Thursday’s primer for March Madness

It’s here. March Madness is the most fantastic sporting event on Earth, and the best part is the first Thursday and Friday. On each day, there are 16 games with all kinds of wildness breaking out, including some potentially unforgettable upsets.

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On Thursday, this is the complete schedule with teams, time and TV station:

12:15 p.m. ET: No. 14 Northeastern vs. No. 3 Notre Dame, CBS
12:40 p.m. ET: No. 14 UAB vs. No. 3 Iowa State, truTV
1:40 p.m. ET: No. 14 Georgia State vs. No. 3 Baylor, TBS
2:10 p.m. ET: No. 15 Texas Southern vs. No. 2 Arizona, TNT
2:45 p.m. ET: No. 11 Texas vs. No. 6 Butler, CBS
3:10 p.m. ET: No. 11 UCLA vs. No. 6 SMU, truTV
4:10 p.m. ET: No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 6 Xavier, TBS
4:40 p.m. ET: No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 7 VCU, TNT
6:50 p.m. ET: No. 16 Lafayette vs. No. 1 Villanova, TBS
7:10 p.m. ET: No. 9 Purdue vs. No. 8 Cincinnati, CBS
7:20 p.m. ET: No. 13 Harvard vs. No. 4 North Carolina, TNT
7:27 p.m. ET: No. 12 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 5 Utah, truTV
9:20 p.m. ET: No. 9 LSU vs. No. 8 North Carolina State, TBS
9:40 p.m. ET: No. 16 Hampton vs. No. 1 Kentucky, CBS
9:50 p.m. ET: No. 12 Wofford vs. No. 5 Arkansas, TNT
9:57 p.m. ET: No. 13 Eastern Washington vs. No. 4 Georgetown, truTV

Five things to watch

1. Kentucky continues its march toward perfection

The Kentucky Wildcats are not going to slip up on Thursday night in front a national audience against a No. 16 seed. If they do, it will not only be the first time a No. 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 but it would double as the biggest upset in college basketball, and perhaps college sports, history. The Wildcats would play the winner of the Purdue-Cincinnati matchup.

2. Where are the upsets?

Wofford is a solid team and could pull off a surprise win over Arkansas. The Razorbacks play in the weak SEC and while the Terriers are from the unheralded Southern Conference, they have a win over North Carolina State and played a tough non-conference schedule featuring Duke, Stanford and West Virginia. Another upset alert is Eastern Washington over a Jekyll-and-Hyde Georgetown team.

3. Larry Brown and SMU

Brown is the third-year coach of SMU and is making his first tournament appearance with the Mustangs. The Bruins are one of Brown’s former schools, where he reached the Final Four in 1979-80 (the trip was vacated). If SMU earns a victory, it will be the school’s first tournament win since 1988. Regardless, this is time to celebrate for the Mustangs and their fans, making their first tourney appearance in 22 years.

Game to watch

For entertainment value, the VCU-Ohio State game is going to be epic. Buckeyes freshman point guard D’Angelo Russell is going to face the Rams’ “Havoc” defense. Additionally, nothing is better than a traditional power battling a non-power conference force.