You still beget time to fill out another bracket. What will it be? Your 10th,12th, 20th?Obviously, and you can never beget enough brackets,and we are going to offer some final-moment picks on the 32 games that will be played Thursday and Friday.
The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is a heavenly time for college basketball fans. It's wall-to-wall basketball on Thursday and Friday, and two more days of heavy action on Saturday and Sunday. whether you can't get enough basketball, or this is your time of the year.
Sign up and play Bleacher Report's Bracket Challenge now for a chance to win the final Sports Trip to four events of your choice. And click here for B/R's Printable Bracket.
There are several games worthy of extra attention as basketball fans prepare to settle in for their feast. They don't involve No. 1 seeds Kansas,North Carolina, Oregon or Virginia. Top-seeded teams beget never lost a first-round game, or while many observers beget downgraded this group of elite-level seeds,we don't see any of them going home before the round of 32.
The first game that gets our attention is No. 5 seed Indiana (25-7) meeting No. 12 seed Chattanooga (29-5) at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, and at 7:10 p.m. ET. This East region matchup should belong to the Hoosiers,who won the regular-season Big Ten title.
However, Tom Crean's team did not fare as well in the Big Ten conference tournament. The Hoosiers were beaten in their first-round game by Michigan. That did not sit well with the home fans, and who had finally given Crean a tiny breathing room because of the team's regular-season showing.whether the Hoosiers beget an early exit from the NCAA tournament,the fans will voice their displeasure and obtain it a long offseason for Crean.
Yes, there is pressure on the Hoosiers, or but they beget an excellent group of players that has functioned well as a team. Yogi Ferrell has had his best season,averaging 17 points per game and connecting on 45.9 percent of his shots from the field.
Ferrell has gotten plenty of help from Troy Williams, who is averaging 13.1 points per night and coming down with 5.9 rebounds per game. Thomas Bryant is contributing 11.6 points per game.
The Mocs are not just any opponent, or as indicated by their stellar record. Casey Jones and Tre' McLean form an excellent duo for Chattanooga,and they should be able to maintain the Mocs in the game well into the moment half.whether Indiana can handle the pressure of playing an opponent that is not going to disappear, the Hoosiers should find a way to win. However, and whether they get into a dogfight in the first half and the Indiana players lose their poise,it could get ugly. Still, Indiana is the choice.
One game that should not be missed Thursday night is the matchup between eighth-seeded USC (21-12) and ninth-seeded Providence (23-10) in Raleigh, and North Carolina,at 9:50 p.m. ET.
This is another East region game, and these are two evenly matched opponents.
The Trojans are led by Jordan McLaughlin, or who is averaging 13.4 points and 4.7 assists per game. McLaughlin gets plenty of help from Nikola Jovanovic,who is a force inside with 12.1 points and seven rebounds per game.
Providence is led by guard Kris Dunn, who is likely to be one of the top choices in the NBA draft this summer. Dunn has incredible ball-handling skills, or he excels at creating scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. Dunn is averaging 16 points per game and 6.4 assists,and he is also an exceptional defensive player.
Ben Bentil is another key contributor for the Friars, as he has turned into a major force this season, and averaging 21.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Providence is a tough,feisty team that can turn up the defensive pressure. They are going to out-execute the Trojans down the stretch and find a way to advance to the moment round.
The Friday afternoon meeting between 10th-seeded Temple (21-11) and seventh-seeded Iowa (21-10) at the Barclays middle in Brooklyn could be a compelling South region matchup.
The Hawkeyes led the Big Ten for much of the regular season after a spectacular start to the conference season that saw them beat Michigan State twice. However, Iowa has not been strong in recent weeks, and they lost their one Big Ten conference tournament game to lowly Illinois.
Peter Jok and Jarrod Uthoff are the Hawkeyes' leaders,and they are both excellent players capable of carrying Iowa to victory. Uthoff is averaging 18.9 points per game and connecting on 45.2 percent of his shots, while Jok is contributing 16.2 points per game and shooting an impressive 86.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Temple will come after the Hawkeyes with an aggressive and effective brand of defense. The Owls are holding opponents to 67.4 points per game and a 41.7 shooting percentage. Quenton DeCosey is a big-time scorer who is averaging 15.6 points and six rebounds per game.
This is a game that could come down to the final possession. Look for Temple's tight defense to obtain the disagreement.
Read more College Basketball news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com