Editor's note: Follow all of Friday's men's March Madness scores, highlights, upsets and updates with USA TODAY Sports' live coverage.
The first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament continues Friday, and by the time the day ends, the field will have been sliced by more than half - from 68 to just 32 teams.
We’re here once again to provide a brief rundown of the 16-game slate, complete with broadcast times and a few words on each match-up to help you prioritize your day of viewing enjoyment.
As always, keep your remote and channel guide close at hand, and don’t fret too much if your bracket gets busted if it hasn’t been already. Chances are you won’t be alone in that regard.
An No. 8 vs. No. 9 pairing again gets the day’s first slot, and it’s quite a compelling one. The Owls, a Cinderella no more, will look to have another long tournament run. They should have the edge in the paint, but Wildcats guard Boo Buie can light it up from the arc and will look to carry his team into the second round for consecutive seasons.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
The Raiders are in their fifth consecutive tournament and seventh overall but have yet to join the giant-killer club. They aren’t afraid to let fly from three-point land, but the Bears do it even better and will have a considerable advantage on the glass.
The Aztecs, again a No. 5 seed, look to duplicate their historic Final Four run from a year ago but could face a more daunting gauntlet in this region. Up first are the Blazers, the somewhat surprising American Athletic Conference tourney champs who’ve been inconsistent this season but have some good wins in the bank.
The Golden Eagles made it to the Big East final without standout point guard Tyler Kolek, but they’ll be happy to have him back just the same. Easing him in might not be an option against the Hilltoppers, who don’t mind pushing the tempo while putting up a shade over 80 points a game.
Congratulations are in order for the Hatters on their first ever appearance in the Big Dance, even if their stay will likely be brief. After negotiating the Big East, the defending national champion and top-ranked Huskies enter the tournament with a scoring margin of over 17 points per contest.
It might bode well for the Tigers that most of their best wins came against non-ACC competition, but their 1-3 record in March thus far is cause for concern. The Mountain West champion Lobos look to join conference mate Colorado State by sending another ACC squad packing.
Auburn’s strange resume landed it on the No. 4 seed line despite its SEC tourney title. Yale, the Ivy League tournament champions in three of the last five editions, have made noise in March, including a first-round victory against Baylor in 2016, but these Bulldogs might not have a physical answer for Tigers big man Johni Broome.
The Gators still have the bulk of their scoring options, but Micah Handlogten’s injury will be more keenly felt on the defensive end. The Buffaloes, defense is already dialed in, as they demonstrated Wednesday night shutting down Boise State, and K.J. Simpson isn’t likely to have two rough shooting games in succession.
The subplot of a bolting athletic director, while good for a laugh or two, has nothing to do with the action on the court here, which should be interesting enough on its own given the contrast in styles. The Cornhuskers’ offense is free-flowing with four players averaging between two and three assists a game, while the Aggies tend to sink or swim with high-volume shooter Wade Taylor IV.
The Catamounts are dancing for a third consecutive year, and they gave Arkansas all it could handle from the No. 13 position two seasons ago. The Blue Devils will be hard to topple with floor leader Jeremy Roach, a veteran of the team's 2022 Final Four squad, and big man Kyle Filipowski leading the way.
The redemption tour begins here for the Boilermakers, who haven’t lost to anyone outside the Big Ten this season. But the Tigers, already with a win under their belt in their first-ever tournament appearance, won’t be afraid to attack the rack.
The Crimson Tide don’t mind playing the game at breakneck speed. But even they might want to tap the brakes at times if the Cougars’ relentless defensive pressure leads to a spate of turnovers. This could be one of most exciting games of the first round.
The last No. 1 seeds to take the court, the Cougars will try to make short work of the Lancers. Keep in mind, though, that Longwood coach Grif Aldrich was working with Ryan Odom at Maryland-Baltimore County when the Retrievers pulled off the first 16-over-1 upset in men’s tournament history in 2018.
Potentially one of the best games of the round, the Badgers, who’ve already played their share of close contests, take on the Dukes, who have already shown they can handle Big Ten competition. The go-to- guys are James Madison’s Terrence Edwards Jr. and the Badgers’ A.J. Storr.No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 TCU
Aggies’ faithful are understandably displeased with the team’s seed, seemingly low for the regular-season champ of a six-bid conference. But Great Osobor and the rest of Utah State’s team can’t worry about that, as Emanuel Miller and the Horned Frogs’ solid backcourt will be the more immediate concern.
The final contest of the round is an intriguing one. The Gaels stole the West Coast Conference mantle from Gonzaga with sound defense and timely shooting from Aidan Mahaney, while the Antelopes have some tournament caliber wins themselves and have their own alpha dog in the person of Tyon Grant-Foster.
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