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2016 NCAA Tournament - Thursday Schedule and Open Thread

The Round of 64 kicks off! Here is the full slate of games for the tourney's first day, so stop in and discuss the action on your "sick day" from work.

By alstein
William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Early Afternoon Games:

4 Duke Blue Devils vs. 13 NC-Wilmington Seahawks - West Region

Tip-off: 12:15pm (all times Eastern), CBS (Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore/Evan Washburn)

8 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. 9 Butler Bulldogs - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 12:40pm, TruTV (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Lewis Johnson)

8 Colorado Buffaloes vs. 9 Connecticut Huskies - South Region

Tip-off: 1:30pm, TNT (Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery/Tracy Wolfson)

4 Iowa State Cyclones vs. 13 Iona Gaels - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 2:00pm, TBS (Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Eradhl)

Game to Watch: Iowa State vs. Iona

I have a hard time seeing Iowa State crash out again so early for the second straight year, but this is a hot upset pick. The MAAC champions are a strong 13 seed, coming in at 77th in KenPom, and their star and leading scorer A.J. English might have an NBA future. Iowa State has been inconsistent at best this season under first-year head coach Steve Prohm but still rate as KenPom's third best offense. Big upsets are always more fun than 8/9 games, so this could be the one to track.

Late Afternoon Games:

5 Baylor Bears vs. 12 Yale Bulldogs - West Region

Tip-off: 2:45pm (approximate), CBS (Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore/Evan Washburn)

1 Virginia Cavaliers vs. 16 Hampton Pirates - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 3:10pm (approximate), TruTV (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Lewis Johnson)

1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. 16 Austin Peay Governors - South Region

Tip-off: 4:00pm (approximate), TNT (Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery/Tracy Wolfson)

5 Purdue Boilermakers vs. 12 Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 4:30pm (approximate), TBS (Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Eradhl)

Game to Watch: Baylor vs. Yale

This time slot looks boring on paper, with two 1 vs. 16 match-ups of the four games. That said, Yale is my underdog Sweet 16 team pick this year. They are really good defensively and rate in just about every metric right there with some high-major at-large teams. The Ivy League seems to have a pretty decent track record in the tourney, although a lot of that is just Harvard in recent years. Baylor is another one that crashed out way too early last year that has to make it out of the first round this year, right? The Bears' resume was boosted by the sheer fact that they played a lot of top teams, but they weren't that good in them (5-11 against top 50 RPI teams - which Yale is).

Early Evening Games:

3 Miami-Florida Hurricanes vs. 14 Buffalo Bulls - South Region

Tip-off: 6:50pm, TNT (Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore/Evan Washburn)

5 Indiana Hoosiers vs. 12 Chattanooga Mocs - East Region

Tip-off: 7:10pm, CBS (Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery/Tracy Wolfson)

1 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. 16 Fla Gulf Coast Eagles - East Region

Tip-off: 7:20pm, TBS (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Lewis Johnson)

3 Utah Utes vs. 14 Fresno State Bulldogs - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 7:27pm, TruTV (Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Eradhl)

Game to Watch: Indiana vs. Chattanooga

The Hoosiers seem like a trendy pick - or at least they were going to be until they drew a potential second round match-up with Kentucky. The pressure is on for Tom Crean, whose postseason record has been less than stellar with Indiana. Sure, they won the B1G regular season, but then they crashed out immediately in the conference tournament. Can you imagine the uproar in Bloomington if he does the same to the Mocs (who admittedly KenPom does not think is all that good)? Pressure's on; if Indiana struggles early, I'd be very curious to see how they respond.

Late Evening Games:

6 Arizona Wildcats vs. 11 Wichita State Shockers - South Region

Tip-off: 9:20pm (approximate), TNT (Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore/Evan Washburn)

4 Kentucky Wildcats vs. 13 Stony Brook Seawolves - East Region

Tip-off: 9:40pm (approximate), CBS (Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery/Tracy Wolfson)

8 USC Trojans vs. 9 Providence Friars - East Region

Tip-off: 9:50pm (approximate), TBS (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Lewis Johnson)

6 Seton Hall Pirates vs. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 9:57pm (approximate), TruTV (Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Eradhl)

Game to Watch: All of them?

This is the most intriguing pod of the Round of 64, so head out and buy a few extra TVs for Thursday night. I don't even know where to begin. Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker in their last tournament against Elite Eight regular Sean Miller and Arizona? The nation's most underrated player Jameel Warney against Kentucky's deep-but-problematic front line (not to mention first-team All-American Tyler Ulis)? Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil against USC's sudden infusion of young talent? Big East champion Seton Hall and 5-star PG Isaiah Whitehead against tournament mainstay Gonzaga? All of these games are can't-miss for college hoops junkies. Find a way, people.

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