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2016 NCAA Tournament - Friday Schedule and Open Thread

The fun continues on day two, where we wait around all day for Notre Dame to tip off its 2016 NCAA Tournament.

By alstein
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Early Afternoon Games:

7 Dayton Flyers vs. 10 Syracuse Orange - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 12:15pm (all times Eastern), CBS (Brian Anderson/Steve Smith/Dana Jacobson)

2 Villanova Wildcats vs. 15 UNC-Asheville Bulldogs - South Region

Tip-off: 12:40pm, TruTV (Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce)

7 Oregon State Beavers vs. 10 Virginia Commonwealth Rams - West Region

Tip-off: 1:30pm, TNT (Carter Blackburn/ Mike Gminski/Jaime Maggio)

4 California Golden Bears vs. 13 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors - South Region

Tip-off: 2:00pm, TBS (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Ros Gold-Onwude)

Game to Watch: Cal vs. Hawaii

Cal is so hot right now, having lost just twice since the beginning of February by a total of 7 points. The mega-talented Bears are finally hitting their stride just in time for the tournament. Still, Hawaii is a tough, tough 13 seed for them to face, with the Warriors having lost just five times this season and ranking as 61st in KenPom. Notably, they gave Oklahoma a great game back in December, losing to the Sooners by just three. Could they give Cal a similar run?

Late Afternoon Games:

2 Michigan State Spartans vs. 15 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders - Midwest Region

Tip-off: 2:45pm (approximate), CBS (Brian Anderson/Steve Smith/Dana Jacobson)

7 Iowa Hawkeyes vs. 10 Temple Owls - South Region

Tip-off: 3:10pm (approximate), TruTV (Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce)

2 Oklahoma Sooners vs. 15 CS-Bakersfield Roadrunners - West Region

Tip-off: 4:00pm (approximate), TNT (Carter Blackburn/ Mike Gminski/Jaime Maggio)

5 Maryland Terrapins vs. 12 South Dakota State Jackrabbits - South Region

Tip-off: 4:30pm (approximate), TBS (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Ros Gold-Onwude)

Game to Watch: Maryland vs. SDSU

Tempted to go with Fran-on-Fran action in Iowa vs. Temple, but this is a hot 5-12 upset pick. Maryland has been terrible ever since inexplicably playing a DII opponent in early February, having dropped 5 of 8 games since then. The Jackrabbits aren't my favorite team to pull off the upset (coming in at just 80th in KenPom, their 12 seed is questionable), but the double-digit seeds that often win aren't the most obvious.

Early Evening Games:

7 Wisconsin Badgers vs. 10 Pittsburgh Panthers - East Region

Tip-off: 6:50pm, TNT (Brian Anderson/Steve Smith/Dana Jacobson)

3 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. 14 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks - East Region

Tip-off: 7:10pm, CBS (Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce)

3 Texas A&M Aggies vs. 14 Green Bay Phoenix - West Region

Tip-off: 7:20pm, TBS (Carter Blackburn/ Mike Gminski/Jaime Maggio)

1 Oregon Ducks vs. 16 Holy Cross Crusaders - West Region

Tip-off: 7:27pm, TruTV (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Ros Gold-Onwude)

Game to Watch: West Virginia vs. SFA

I figure most Irish fans will be tuned into this one, scouting the potential next opponent and rooting hard for the upset. Still, if the Lumberjacks do manage to pull this off, Notre Dame would be something of an underdog, at least according to KenPom, in a potential second round match-up. Brad Underwood's squad pulled off the upset two years ago over VCU in a 5-12 (and nearly did last year over Utah in another 5-12), but have an opportunity here to top that over the 3 seeded Mountaineers. The Lumberjacks are the only team in the nation that turn over opponents more than West Virginia. If you like defense, this is your game.

Late Evening Games:

2 Xavier Musketeers vs. 15 Weber State Wildcats - East Region

Tip-off: 9:20pm (approximate), TNT (Brian Anderson/Steve Smith/Dana Jacobson)

6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. 11 Michigan Wolverines - East Region

Tip-off: 9:40pm (approximate), CBS (Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce)

6 Texas Longhorns vs. 11 Northern Iowa Panthers - West Region

Tip-off: 9:50pm (approximate), TBS (Carter Blackburn/ Mike Gminski/Jaime Maggio)

8 Saint Josephs Hawks vs. 9 Cincinnati Bearcats - West Region

Tip-off: 9:57pm (approximate), TruTV (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Ros Gold-Onwude)

Game to Watch: Notre Dame vs. Michigan

Duh. Also, should mention Texas vs. Northern Iowa to flip to during commercials. UNI has been insanely good against top competition this year, so this should be a good one. I actually keep putting Texas in my Final Four from a very weak region, but they can easily crash out here to the Panthers. Two of the best young coaches in the game in this one.

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