Note: Before the breakdown by Quadrant, you’ll find a lineup broken down by telecast window. Within each window, I’ve listed games by tip time with the quadrants on the left.

Reminders of the different groupings are in the table below. Neutral-site games have been removed from this table, since none are on today’s non-tournament schedule.

All NET rankings are from the NCAA’s website and reflect games played against D1 opposition only through Thursday, February 25, 2021. Records reflect all games played through Friday, February 26, 2021.

Games are presented in relative order of importance. All times are Eastern. All times and broadcast information is CoVID-dependent. For a more complete schedule, including games without tournament/at-large impact, visit MattSarzSports.com’s daily schedule.

Chronological Schedule

Quad 1 For Both Teams (1/1: 8 Games)

Top 30 at Top 75

3. Michigan (17-1, 12-1 Big Ten) at 54. Indiana (12-11, 7-9), 12 p.m. (Fox)
24. Texas (14-6, 8-5 Big 12) at 19. Texas Tech (14-8, 6-7), 12 p.m. (CBS)
5. Illinois (17-6, 13-4 Big Ten) at 18. Wisconsin (16-8, 10-7), 2 p.m. (ESPN)
29. LSU (14-7, 9-5 SEC) at 22. Arkansas (18-5, 10-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
27. Florida (12-6, 8-5 SEC) at 63. Kentucky (8-13, 7-7), 4 p.m. (CBS)
11. Florida State (14-3, 10-2 ACC) at 44. North Carolina (14-8, 8-5), 4 p.m. (ESPN)
20. Creighton (17-5, 13-4 Big East) at 58. Xavier (12-5, 5-5), 5 p.m. (Fox)
2. Baylor (18-0, 10-0 Big 12) at 17. Kansas (17-8, 11-6), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Of the eight games in this class, just two match a team that’s in Friday’s field with one that isn’t. The first of those is set for Assembly Hall in Bloomington, where host Indiana lost to Michigan State in the noon Eastern slot a week ago. Today’s opponent? Michigan. If the Hoosiers can win this one, they’ll have a great chance at getting back into the next projection. In the second, Florida visits Kentucky having been obliterated by the Wildcats, 76-58, at the O’Dome on January 9th. The Gators join LSU and Texas as teams needing to record road victories to earn a seeding boost today.

Like Indiana, North Carolina and Xavier face top 20 opponents who can provide needed Quad 1 wins, but unlike the Hoosiers, both get their chances at home.

Illinois will try to complete a season sweep of Wisconsin, without Ayo Dosunmu, to keep pace in the top-seed race. Baylor, meanwhile, could drop from the No. 2 spot overall with a loss at Kansas and Michigan win.

Quad 2 For Host/Quad 1 For Visitor (2/1: 6 Games)

31–75 at Top 75

56. Syracuse (13-7, 7-6 ACC) at 40. Georgia Tech (12-8, 8-6), 12 p.m. (ACCN)
37. Oklahoma State (14-6, 9-5 Big 12) at 28. Oklahoma (14-6, 9-5), 3 p.m. (ABC)
36. Boise State (18-5, 14-4 MW) at 21. San Diego State (18-4, 12-3), 4 p.m. (CBSSN)
48. Louisville (12-5, 7-4 ACC) at 49. Duke (11-8, 9-6), 6 p.m. (ESPN)
38. UCLA (17-5, 13-3 Pac-12) at 16. Colorado (18-7, 12-6), 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
66. Saint Mary’s (13-7, 4-5 WCC) at 25. BYU (18-5, 9-3), 10 p.m. (ESPNU)

Four of these six contests match teams in Friday’s projected field, but two of them are bubble games. It would help Boise State out a bit if the Broncos avoided a San Diego State sweep, though they should still stick around if they go 0-2 this week. The same cannot be said for the Louisville-Duke loser. The Cardinals are aiming to improve their record in Quad 1 games to 1-4. The Blue Devils are 2-3, though this one would fall into Quad 2 for them since it’s at Cameron—and Duke is merely 4-4 in such contests.

Syracuse can also win its first Quad 1 contest of the season by topping Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

The Bedlam series will feature heavily in the final two weeks of the season, as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State not only meet today and Monday, it’s possible they’ll play the 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal at the Big 12 Tournament too. In the Pac-12, Colorado will aim to sweep the L.A. schools, a result that would further muddy the league title race. On the other hand, Gonzaga has left both BYU and Saint Mary’s in the dust in the WCC, and at this point, the Cougars have far more to play for nationally than the Gaels.

Quad 1 For Host/Quad 2 For Visitor (1/2: 3 Games)

Top 30 at 76–135

15. Tennessee (16-6, 9-6 SEC) at 77. Auburn (11-13, 5-10), 12 p.m. (ESPN)
9. Alabama (18-6, 13-2 SEC) at 81. Mississippi State (13-11, 7-8), 6 p.m. (SECN)
23. USC (19-5, 13-4 Pac-12) at 105. Utah (9-11, 6-10), 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

Alabama and USC complete road weeks with both needing to rebound from disappointing midweek losses. As for Tennessee, if Sharife Cooper (ankle) misses his second straight game for Auburn, the Vols should romp, at least based on how the Tigers looked without him when meeting Florida on Tuesday.

Quad 2 For Both Teams (2/2: 2 Games)

31–75 at 76–135

33. VCU (17-5, 10-3 A 10) at 82. Davidson (11-7, 6-4), 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
59. Ole Miss (13-9, 8-7 SEC) at 124. Vanderbilt (6-13, 2-11), 3:30 p.m. (SECN)

VCU (just in the field) and Ole Miss (just out) must avoid road defeats today, since neither Davidson nor Vanderbilt is a high-quality Quad 2 opponent.

Quad 3 For Host/Quad 1 For Visitor (3/1: 4 Games)

76–160 at Top 75

85. Marquette (11-12, 6-10 Big East) at 43. UConn (11-6, 8-6), 2:30 p.m. (Fox)
156. Wake Forest (6-12, 3-12 ACC) at 51. Virginia Tech (14-5, 8-4), 4 p.m. (ACCN)
119. Oregon State (12-11, 8-9 Pac-12) at 60. Stanford (14-10, 10-8), 6:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)
102. Loyola Marymount (12-7, 7-4 WCC) at 1. Gonzaga (23-0, 14-0), 10 p.m. (ESPN)

I’m curious to see how Virginia Tech (Georgia Tech) and Stanford (Oregon) respond to their midweek home losses, particularly since the Cardinal dropped out of this projection as a result of theirs. Gonzaga should roll against an LMU team attempting to earn the No. 3 seed in the WCC Tournament. Meanwhile, UConn will look to avoid becoming Marquette’s second bubble victim in a four-day span following the Golden Eagles’ win at UNC.

Quad 2 For Host/Quad 3 For Visitor (2/3: 4 Games)

31–75 at 136–240

46. Oregon (15-5, 10-4 Pac-12) at 190. California (8-18, 3-16), 4 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)
75. Belmont (24-2, 18-1 OVC) at 138. Morehead State (19-7, 16-3), 4 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))
65. Minnesota (13-11, 6-11) at 142. Nebraska (5-17, 1-14), 7 p.m. (B1G Network)
34. Drake (24-2, 15-2 MVC) at 171. Bradley (11-15, 5-12), 7 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))

Might this be the day Minnesota finally wins a road game?

Elsewhere, Oregon looks to complete the Bay Area sweep by knocking off a bad Cal team, while Belmont can sew up a one-loss OVC season and Drake will attempt to earn a share of the Missouri Valley title.

Quad 3 For Host/Quad 2 For Visitor (3/2: 1 Game)

76–160 at 76–135

128. South Carolina (5-12, 3-10 SEC) at 83. Georgia (14-9, 7-9), 1 p.m. (SECN)

Even though Georgia has defeated Missouri and LSU in its last two home games, the Bulldogs cannot get caught looking ahead to their next one, Alabama next Saturday.

Quad 4 For Host/Quad 1 For Visitor (4/1: 3 Games)

161–353 at Top 75

167. Miami (Fla.) (7-14, 3-13 ACC) at 32. Clemson (14-5, 8-5), 2 p.m. (ACC RSNs/ACCNX)
317. Air Force (5-17, 3-15 MW) at 45. Colorado State (14-4, 11-3), 4 p.m. (MWN)
235. Southern Illinois (11-12, 5-12 MVC) at 10. Loyola Chicago (20-4, 15-2), 6 p.m. (ESPN2)

While these are winnable games for all three hosts, Loyola has the added pressure of a conference title race, and Colorado State will be taking the floor for the first time in three weeks.

Quad 3 For Both Teams (3/3: 1 Game)

76–160 at 136–240

91. Liberty (19-5, 10-2 ASUN) at 158. Bellarmine (13-5, 10-2), 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

The top two teams in the ASUN standings meet in Louisville. In a normal season, this contest would determine who has the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the conference tournament. But the event will be played in Jacksonville this year, so there are no such stakes in 2021. Note that the Knights will participate in the ASUN Tournament even though they’re in their first D1 transitional season.

America East First Round

ESPN+ ($) will stream all three games.

No. 7 Stony Brook (9-13, 7-9) vs. No. 6 UMass Lowell (8-11, 7-8) (at UNH), 1 p.m.
The Seawolves won both games (at home).
No. 5 Binghamton (4-13, 4-10) at No. 4 Hartford (11-8, 8-6), 2 p.m.
The Hawks won both games (at home).
No. 8 NJIT (7-11, 6-10) vs. No. 5 UAlbany (6-8, 6-6) (at Hartford), 5 p.m.
The Great Danes won both games (at home).

For the first two rounds of the America East Playoffs, teams are participating in what the conference is calling “pool play.” But this isn’t a round-robin group. Instead, the No. 3 (New Hampshire), 6, and 7 seeds are playing elimination games in Durham, N.H., while the No. 4, 5. 8, and 9 seeds will do the same at Hartford. The second round is tomorrow, with the two winners advancing to meet the top two seeds, UMBC and Vermont on their respective home floors next Saturday.

Maine is not participating, since the Black Bears ended their season in mid-January.

Big South First Round

ESPN3 will stream both games.

No. 10 Presbyterian (7-14, 5-12) at No. 7 Hampton (10-13, 9-9), 2 p.m.
The pair split two games at Hampton.
No. 9 USC Upstate (5-17, 5-11) at No. 8 High Point (8-14, 6-11), 4 p.m.
The pair split two games at High Point.

Similarly, Charleston Southern, the Big South’s 11th team, won’t participate in its conference tournament, thanks to a late CoVID pause. That means there are just two Big South first-round games instead of three, with the top two seeds, Winthrop and Radford, hosting today’s winners on Monday night.