On The Menu: 2016 NCAA Tournament First Round Friday

Broadcast Teams by Venue

(Thanks to Fang's Bites.)

Brooklyn: Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce (reporter)
Oklahoma City: Carter Blackburn/ Mike Gminski//Jaime Maggio (reporter)
St. Louis: Brian Anderson/Steve Smith//Dana Jacobson (reporter)
Spokane: Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Ros Gold-Onwude (reporter)

Streaming

All games are streaming on March Madness Live.

Early Afternoon Window

	St. Louis: Scottrade Center MIDWEST REGION No. 10 Syracuse Orange (19-13) ACC at-large vs. No. 4 Dayton Flyers (25-7) A 10 at-large and Regular Season Co-Champion Tip Time: 12:15 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Brooklyn: Barclays Center SOUTH REGION No. 15 UNC Asheville Bulldogs (22-11) Big South Tournament Champion vs. No. 2 Villanova Wildcats (29-5) Big East at-large and Regular Season Champion Tip Time: 12:40 p.m. Channel: TruTV
	Oklahoma City: Chesapeake Energy Arena WEST REGION No. 10 VCU Rams (24-10) A 10 at-large and Regular Season Champion (co) vs. No. 7 Oregon State Beavers (19-12) Pac-12 at-large Tip Time: 1:30 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Spokane: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena SOUTH REGION No. 13 Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (27-5) Big West Regular Season and Tournament Champion vs. No. 4 California Golden Bears (23-10) Pac-12 at-large Tip Time: 2 p.m. Channel: TBS

Viewing Picks

Hawai'i-Cal, 2 p.m. (TBS)
Dayton-Syracuse, 12:15 p.m. (CBS)
VCU-Oregon State, 1:30 p.m. (TNT)
UNC Asheville-Villanova, 12:40 p.m. (TruTV)

There's really only one game here that should be a blowout, so again, the day's first window really needs these staggered starts. Syracuse will aim to avenge its 2014 Round of 32 loss to Dayton, while Hawai'i will look to shock Cal and keep its NCAA run going (especially since they're banned from the next postseason). VCU should be able to top Oregon State if Tres Tinkle is indeed unavailable, as the Committee seems to have ignored this possibility in its seeding.

UNCA pushed Syracuse to the brink in its previous appearance in the NCAAs, falling 72-63 in a 1/16 game in the 2012 Tournament.

Late Afternoon Window

	St. Louis: Scottrade Center MIDWEST REGION No. 15 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (24-9) C-USA Tournament Champion vs. No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (29-5) Big Ten Tournament Champion Tip Time: 2:50 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Brooklyn: Barclays Center SOUTH REGION No. 10 Temple Owls (21-11) American at-large and Regular Season Champion vs. No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes (21-10) Big Ten at-large Tip Time: 3:12 p.m. Channel: TruTV
	Oklahoma City: Chesapeake Energy Arena WEST REGION No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (24-8) WAC Tournament Champion vs. No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (25-7) Big 12 at-large Tip Time: 4:09 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Spokane: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena SOUTH REGION No. 12 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (26-7) Summit League Tournament Champion vs. No. 5 Maryland Terrapins (25-8) Big Ten at-large Tip Time: 4:48 p.m. Channel: TBS

Viewing Picks

South Dakota State-Maryland, approx. 4:30 p.m. (TBS)
Temple-Iowa, approx. 3:10 p.m. (TruTV)
Middle Tennessee-Michigan State, approx. 2:45 p.m. (CBS)
Cal State Bakersfield-New Mexico State, approx. 4 p.m. (TNT)

The only way the Roadrunners are defeating the Sooners is if Lon Kruger switched OU's apparel contract from Nike to ACME since the Big 12 Tournament. Middle Tennessee's Pegasus mascot might want to fly away from St. Louis before tip time with the Spartans. However, the Jackrabbits-Terps game, another chic upset pick, and Owls-Hawkeyes showdowns should engross audiences this afternoon. Remember when Iowa looked to be a 1 or 2 seed? That feels like it was about five presidential administrations ago.

Early Evening Window

	St. Louis: Scottrade Center EAST REGION No. 10 Pittsburgh Panthers (21-11) ACC at-large vs. No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers (20-12) Big Ten at-large Tip Time: 6:50 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Brooklyn: Barclays Center EAST REGION No. 14 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (27-5) Southland Regular Season and Tournament Champion vs. No. 3 West Virginia Mountaineers (26-8) Big 12 at-large Tip Time: 7:10 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Oklahoma City: Chesapeake Energy Arena WEST REGION No. 14 Green Bay Phoenix (23-12) Horizon League Tournament Champion vs. No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies (26-8) SEC at-large and Regular Season Champion (co) Tip Time: 7:20 p.m. Channel: TBS
	Spokane: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena WEST REGION No. 16 Holy Cross Crusaders (15-19) Patriot League Tournament Champion and First Four winner vs. No. 1 Oregon Ducks (28-6) Pac-12 Regular Season and Tournament Champion Tip Time: 7:50 p.m. Channel: TruTV

Viewing Picks

Stephen F. Austin-West Virginia, 7:10 p.m. (CBS)
Pitt-Wisconsin, 6:50 p.m. (TNT)
Green Bay-Texas A&M, 7:20 p.m. (TBS)
Holy Cross/Southern-Oregon, 7:27 p.m. (TruTV)

On paper, the Panthers-Badgers game should be at the top, but it might not be all that attractive to watch, but then again the same might go for SFA-WVU. Green Bay hasn't appeared in the NCAAs in 20 years, and the Aggies will be keen on making the Phoenix's stay as short as possible.

Late Evening Window

	St. Louis: Scottrade Center EAST REGION No. 15 Weber State Wildcats (26-8) Big Sky Regular Season and Tournament Champion vs. No. 2 Xavier Musketeers (27-5) Big East at-large Tip Time: 9:20 p.m. Channel: TNT
	Brooklyn: Barclays Center EAST REGION No. 11 Michigan Wolverines (23-12) Big Ten at-large and First Four winner vs. No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-11) ACC at-large Tip Time: 10:12 p.m. Channel: CBS
	Oklahoma City: Chesapeake Energy Arena WEST REGION No. 11 UNI Panthers (22-12) MVC Tournament Champion vs. No. 6 Texas Longhorns (20-12) Big 12 at-large Tip Time: 10:03 p.m. Channel: TBS
	Spokane: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena WEST REGION No. 9 Cincinnati Bearcats (22-10) American Athletic at-large vs. No. 8 Saint Joseph's Hawks (27-7) A 10 Tournament Champion Tip Time: 10:18 p.m. Channel: TruTV

Viewing Picks

UNI-Texas, approx. 9:50 p.m. (TBS)
Cincinnati-Saint Joe's approx. 9:57 p.m. (TruTV)
Michigan/Tulsa-Notre Dame, approx. 9:40 p.m. (CBS)
Weber State-Xavier, approx. 9:20 p.m. (TNT)

With Damian Lillard not walking through the door for Weber State, Xavier should be able to win easily, which leaves us with three intriguing possibilities for the final set of First Round games. If Saint Joe's plays like it's on a mission, as it did in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Brooklyn, Cincinnati could have a long night with their struggling offense. Both 11 seeds will have a decent chance to top their respective sixes, but if Texas survives, they could be in position to run all the way to an in-state Final Four appearance.

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