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Brackets have already been blasted with historic upsets in the 2023 NCAA tournament, as the image of March Madness was shattered after just one day of first-round action. Whether it’s the 11th 15v2 excitement of the tournament where Princeton defeats Arizona, or 13 seed Furman defeats 4 seed Virginia with last second heroics, all the thrill of this glorious tournament was on display. The good news? We still have 16 games to go on Friday.
The day, which begins with 7-seed Michigan State versus 10-seed USC in the East Region, will be the busiest corner of the bracket Friday with six games including 1-seed Purdue versus 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson. The east region will also see the last remaining 2-seed play as Marquette begins his tournament campaign against 15-seed Vermont following the conclusion of the opener between Michigan State and USC.
All four 3-Seeds will be in action as well, and there’s plenty more mid-bracket madness to come when round one wraps up on Friday. Here are some big storylines to keep you busy throughout the day.
Rick Pitino takes on one of the Big East’s best
The Albany, N.Y. pod is packed with plenty of fascinating matches, including the defensive battle of Saint Mary’s-VCU and some late-night tips from the Midwest region with potential for excitement as 4-seeded Indiana takes on 13-seeded Kent State 5-Seed Miami takes on 12-Seed Drake. But the game in this building that will provide noticeable energy is 4-seed UConn, taking on 13-seed Iona. Albany is about a two-hour drive from either campus, and the Huskies are eyeing a solid run in this tournament after a strong but mixed regular season. Across from UConn are Rick Pitino and Iona, and rumor has it the Gaels head coach could be a top candidate for one of the open Big East jobs in St John’s or Georgetown. Pitino’s return to a major conference could be one of the biggest stories of the coaching carousel and the potential of the move adds a great undertone to this fight with UConn in the Northeast.
Pitt, Arizona State tries to capture the magic of the First Four
In the previous 12 NCAA tournaments since the field was expanded to 68 and the First Four added, there have been 10 years in which a team has won at Dayton and won its first-round game. 11-Seed Pitt has an extra day of rest after squeaking past Mississippi State on Tuesday and setting up a Midwest region matchup with 6-seed Iowa State. And while 11-man Arizona State may have less peace of mind, the Sun Devils were never stressed as they beat Nevada 98-73 on Wednesday. Bobby Hurley’s team also gets to play in the final game of the day, taking on 6-seeded TCU in Denver.
Match of the Day: No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 9 FAU
Pour in an extra cup of coffee to ensure you can stay up for this East Region 8-9 matchup because this is the best 8 seed going up against the best 9 seed in the field and each of these teams could be a threat to 1-Seed Purdue in the second round. FAU is a fun team that utilizes deep rotation with a slew of shooters and takes those offensive skills to a 31-3 record beating teams averaging 13.8 points per game. The Owls rank in the top 40 for how often they shoot 3-pointers and in the top 30 for how often they make them (37.2%) with four players, all in Shoot almost 40% behind the bow on average. Memphis just realized its potential with a win over Houston in the AAC tournament championship game, and the guard-forward tandem of Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams is as good as any you’ll find in the East region. The Tigers have a relentless defense that produces turnovers and high-scoring plays like the 91-88 thriller they played against No. 1 overall Alabama in Tuscaloosa earlier this season.
Watch the full TV and streaming schedule for Friday’s 2023 NCAA tournament action below.
