2017 NCAA Tournament First Round — Friday Evening Viewing Guide

Not near a TV? You can stream each game on NCAA March Madness Live.

Games In Order Of Likely Watchability (by window)

Wichita State vs. Dayton, 7:10 p.m. (CBS)
Kansas State vs. Cincinnati, 7:27 p.m. (TruTV)
Troy vs. Duke, 7:20 p.m. (TBS)
N.C. Central/UC Davis vs. Kansas, 6:50 p.m. (TNT)

Michigan State vs. Miami, approx. 9:20 p.m. (TNT)
Marquette vs. South Carolina, approx. 9:50 p.m. (TBS)
Kent State vs UCLA, approx. 9:57 p.m. (TruTV)
Northern Kentucky vs. Kentucky, approx. 9:40 p.m. (CBS)

Tulsa — Midwest Region

TNT will air both games with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller and Dan Bonner (commentary), and Dana Jacobson (reporting) on the call.

No. 16 UC Davis Aggies (23-12)* vs. No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (28-4), 6:50 p.m.
No. 9 Michigan State Spartans (19-14) vs. No. 8 Miami Hurricanes (21-11), approx. 9:20 p.m.

Currently, UC Davis and Northwestern share the greatest NCAA winning percentage in history (1-0, 1.000), but the Aggies still aren’t likely to Kansas an historic defeat to keep their record intact. While most probably expect a Jayhawks-Michigan State matchup on Sunday, Miami is more than capable of handling this underwhelming Spartan team.

Indianapolis — South Region

CBS will air both games with Jim Nantz, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery, and Tracy Wolfson on the call.

No. 10 Wichita State Shockers (30-4)* vs. No. 7 Dayton Flyers (24-7), 7:10 p.m.
No. 15 Northern Kentucky Norse (24-10)* vs. No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats (29-5)*, approx. 9:40 p.m.

At the end of the night, expect Kentucky to send its in-state “rival” (they’ve only met once since NKU started its move to D1, back in the second game of the 2013-14 season) packing. But the opener is a bit more up in the air, as again, two great mid-major programs meet in a 7-vs.-10 showdown. I would say that UK has more to fear from Wichita State than Dayton, though.

Greenville — East Region

TBS will air both games with Brian Anderson, Chris Webber, and Lewis Johnson on the call.

No. 15 Troy Trojans (22-14)* vs. No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (27-8)*, 7:20 p.m.
No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles (19-12) vs. No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks (22-10), approx. 9:50 p.m.

Most of the Bon Secours Wellness Arena — and America, for that matter — will be hoping that Troy sends a red-hot Duke team to an early exit, even if that would ruin the bracket pool hopes of many. In the nightcap, Marquette will attempt to win a virtual road game, as the Selection Committee found a South Carolina that struggled over the second half of its SEC slate worthy of a game in its home state.

Sacramento — South Region

TruTV will air both games with Spero Dedes, Steve Smith and Len Elmore, and Ros Gold-Onwude on the call.

No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats (20-13) vs. No. 6 Cincinnati Bearcats (29-5), 7:27 p.m.
No. 14 Kent State Golden Flashes (22-13)* vs No. 3 UCLA Bruins (29-4), approx. 9:57 p.m.

For the first time since the First Four started back in 2011, a Tuesday winner — K-State — will play its First Round game on Friday, likely due to the distance between Dayton and Sacramento. The Wildcats’ defense, 30th in KenPom, turned out to be the difference against Wake Forest, but the 9th-ranked Bearcats are at almost a different level on that front. Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes and Bruins should be the final two teams to tip off in this round, with Lonzo Ball and company heavily favored to move on to Sunday.

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