2015 NCAA Tournament for March 19: Who, What, Where, and When
By Paul Jordan
For college basketball fans, today is the equivalent of Christmas morning as the 2015 NCAA Tournament gets underway in earnest with 16 games spread across four sites and four networks. The top ranked and undefeated Kentucky Wildcats and the Villanova Wildcats are the two #1 seeds playing today and they should breeze through to the round of 32 teams. There are a few compelling games today and I will take a look at those, but first, here is the complete schedule for today, complete with starting times and the channel the game will be on.
12:15PM: CBS – Notre Dame vs Northeastern (Pittsburgh)
12:40PM: truTV – Iowa State vs UAB (Louisville)
1:40PM; TBS – Baylor vs Georgia State (Jacksonville)
2:10PM: TNT – Arizona vs Texas Southern (Portland)
2:45PM: CBS – Butler vs Texas (Pittsburgh)
3:10PM: truTV – SMU vs UCLA
4:10PM: TBS – Xavier vs (Jacksonville)
4:40PM: TNT – VCU vs Ohio State (Portland)
6:50PM: TBS – Villanova vs Lafayette (Pittsburgh)
7:10PM: CBS – Cincinnati vs Purdue (Louisville)
7:20PM: TNT – North Carolina vs Harvard (Jacksonville)
7:27PM: truTV – Utah vs Stephen F Austin (Portland)
9:10PM: TBS – NC State vs LSU (Pittsburgh)
9:40PM: CBS – Kentucky vs (Louisville)
9:50PM: TNT – Arkansas vs Wofford (Jacksonville)
9:57PM: truTV – Georgetown vs Eastern Washington (Portland)
Now that we know who, where, and when everyone is playing, let’s look at my top five picks today:
BAYLOR VS GEORGIA STATE – 1:40 PM – TBS
The #3 seed Bears (24-9) should advance, but I think that Georgia State can make it interesting. Baylor is led by Rico Gathers who averages a double-double for the season. Gathers is the reason why the Bears mesh so well. Taureen Prince leads the Bears in scoring with 14.0 points and he comes off the bench. The Baylor offense is built to score from 20 feet out and that always makes that type a team an upset risk if their players are not hitting. Georgia State (24-9) are intriguing because they feature one of the better guard trios in the country. RJ Hunter (19.8 PPG) could be a late first round NBA pick while former Kentucky guard Ryan Harrow (18.7 PPG) has been solid all season. Adding intrique is former UL guard Kevin Ware. These three players could lead Georgia State to an upset, but don’t count on it. Baylor has one of the better zone defenses but if the Panthers can play zone-busters, watch out.
BUTLER VS TEXAS – 2:45 PM – CBS
Look for #6 seed Butler (22-10) to jump on Texas early with their aggressive defense and unselfish play. Kellan Dunham hits more than 42% of his 3-pointers and is considered a game changing guard. Roosevelt Jones is a dynamic player but also takes a lot of shots that will leave Butler fans scratching their heads. The days of Butler sneaking up on anyone are over, and you should be prepared for a war with their swarming defense. Not much was expected of Butler as they have played above their heads. Texas, on the other hand, was a preseason top 10 team and has been a disappointment. Isaiah Taylor will give Butler problems with his speed and quickness and the Longhorns size should give them an edge as Butler has problems with big athletic guards and Texas has a few.