Tournament Fest 2012: Day 1 Schedule

You all know that March Madness is my favorite time of the year, but the 11 days surrounding Thanksgiving -- a time filled with bracketed drama of its own -- is a close second. Normally, I'd be getting ready to throw a bunch of long recap posts at you for each day of this festival of tournaments, but since Thanksgiving is doubling as Christmas for me this year (and since I have to work today and tomorrow), I'm going to focus more on TV schedules instead, though I'll still offer my picks and some analysis, especially next week.

Don't worry. I'll still be on Twitter too ... well, for as long as my battery holds out on the three days I plan to be in arenas while I'm down in Florida.

Here's the lineup for Thursday, which features an early start in Bayamon (yes, the Puerto Rico Tip-Off moved out of San Juan), some compelling matchups in Charleston, and a wide-open bracket in Manhattan.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off Quarterfinals

in Bayamon, P.R. (Full Bracket)

Akron Zips vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys, 10:30 a.m. ET (ESPNU)
UNC Asheville Bulldogs vs. Tennessee Volunteers, approx. 1 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
N.C. State Wolfpack vs. Penn State Nittany Lions, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
UMass Minutemen vs. Providence Friars, approx. 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Semifinal picks: Akron vs. Tennessee and N.C. State vs. UMass

Charleston Classic Quarterfinals

in Charleston, S.C. (Full Bracket)

Dayton Flyers vs. Colorado Buffaloes, 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN3/ESPN3D)
Baylor Bears vs. Boston College Eagles, approx. 3 p.m. ET (ESPNU/ESPN3D)
St. John's Red Storm at College of Charleston Cougars, approx. 5 p.m. ET (ESPNU/ESPN3D)
Murray State Racers vs. Auburn Tigers, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN3/ESPN3D)

Semifinal picks: Colorado vs. Baylor and St. John's vs. Murray State

2K Sports Classic Semifinals

in New York City (Full Bracket)

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Oregon State Beavers, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Villanova Wildcats vs. Purdue Boilermakers, approx. 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Final pick: Alabama vs. Purdue

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