Preview Roundups
March 16, 2017
Princeton at Notre Dame 12:15 PM ET
Notre Dame junior power forward Bonzie Colson did his best to turn his attention from his team's ACC tournament final loss and ahead to the NCAA Tournament. With consecutive Elite Eight appearances in their rear-view mirror, the fifth-seeded Fighting Irish look to get back on track in the West Region in Buffalo, N.Y. on Thursday when they face an Ivy League champion Princeton team that has won 19 in a row.
NC-Wilmington at Virginia 12:40 PM ET
Virginia survived the gauntlet of ACC play in the regular season and came out of it with a No. 5 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers will begin their tournament run on Thursday in Orlando, Fla., against No. 12 seed UNC Wilmington, which breezed to a Colonial Athletic Association title behind a potent offense ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Winthrop at Butler 1:30 PM ET
Butler, which earned its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years Sunday, became the gold standard for mid-majors under Brad Stevens and now Big East Coach of the Year Chris Holtmann. However, the Bulldogs look to snap a modest two-game losing streak and make amends from a quick exit in the Big East Tournament when the fourth seed in the South Region opens NCAA Tournament play Thursday in Milwaukee against 13th-seeded Winthrop in the first round.
South Dakota State at Gonzaga 2:00 PM ET
Despite some outside lobbying for ACC Tournament champ Duke and Pac-12 Tournament champ Arizona, Gonzaga garnered a No. 1 seed for the second time in school history. The West Coast Conference champion Bulldogs, who earned the top spot in the West Regional, will face Summit League Tournament champion South Dakota State, the 16th seed, on Thursday at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
Bucknell at West Virginia 2:45 PM ET
West Virginia was the victim of a first-round upset in last season's NCAA Tournament, an outcome it hopes to avoid when it takes on Bucknell in the opening round of the West Region on Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. The fourth-seeded Mountaineers, who were the No. 3 seed when they fell by 14 points to Stephen F. Austin last year, are making their third straight appearance in the tournament and eighth in 10 years under coach Bob Huggins.
East Tennessee St. at Florida 3:10 PM ET
Florida opens the NCAA Tournament looking to find its stride again after a late-season slide and an early exit from the SEC tournament. The Gators are the fourth seed in the East region, and while they will be favored in Thursday's first-round matchup against No. 13 seed East Tennessee State in Orlando, losses in three of their final four games have raised questions on how far the Gators can advance.
Middle Tennessee St. at Minnesota 4:00 PM ET
Middle Tennessee sprung the upset of the 2016 NCAA Tournament by upending perennial power Michigan State in a first round 2-versus-15-seed matchup. The Blue Raiders are back in the Big Dance again – this time as a 12 seed – after winning the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles and will open against another Big Ten foe, fifth-seede
Vanderbilt at Northwestern 4:30 PM ET
Eighth-seeded Northwestern make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament when it takes on No. 9 seed Vanderbilt in the first round of the West Region in Salt Lake City on Thursday. The Wildcats set a program record with 23 victories and won back-to-back games in the Big Ten tournament for the first time before bowing out to Wisconsin 76-48 in the semifinals, and hope to make a splash in the Big Dance after ending a 78-year drought.
Xavier at Maryland 6:50 PM ET
Two teams given a reprieve after late-season slides will square off when sixth-seeded Maryland faces No. 11 seed Xavier in the West Region on Thursday in Orlando, Fla. It’s the third time the historically strong programs have met with Maryland winning both previous contests, including a victory in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
VCU at St. Mary's 7:20 PM ET
Saint Mary's, under the shadow of West Coast Conference rival Gonzaga for much of the season, gets a chance to make it own statement when it takes on VCU in Salt Lake City in the first round of the West Region on Thursday. The seventh-seeded Gaels lost four games this season, with three coming against the Bulldogs, while the 10th-seeded Rams make their seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance after falling in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title game Sunday.
Vermont at Purdue 7:27 PM ET
Purdue rode the stellar play of Big Ten Player of the Year Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas to the top of the conference, only to see porous foul shooting against emotionally charged Michigan result in an early exit in the conference tournament. The fourth-seeded Boilermakers look to rebound in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament in Milwaukee on Thursday, when they face 13th-seeded Vermont, which extended its winning streak to 21 games by claiming the American East Conference championship.
Virginia Tech at Wisconsin 9:40 PM ET
Making its 19th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin will square off with Virginia Tech, which is dancing for the first time since 2007. The teams will face off in Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday in the first round of the East Region with the winner likely taking on top-seeded Villanova in the Round of 32.
North Dakota at Arizona 9:50 PM ET
Arizona star Allonzo Trier’s roller-coaster season is surging forward at just the right time for the Wildcats, who earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region after beating Oregon in Saturday’s Pac-12 tournament title game. The Wildcats begin play Thursday with a first-round matchup against 15th-seeded North Dakota, which earned its first trip to the Big Dance with a 93-89 overtime victory over Weber State in the Big Sky tournament championship game.
Nevada at Iowa St. 9:57 PM ET
Iowa State was one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the nation during the regular season, and the fifth-seeded Cyclones will be up against one of best 3-point defenders in 12th-seeded Nevada when they meet Thursday in a Midwest Region first-round game of the NCAA Tournament in Milwaukee. Iowa State was 14th in the country with a 40.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc this season, but opponents of the Wolf Pack have shot 30.7 percent from 3-point range - the 15th-lowest mark.
Florida Gulf Coast at Florida St. 10:20 PM ET
Florida State is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years, and with seven victories over ranked opposition the Seminoles could be a candidate to make a long tournament run starting with Thursday’s West region first-round matchup with Florida Gulf Coast University in Orlando. The third-seeded Seminoles won 25 games this season and finished second in the regular season in the rugged ACC, thanks in part to a strong offense sparked by guard Dwayne Bacon.