12:35 a.m.: The final game of the night is complete, as Kansas State comes away with the 73-68 victory over Utah State.
It was a day of few upsets, but there were quite a few scares for higher-seeded teams, and the ones that escaped in this early round need to re-focus there efforts to ensure their longevity in the dance.
Morehead State comes away as the Cinderella story of the day, stunning Louisville in the final seconds with one clutch three. Keep up with NESN, as we have all the updates throughout the NCAA tournament, until that "One Shining Moment."
12:15 a.m.: Of the eight night games in this long day of college basketball, Gonzaga was the only one to pull off the upset over St. John's with the 86-71 final.
Guard Marquise Carter fueled the Bulldogs' victory with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists.
11:53 p.m.: Cincinnati also comes away with a win in the final wave of St. Patrick's Day matchups, pulling out a 78-63 win over the Tigers.
The Bearcats got an incredible boost from their bench, as Yancy Gates, Dion Dixon and Sean Kilpatrick combined for 34 points in the win.
11:50 p.m.: As always in the final seconds of close basketball games, it comes down to the free throws. Malcolm Lee sunk one of his two free throws at the end of the game, and it was enough to propel the Bruins past the late-surging Spartans in Tampa.
Give Michigan State credit for battling back late in the game. The Bruins maintained the lead throughout, but the Spartans weren't going to go down without a fight — and they fought tooth and nail.
11:45 p.m.: What a difference a few minutes makes. The Spartans have battled back within one point, 77-76, with seconds to go. Can they challenge for the win?
11:25 p.m.: Gonzaga is not letting up on the Kennedy-less Red Storm, holding a solid 60-48 lead with 12 minutes to play in the game.
Utah State is nearing Kansas' lead, as they come within five points early in the second half.
11:10 p.m.: UCLA is having no problem staying ahead of the Spartans as they continue with a 64-48 lead in the second half. Tyler Honeycutt and Joshua Smith are leading the way for the Bruins, with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Gonzaga is keeping up with their success against the Red Storm, taking a 52-40 lead early in the second half.
Cincy's defense is up to the task against Missouri, as they are holding the Tigers to a 35-point effort in the second half.
10:55 p.m.: Kansas State has a comfortable lead over the Aggies, heading into halftime with a 33-22 advantage.
10:48 p.m.: Even scoring across the board for the Bulldogs, and it leads them to a 43-32 advantage at halftime.
In Tampa, UCLA maintains their solid lead over Michigan State. The Bruins lead it 49-37 with 13:54 to play in the game.
10:40 p.m.: Halftime arrives and it proves the Bearcats got things in gear as the first half went on — posting a 39-28 lead over Missouri.
Kansas State is pulling away from Utah state with a 25-15 lead with less than five to play in the first.
Gonzaga maintains their 10 point lead as well, posting a 40-30 lead with a minute to play in the half.
10:30 p.m.: Gonzaga isn't messing around here. The Bulldogs are out to a significant 31-20 lead, spreading the offense throughout their starters and their bench.
Cincy is keeping Missouri at bay, but not by much. The Bearcats have a 33-28 lead with less than four to play in the first.
10:15 p.m.: UCLA is out to a substantial lead over Michigan State at halftime, as they hold a 42-24 over the Spartans.
Cincy has crawled back to take a slim lead over Missouri, posting a 23-21 advantage with eight minutes left in the first.
Gonzaga has gotten out to an early lead over St. John's, who is missing Kennedy's versatility dearly. The Bulldogs have a 26-18 lead with 10 minutes to go in the first.
Our final game of the night has also started, as No. 5 Kansas State has an 8-7 lead over No. 12 Utah State.
9:50 p.m.: Missouri has gotten out to a quick start over Cincy — we talked about their spotty defense earlier — as they raced to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes of the matchup.
UCLA has doubled the output of the Spartans, taking a 26-13 lead with seven minutes remaining in the half.
9:45 p.m.: Coming up with a 9:55 p.m. tip off is Gonzaga and St. John's. The Red Storm will be playing without one of their top players, senior D.J. Kennedy, but the No. 6 seed will not let that slow them down as they take on No. 11 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs took a stand toward the end of the season, but will see if they're still on their feet after this one.
9:40 p.m.: Missouri and Cincinnati are the next game on tap, and this should be an exciting matchup between between an 11 and a 6 seed. The quick Missouri offense could test the not-so-strong Cincy defense — so we'll keep our eyes on this one.
Meanwhile, UCLA is keeping pace against the Spartans, holding a 16-8 lead with 11:40 to go in the first.
9:36 p.m.: No upsets in that wave, as Wisconsin comes through with 72-58 victory over Belmont. The Bruins gave a tough battle to begin with, but the Badgers pulled away in the second half for the win.
9:30 p.m.: Looks like Wisconsin is going to take the win in this one as well, advancing all the top seeds in the third wave of tournament matchups.
The Badgers currently post a 71-55 lead with 1:26 left, but as we all know. It' ain't over til it's over.
9:25 p.m.: It was tight to start, but in the end, BYU got the better of Wofford as they picked up a 74-66 win over the Terriers. Fredette was a big reason behind the win, tallying 32 points and eight assists in the victory.
9:20 p.m.: As the first round of night games come to a close — the next wave begins.
No. 10 Michigan State is already squaring off with No. 7 UCLA in Tampa, where the Bruins taking a 10-3 lead early in the first.
9:17 p.m.: Looks like Bryan Cohen will be eating his words. The Bucknell baller posted a video saying he was going to "shut down" Kemba Walker. Not so much.
Walker was two rebounds away from a triple double against the Bison, finishing with 18 points and 12 assists in the Huskies' 81-52 win.
9:12 p.m.: With just under three minutes to play in their matchup with Wofford, BYU seems to have this game on lock. Jimmer leads the Cougars with a near double-double effort, as the team posts a 65-53 lead over the Terriers.
9:00 p.m.: Belmont and Wisconsin are nearly halfway through this second half, and the Badgers' experience is starting to shine through as they lead 48-39 with 10 minutes remaining.
BYU is keeping their solid lead against Wofford, posting a 59-51 advantage over the Terriers.
8:55 p.m.: Kemba Walker is nearing a triple double as the Huskies continue their tear against the Bison. The point guard has 18 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds as UConn leads 75-35.
8:47 p.m.: The Gauchos are heading back to Santa Barbara. The 15 seed struggled throughout the tough matchup against the No.2 Gators, as Florida earns the 79-51 victory and the bid to the next round.
8:45 p.m.: The Huskies have exploded out of the gates in the second half, posting a 62-29 lead over Bucknell. Kemba Walker already has a double-double in this one with 15 points and 12 assists with 11:30 to go.
8:41 p.m.: It took a bit of battling, but the Cougars are starting to pull away from Wofford in the second, led by a 23-point effort from Jimmer Fredette. The game is far from over, however, and BYU maintains a marginal 47-42 lead over Wofford.
8:29 p.m.: UConn and Florida are showing no signs of first-round jitters, though they really weren't expected to. Florida keeps rolling on over the Gauchos, leading 69-41 with five minutes to go.
UConn is also keeping their dominant tone over the Bison, leading 47-25 early in the second half.
BYU is getting some space away from the Terriers, as they hold a 37-31 lead at the start of the second.
8:10 p.m.: Florida and UC Santa Barbara are back in the mix, and the Gators are dominating with a 56-29lead over the No. 15 seed.
The Badgers have made a little headway over their sharp-shooting opponents, as they lead Belmont 34-27 at the half.
8:00 p.m.: BYU clearly has a tough matchup ahead of them, as they regain the lead at half — but it's not by much. Jimmer has 15 points in the 33-29 lead, and he's 2-for-6 from behind the arc.
UConn is taking control over Bucknell, as they maintain a 39-22 lead over the Bison at the half.
Belmont is giving the Badgers a run for their money, as they could be the third consecutive 13 seed to pull an upset over the No. 4 seed. They trail Wisconsin 26-25 with three minutes left in the first.
7:49 p.m.: Wofford continues to battle with BYU, as they post a 25-21 lead with five minutes remaining in the half. Fredette has seven points so far, but Noah Hartsock is leading the way for the Cougars with eight points, four rebounds and 2 blocks.
Meanwhile, Connecticut has gone on seven-point run, with Kemba Walker already dishing out seven assists in the Huskies' 34-20 lead.
Belmont and Wisconsin are neck-in-neck in their matchup, as they are tied at 15 with 8:00 to go.
7:41 p.m.: Wofford is putting up a bit of a fight in the first half against the Cougars, taking a 19-16 lead midway through the first.
UConn is making headway against Bucknell, as the Huskies lead 22-15 in the first.
Belmont and Wisconsin are knotted at 7-7.
7:34 p.m.: Florida has taken a huge lead over Santa Barbara, leading 43-19 with 30 seconds remaining in the half.
BYU and Wofford are playing pretty close in the first half of their matchup, as the Fredette-led Cougars have a 14-10 lead over the Terriers
UConn also has a 14-10 lead over the Bison, and Belmont has taken an early, though slim, 5-4 lead over Wisconsin.
7:30 p.m.: One of the predicted upsets among certain NCAA analysts is No. 13 Belmont over No. 4 Wisconsin. The Badgers are frequent visitors to the NCAA tournament, but they can't overlook the talented Belmont squad.
Both teams know about the Belmont predictions, and each team says their completely focused on their game, and not worried about what talk is going on around them. Keep your eyes on this matchup folks.
7:25 p.m.: Also on the docket is UConn and Bucknell, another important matchup, as the Huskies are still riding high from their Big East Tournament victory.
They shouldn't take the Bison too lightly, however, as this team knows how to pull an upset. Bucknell shocked No. 3-seeded Kansas in 2005 as a 14 seed. They'll be expecting UConn's best, though, and they face a tough matchup against Kemba Walker and the talented Huskies.
7:15 p.m.: The primetime showdown between BYU and Wofford will see all eyes on one player — and he goes by the name of Jimmer.
The nation's leading scorer, Jimmer Fredette, looks to lead his Cougars through the first round past the Wofford Terriers. They aren't a team to take lightly, but most people have their money on JimmerMania in this one.
7:10 p.m.: Switching gears now, as Jeff Howe finishes his live blogging duties and I, Jill Seward, take over with all your nightly NCAA Tournament coverage.
We've got eight games going on, with Florida and UC Santa Barbara already underway. Midway through the first half, the No. 2-seeded Gators have a 16-5 lead over No. 15 Santa Barbara.
7:00 p.m.: Eight games remain Thursday, and it's a good slate. I can't wait for Wisconsin-Belmont, and my bold prediction is that the winner of this game makes it to the Final Four.
UConn will also look to keep its hot streak going against Bucknell, which doesn't want to get Kemba'd, and I want to see if BYU can play with a little dominance against No. 14 Wofford.
Two traditional powerhouses, No. 7 Michigan State and No. 10 UCLA, highlight the late games, which also feature an intriguing matchup between No. 6 St. John's and No. 11 Gonzaga.
You'll also get 40 minutes of hell from No. 11 Missouri, which starts off with Cincinnati and plays the type of basketball that breeds success in this tournament.
This has already been a great way to open the tournament, but it's got the potential to keep getting better with a good group of nightcaps.
6:50 p.m.: So, five of the tournament's first eight games were decided by three points or less (one one-point game, three two-point games, one three-point game), and another was decided by eight points. There were only two upsets, but they were pretty substantial ones, as 13th-seeded Morehead State beat Louisville and 12th-seeded Richmond knocked off Vanderbilt. Coincidentally, Morehead State and Richmond will play each other Saturday in the next round.
And don't forget about fourth-seeded Kentucky, which survived a heck of a scare against Princeton.
After the first eight games, the second-round game I'm most looking forward to features top-seeded Pittsburgh and eighth-seeded Butler. I really see an upset brewing in that matchup.
6:41 p.m.: Richmond deserved to beat a Vanderbilt team that lacked execution in many areas in the second half, and the 69-66 game has capped off a crazy afternoon. I'll have more on that in a few moments, as the games will break for about 35 minutes before the final eight games of the night.
6:36 p.m.: This isn't scientific, but I'm fairly certain San Diego State and Northern Colorado played their last five-plus minutes quicker than Richmond and Vanderbilt have played their last minute, not that it would be shocking if that were true. There has been some well-executed strategy in the final minute of Richmond-Vandy, but it's taken forever.
6:28 p.m.: Vandy hasn't taken advantage of one horrendous foul call and another borderline whistle in the last two minutes, missing 2-of-4 free throws. After the latest miss — trailing 66-65 — Festus Ezili grabbed an offensive rebound but panicked and threw it away, allowing Kevin Anderson to hit a nice high floater to extend the Spiders' lead to 68-65. Vandy has the ball with 18.9 seconds to go. Vandy's play suggests it won't tie the game, but everything that has happened already Thursday suggests it's a circus shot away from overtime.
6:25 p.m.: Richmond just had another minute-long possession but couldn't bury anything after missing a couple of good looks. Vandy has the ball trailing 66-64 with 58.9 seconds left in regulation. Richmond has really controlled this second half, and I have no idea how Vandy is still in this one.
6:21 p.m.: San Diego State has opened up a 53-39 lead on Northern Colorado with the help of an 18-5 run midway through the second half, and all of the San Diego State fans who blindly picked them to run to the Final Four can exhale for two more days.
6:15 p.m.: Richmond has been lights out in the second half, already matching its 32-point output from the first half, and it's got a 64-62 lead on Vanderbilt. Kevin Anderson has been the man for the Spiders with 20 points, while John Jenkins has 21 for Vandy.
Any Richmond fans out there remember former quarterback Stacy Tutt?
6:01 p.m.: Richmond has taken a 53-50 lead on Vanderbilt due to a 14-2 run, and its most recent bucket came on the heels of a possession that spanned 2:20 due to four offensive rebounds.
5:45 p.m.: Pitt has officially advanced and will take on Butler in two days, and that will mark the first time in this tournament that a No. 1 seed could fall. I'm just not very sold on what Pittsburgh is selling, and Butler has the experience to pull off an upset. And with Kyrie Irving's return to Duke, Pitt is far and away more inferior to the other top seeds in the tournament.
5:29 p.m.: San Diego State maintained its 30-24 lead into the break, but it had some strange urgency at the end of the half. The Aztecs got an offensive rebound with about 15 seconds to go, and they jacked up a couple quick shots without backing out and trying for the final shot of the half. It didn't end up hurting them because Northern Colorado couldn't score on the other end, but the Aztecs' lack of awareness was strange. I wonder if the pressure of being a No. 2 seed on the national stage has had some effect on them.
5:22 p.m.: Predictably, Pittsburgh pulled away from UNC Ashville, which stayed within striking distance early in the second half, and that's about all you can hope for out of an upset-minded 16th seed. Vanderbilt has a 30-27 halftime edge on Richmond, so there's that. And San Diego State has had some slight control on Northern Colorado throughout the first half in their matchup.
There isn't much budding at this point, since the games are at their afternoon break point, and Pitt has complete control on the only game that has a running clock in the second half.
5:10 p.m.: It took Brandon Knight 39 minutes and 58 seconds to score, but the star's only bucket was the winning lay-up to lift Kentucky past upset-minded Princeton. That was a grueling test for the Wildcats, and they'll move on to play a steady West Virginia team Saturday.
5:06 p.m.: Again, just another kid from Princeton making a shot over a taller defender who was in good position. Dan Mavraides hit a fall-away jumper in the lane to tie it at 57, and the Wildcats have the ball with 34 seconds remaining and a chance to take the final shot to win the game.
5:03 p.m.: Princeton has the ball trailing by two points in the final minute against Kentucky, and the Tigers keep hitting shots they just shouldn't be making. Yet, Kentucky can't keep its foot on the throttle and put Princeton away. The Tigers have a chance to knock off the second fourth-seeded team of the day, and both of them reside in Kentucky.
4:43 p.m.: Kentucky has upped its pressure, gone on an 8-0 run and taken a 47-44 lead on the Tigers with less than nine minutes to go. Finally, the Wildcats are the aggressors, something I'm sure the Kentucky faithful have been waiting to see since early in the first half.
In other action, top-seeded Pittsburgh has a 37-29 lead on UNC Ashville two minutes into the second half, and the next eight minutes should really decide which way that game will go. It's not uncommon for the No. 16 seeds to make a push, but they almost never sustain anything midway into the second half because the top seeds show the talent disparity when they play with urgency.
And Vanderbilt and Richmond are underway. That was the boring note in this post.
4:31 p.m.: And Princeton has built a 42-37 lead on Kentucky, which hasn't gotten a single point out of leading scorer Brandon Knight, who has missed all five of his shots. The Wildcats look like they've never worked on a passing drill in practice.
4:18 p.m.: I see you there, trying to catch your breath after this string of great finishes. Well, Princeton just took a second-half lead on Kentucky, so keep that seatbelt strapped tight.
4:10 p.m.: This tournament is crazy already. Penn State's Taylor Battle made a game-tying 3-pointer from Phoenix (the joke is that they're playing in Tucson) with 16 seconds to go, but Temple's Juan Fernandez made a leaner that he had no business making with 0.4 seconds to go, giving the Owls a victory. Temple will play the San Diego State-Northern Colorado winner.
4:04 p.m.: There's no end in sight, either. Temple has a 62-61 lead on Penn State in the final minute of their game. Greatness all around, folks.
4:02 p.m.: Kenneth Faried made a tremendous defensive play to close off Morehead's upset, too. Initially, it looked like Faried blatantly fouled Mike Marra on a last-second 3-pointer, but replays showed a clear, crisp block.
3:55 p.m.: And there it is. The second game of the day had the tourney's first buzzer beater, and the third game turned in the first major upset. Demonte Harper missed six straight shots, but his 3-pointer with four seconds to go capped Morehead's 5-0 run and gave it a 62-61 victory against Rick Pitino's Cardinals. No, Rick, Wes Unseld and Pervis Ellison aren't walking through that door.
3:52 p.m.: Leave it to me to rip off Cinderella's slipper before it had the chance to walk out of the gym. Demonte Harper just made a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give Morehead State a 62-61 lead with four seconds remaining, and Morehead has a 5-0 run in the last 30 seconds.
3:44 p.m.: Well, that was fun while it lasted. Morehead State's attempt to run out the clock with four minutes remaining has allowed Louisville to run off a 7-0 run and take a 59-57 lead with less than two minutes to go. Morehead was too slow and relied on bad ball movement and hero shots when the shot clock dissipated.
3:39 p.m.: Morehead State's chances are increasing by the possession. Terrance Hill has 23 points and five 3-pointers, and Kenneth Faried has 16 rebounds and is the most dominant big on the court. They have a great one-two punch with that pair.
3:28 p.m.: Morehead State simply won't go away, and it's got two free throws coming up after the break, trailing 48-47 with 7:52 to go. Plus, Louisville's Preston Knowles left the game with a sprained toe on his left foot. He's got nine points and has taken a team-high 10 shots. The Cardinals aren't averse to scoring funks — they've got one field goal in the last seven minutes — so the loss of Knowles would be devastating.
3:13 p.m.: Kentucky and Princeton are underway, and it would be pretty shocking if Princeton did much to hang with the Wildcats. It's a catch-22 for John Calipari. He recruits amazing talent, but he is more susceptible to losing freshmen and sophomores to the NBA because of their draft stock. On the other side of that, when the youth begins to jell together — like it has lately with this specific Kentucky team — the Wildcats can be a really dangerous team. They'll eventually have to go through Ohio State, but Kentucky has Final Four potential.
2:59 p.m.: Temple erased a nine-point lead to take a 35-33 lead at the half against Penn State. In other news, Louisville has a 35-34 lead early in the second half against No. 13 Morehead State. This is the first big upset watch of the tourney, but Louisville has controlled the pace since facing an early 10-point deficit. And by early, I mean 10-0.
2:51 p.m.: It only took two games to find the tournament's first buzzer beater, as Matt Howard's put-back from the left side of the rim pushed Butler past Old Dominion, 60-58. It was a wild last possession, and Butler actually got three shots off in the last three or four seconds. Now, last year's tournament finalists will play the winner between Pittsburgh and UNC Ashville. (Hint: It will be Pittsburgh.)
2:47 p.m.: Old Dominion has the ball down two points in the final minute. We might have a buzzer beater in a moment…
2:38 p.m.: West Virginia closed out Clemson, 84-76, and the Tigers weren't mentally tough enough to put a full game together. They showed no resiliency during the Mountaineers' 9-0 run to end the first half, and their two straight careless turnovers in the final two minutes killed their comeback bid. In the end, West Virginia was consistent enough to move onto the second round, and it will take on the winner of Kentucky-Princeton.
2:26 p.m.: Well, Clemson got within 76-71 and had the ball with a minute and a half remaining, but WVU's Dalton Pepper forced consecutive turnovers at midcourt — on stupid passes by Clemson's guards — and scored a pair of buckets to build a nine-point lead. Game. Over.
2:20 p.m.: Butler built a 49-43 lead, but ODU caught a few breaks to get within a point with nine minutes remaining. But, man, if Old Dominion could make a bucket from under the hoop, it would have a 10-point lead. Butler's interior defense has frozen ODU in the paint.
2:13 p.m.: Penn State and Temple are underway. First team to 30 wins.
2:04 p.m.: It took Louisville 6:12 to get on the board, as Morehead State built a 10-0 lead in that one. West Virginia has really established control against Clemson, and with that, it's time to tune into the game of the afternoon so far — ODU has a 42-41 lead on Butler with less than 13 minutes remaining.
1:55 p.m.: Morehead State has a 7-0 lead on Louisville five minutes into the game. This looks like the Cardinals' offense after Bobby Petrino left town. Try that veal, will ya?
1:43 p.m.: Lousville and Morehead State are underway in Denver, and Morehead has jumped out to a rare 1-0 lead.
1:37 p.m.: Duke star Kyrie Irving will play between 15-20 minutes Friday, according to FOX, and that is a massive development for the Blue Devils. Irving makes them an instant title favorite with Ohio State and Kansas.
1:33 p.m.: West Virginia scored the first two points of the second half and has taken its first lead of the game with its 11-0 run.
1:26 p.m.: There were 12 lead changes in the first half of the Butler-ODU game, and Old Dominion has a 29-27 lead at the break. These two teams aren't nearly as talented as Clemson or West Virginia, but the first half didn't lack excitement.
1:16 p.m.: I don't know if that was a commercial or some kind of programming glitch, but truTV just showed an extended clip of a Family Guy episode before making a weird cut back to the Butler-ODU game. Good thing this isn't Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS or anything.
1:09 p.m.: If I'm a Clemson fan, I would be livid with the way the first half ended. West Virginia scored the last nine points of the half to tie the game at 40, and Kevin Jones' 3-pointer went through the net with 3.2 seconds remaining. But the two Clemson players under the bucket looked so disheartened that they didn't even inbound the ball. That's just unacceptable stuff, especially for a team that has struggled to keep leads.
12:56 p.m.: See what happens when the TV doesn't change the channel for you? Lost in West Virginia's mini-comeback and Demontez Stitt's scoring spree, I completely missed the start of Butler-Old Dominion. ODU has an 18-13 lead with 11:23 to go in the first half.
12:53 p.m.: Clemson built a 20-10 lead, but the Mountaineers mounted (get it?) a comeback to get it within 24-23. It came from West Virginia's perimeter game, which was so vital during their lengthy tourney runs a few years ago. Demontez Stitt has scored seven of Clemson's last nine points, though, and the Tigers have a 33-25 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half.
12:42 p.m.: I really like watching Clemson wing man Demontez Stitt, who is the only player in program history to start on four consecutive NCAA tournament teams. Stitt can score at will, and he's a pretty feisty defensive player, too. He's only got four points so far — Clemson leads 24-20 with 9:11 to play in the first half — but he is the type of player who can score 10 points in the blink of an eye.
12:30 p.m.: It's obviously great that the tournament will be on four separate channels, but I'll kind of miss CBS doing the channel changing for me. Then again, it will all be worth it because viewers will never have to worry about watching one of Duke's 30-point blowouts while the network refuses to change to the final minutes of a budding 13-4 upset.
12:16 p.m.: March Madness? More like March Happiness. The true start to this tournament is underway with Clemson and West Virginia in the East Regional.
12:04 p.m.: While waiting for the games to start, I got a chance to watch The Price Is Right, and I've got two observations. First, someone should tell Drew Carey he's got an animal growing on his face. And second, that show is awesome.
11:49 a.m.: I'm really looking forward to the first two games of the tournament. I want to see if Clemson can keep up the intensity after a tough run in the ACC tournament and a good night in Tuesday's First Four game, or whatever it's called. I worry about Clemson's depth and how that could tire the Tigers against a West Virginia team I'm not very sold on.
And then there's Butler, which has the experience of a team that was a quarter of an inch from winning the title last year. Good way to start the day, that's for sure.
8:00 a.m.: Everyone's Irish on Saint Patrick's Day, and everyone's a basketball fan on the first true day of the NCAA tournament.
Clemson will be working on a short turnaround after winning Tuesday’s late-night showdown against Alabama-Birmingham, and the upset-minded Tigers will open up Thursday’s events against West Virginia.
There are 16 games, highlighted by a full eight-game slate in the Southeast Region, and NESN.com will have you up to date on all of them. Here is a look at Thursday’s schedule.
East Region
No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Clemson, 12:15 p.m. (CBS)
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Princeton, 2:45 p.m. (CBS)
West Region
No. 7 Temple vs. No. 10 Penn State, 2:10 p.m. (TNT)
No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 15. Northern Colorado, 4:40 p.m. (TNT)
No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Bucknell, 7:20 p.m. (TNT)
No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Missouri, 9:50 p.m. (TNT)
Southwest Region
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 Morehead State, 1:40 p.m. (TBS)
No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Richmond, 4:10 p.m. (TBS)
Southeast Region
No. 8 Old Dominion vs. No. 9 Butler, 12:40 p.m. (truTV)
No. 1. Pittsburgh vs. No. 16 UNC-Asheville, 3:10 p.m. (truTV)
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, 6:50 p.m. (TBS)
No. 3 BYU vs. No. 14 Wofford, 7:15 p.m. (CBS)
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Belmont, 7:27 p.m. (truTV)
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Michigan State, 9:20 p.m. (TBS)
No. 6 St. John’s vs. No. 11 Gonzaga, 9:45 p.m. (CBS)
No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Utah State, 9:57 p.m. (truTV)
NESN’s college basketball coverage is presented by Bodog.net.