On The Menu: 2016 NCAA Tournament First Round Thursday

Broadcast Teams by Venue

(Thanks to Fang's Bites.)

Denver: Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas//Jamie Erdahl (reporter)
Des Moines: Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery//Tracy Wolfson (reporter)
Providence: Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore//Evan Washburn (reporter)
Raleigh: Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner//Lewis Johnson (reporter)

Early Afternoon Window

	Providence: Dunkin Donuts Center WEST REGION No. 13 UNCW Seahawks (25-7) CAA Tournament Champion vs. No. 4 Duke Blue Devils (23-10) ACC at-large Tip Time: 12:15 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Raleigh: PNC Arena MIDWEST REGION No. 9 Butler Bulldogs (21-10) Big East at-large vs. No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders (19-12) Big 12 at-large Tip Time: 12:40 p.m. Channel: TruTV
	Des Moines: Wells Fargo Arena SOUTH REGION No. 9 UConn Huskies (24-10) American Athletic Tournament Champion vs. No. 8 Colorado Buffaloes (22-11) Pac-12 at-large Tip Time: 1:30 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Denver: Pepsi Arena MIDWEST REGION No. 13 Iona Gaels (22-10) MAAC Tournament Champion vs. No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones (21-11) Big 12 at-large Tip Time: 2 p.m. Channel: TBS

Viewing Picks

Butler-Texas Tech, 12:40 p.m. (TruTV)
UNCW-Duke, 12:15 p.m. (CBS)
Iona-Iowa State, 2 p.m. (TBS)
UConn-Colorado, 1:30 p.m. (TNT)

With a pair of 8/9 and two of what should be the more competitive 4/13 games, the staggered tips are a welcome sight in the early afternoon of the first day. While the Bulldog-Red Raider matchup is a coin-flip game, look for Duke and Iowa State to have their hands full with their respective 13 seeds. Meanwhile, if UConn plays like it did in the American Tournament, it will be a long afternoon for Colorado.

Late Afternoon Window

	Providence: Dunkin Donuts Center WEST REGION No. 12 Yale Bulldogs (22-6) Ivy League Champion vs. No. 5 Baylor Bears (22-11) Big 12 at-large Tip Time: 3:08 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Raleigh: PNC Arena MIDWEST REGION No. 16 Hampton Pirates (21-10) MEAC Regular Season and Tournament Champion vs. No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (26-7) ACC at-large Tip Time: 3:10 p.m. Channel: TruTV
	Des Moines: Wells Fargo Arena SOUTH REGION No. 16 Austin Peay Governors (18-17) OVC Tournament Champion vs. No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (30-4) Big 12 Regular Season and Tournament Champion Tip Time: 4:17 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Denver: Pepsi Arena MIDWEST REGION No. 12 Little Rock Trojans (29-4) Sun Belt Regular Season and Tournament Champion vs. No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers (26-8) Big Ten at-large Tip Time: 4:42 p.m. Channel: TBS

Viewing Picks

Little Rock-Purdue, approx. 4:30 p.m. (TBS)
Yale-Baylor, approx. 2:45 p.m. (CBS)
Hampton-Virginia, approx. 3:10 p.m. (TruTV)
Austin Peay-Kansas, approx. 4 p.m. (TNT)

Two of the always intriguing 5/12 matchups fall within this window, meaning there will be something to watch when the 1/16 games get out of hand. The Little Rock-Purdue game is one of the more popular upset picks floating around out there, while many are also picking Yale to top Baylor, especially with the game in Providence. I just think the Bears' size might give the Bulldogs, even though they're a physical team themselves, too many issues.

Look for Virginia-Hampton to be the most entertaining of the four 1/16 matchups this season.

Early Evening Window

	Providence: Dunkin Donuts Center SOUTH REGION No. 14 Buffalo Bulls (20-14) MAC Tournament Champion vs. No. 3 Miami Hurricanes (25-7) ACC at-large Tip Time: 6:50 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Des Moines: Wells Fargo Arena EAST REGION No. 12 Chattanooga Mocs (29-5) SoCon Regular Season and Tournament Champion vs. No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers (25-7) Big Ten at-large and Regular Season Champion Tip Time: 7:10 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Raleigh: PNC Arena EAST REGION No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (21-13) A-Sun Tournament Champion and First Four winner vs. No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (28-6) ACC Regular Season and Tournament Champion Tip Time: 7:20 p.m. Channel: TBS
	Denver: Pepsi Arena MIDWEST REGION No. 14 Fresno State Bulldogs (25-9) Mountain West Tournament Champion vs. No. 3 Utah Utes (26-8) Pac-12 at-large Tip Time: 8:20 p.m. Channel: TruTV

Viewing Picks

Chattanooga-Indiana, 7:10 p.m. (CBS)
Fresno State-Utah, 7:27 p.m. (TruTV)
Buffalo-Miami, 6:50 p.m. (TNT)
FGCU-North Carolina, 7:20 p.m. (TBS)

It looks like the third 5/12 matchup of the day, in Des Moines, will be the only competitive game out of this quartet, unless FGCU subs in its famous Dunk City team from 2013. Note the AFC East matchup on TNT and the old 16-team WAC showdown on TruTV, even if none of the players involved have any memory of the shared conference history of the Bulldogs and Utes.

Late Evening Window

	Providence: Dunkin Donuts Center SOUTH REGION No. 11 Wichita State Shockers (25-8) MVC at-large and Regular Season Champion and First Four winner vs. No. 6 Arizona Wildcats (25-8) Pac-12 at-large Tip Time: 9:39 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Des Moines: Wells Fargo Arena EAST REGION No. 13 Stony Brook Seawolves (26-6) America East Regular Season and Playoff Champion vs. No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats (26-8) SEC Regular Season (co) and Tournament Champion Tip Time: 9:57 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Raleigh: PNC Arena EAST REGION No. 9 Providence Friars (23-10) Big East at-large vs. No. 8 USC Trojans (21-12) Pac-12 at-large Tip Time: 10 p.m. Channel: TBS
	Denver: Pepsi Arena MIDWEST REGION No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-7) WCC Regular Season (co) and Tournament Champion vs. No. 6 Seton Hall Pirates (25-8) Big East Tournament Champion Tip Time: 10:53 p.m. Channel: TruTV

Viewing Picks

Gonzaga-Seton Hall, approx. 9:57 p.m. (TruTV)
Wichita State-Arizona, approx. 9:20 p.m. (TNT)
Providence-USC, approx. 9:50 p.m. (TBS)
Stony Brook-Kentucky, approx. 9:40 p.m. (CBS)

Each and every one of these games could be terrific, and with less buffer than in the afternoon windows, you'll probably have to flip around some. If the Shockers top the Wildcats, they could really go a long way with the rest of the potential matchups lurking in the South. However, Stony Brook really got the worst draw possible for its first-ever NCAA Tourney game. Seton Hall's game against Gonzaga has the potential to be a classic, while Providence-USC could be one of the more unpredictable matchups given how both squads struggled to reach the regular season's finish line.

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