bracket, but screw it.)
South #1 North Carolina v South #8 LSU
- TV Time: 5:45 PM ET
- Location: Greensboro, NC
- Announcers: Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg
- Point Spread: North Carolina -11 1/2
- Over-Under: 157 1/2
- My pick: North Carolina
South #2 Oklahoma v South #10 Michigan
- TV Time: 5:50 PM
- Location: Kansas City, MO
- Announcers: Tim Brando and Mike Gminski
- Point Spread: Oklahoma -6 1/2
- Over-Under: 135 1/2
- My pick: Oklahoma
South #4 Gonzaga v South #12 Western Kentucky
- TV Time: 8:10 PM ET
- Location: Portland, OR
- Announcers: Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner
- Point Spread: Gonzaga -10 1/2
- Over-Under: 143 1/2
- My pick: Gonzaga
East #2 Duke v East #7 Texas
- TV Time: 8:15 PM ET
- Location: Greensboro, NC
- Announcers: Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg
- Point Spread: Duke -7 1/2
- Over-Under: 139 1/2
- My pick: Duke
So, I have mostly favorites winning again with the major exception being Memphis and Maryland. I’m just not a believer in Memphis. They are talented, and they should win, but they are facing a battle-tested Maryland team that knows it can beat anyone on any given night. And Gary Williams has worked tournament magic before. Memphis very well may prove me wrong, but I think this upset will be the story of Saturday.
And Matt Painter’s Purdue Boilermakers, I think, will carry the Big Ten torch into the Sweet 16. I just don’t
think Michigan is consistent enough for 40 minutes to beat a team like Oklahoma that has a player the caliber of Blake Griffin.
Purdue, however, is proving that they have a very balanced attack — it is not necessarily explosive, and they are not going to blow many teams out, but they are effective. Purdue plays great defense and can harrass Washington’s guards, and Robbie Hummel really is a difference maker. If he can keep playing 30 minutes, he makes Purdue a really versatile team on both sides of the floor. I hate ‘em, but I respect ‘em. Tom Crean would certainly do well to model the way that Matt Painter has built his team around a core of solid, hard-nosed kids from the state of Indiana.
Enjoy the games tonight and tomorrow everyone. I’m sure I’ll be back at some point with some more random musings. And thanks for all of the traffic and support this week. It has easily been our biggest week ever, and obviously much credit and thanks goes to all of the readers who have visited and continued returning. I’m glad you’ve found our conference tournament and NCAA Tournament coverage useful, and we’ll keep it coming through the Final Four.
