March Madness: What to Watch on Day 2

The primary full day of the N.C.A.A. match is within the books, and the insanity is in full swing. Now, the motion shifts to 16 new extremely anticipated matchups.

Eight video games will happen throughout 4 cities Friday afternoon, starting with a gathering between No. 10 Loyola Chicago — and 102-year-old Sister Jean Delores Schmidt — and No. 7 Ohio State at 12:15 Japanese in Pittsburgh.

One other eight contests in these 4 cities — Pittsburgh; Greenville, S.C.; Milwaukee; and San Diego — shall be performed Friday night, airing throughout 4 tv networks: CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV.

With so many video games occurring without delay, it may be powerful to maintain observe of all of it — so listed below are some concepts of what to observe for on Friday.

Are the Ramblers poised for yet one more deep run in March? They actually have some elements of their favor.

Ohio State enters Friday having misplaced two straight video games and 4 of its final 5. Two key gamers, Zed Key (ankle) and Kyle Younger (concussion protocol), had been set to be evaluated on Thursday and had been listed as game-time choices. Collectively, they mix for 16.3 factors and 10.3 rebounds per recreation. Regardless, the Buckeyes nonetheless characteristic E.J. Liddell, the 6-foot-7 junior ahead averaging 19.6 factors and seven.9 rebounds who’s a projected first-round N.B.A. draft choose, and the freshman ahead Malaki Branham, a projected second-round choose averaging 13.3 factors and three.6 rebounds. Ohio State has not reached the spherical of 16 since 2013.

The Ramblers, in the meantime, have reached the spherical of 16 of their final three N.C.A.A. match appearances and marched all the best way to the Closing 4 in 2018. They’re led by the battle-tested senior guard Lucas Williamson, who’s averaging 14 factors, 5 rebounds and three assists. Beneath the first-year coach Drew Valentine, who was elevated to the position when Porter Moser left for Oklahoma final spring, Loyola has excelled as a defense-oriented staff, permitting simply 5.8 transition factors per recreation and rating seventeenth within the nation in scoring protection (permitting 61.7 factors per recreation). Ohio State averages 73.8 factors per recreation.

The massive query is how the Louisiana State gamers will reply after their former head coach, Will Wade, was fired on Saturday after the varsity acquired a discover of allegations from the N.C.A.A. associated to its involvement within the F.B.I. investigation into bribery in faculty basketball. Kevin Nickelberry, a former head coach at Hampton and Howard, is the interim coach.

“Clearly, they had been heartbroken, however these guys are resilient, they know the duty at hand and we’re going to like them up and make it possible for they know that on the finish of the day adversity will convey us collectively, convey us nearer,” Nickelberry mentioned on Sunday.

He added: “We’ll play collectively, we’ll play for L.S.U., we’ll play for his or her households, and extra importantly, we’ll play with integrity and play with character.”

The Tigers are led by the sophomore ahead Tari Eason (16.9 factors per recreation, 6.7 rebounds per recreation) and the senior ahead Darius Days (13.7 factors per recreation, 7.7 rebounds per recreation), who shall be counted on to supply management after a tumultuous few days for this system.

After profitable simply two video games a 12 months in the past underneath Steve Prohm, Iowa State rebounded this season underneath the first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger to win 20 video games. The Cyclones raced out of the gates to a 12-0 begin, solely to complete the season 8-12. The Cyclones are led by the senior guard Izaiah Brockington, who’s averaging 17.2 factors and seven.1 rebounds.

Lengthy journey, fast turnaround.

When Paul Atkinson’s putback layup went in to seal Notre Dame’s 89-87 double-overtime victory over Rutgers within the play-in spherical, it was 12:02 a.m. early Thursday morning. The sport had tipped off at 9:36 p.m. on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.

“You discover Paul’s shot went in at 12:02 on St. Patrick’s Day, so perhaps there was a bit little bit of karma there,” Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey joked. “If there’s a greater recreation within the N.C.A.A. match, I received to see it.”

Notre Dame’s reward was a 2,165-mile journey to San Diego — and a date with No. 6 Alabama at 4:15 p.m. Japanese on Friday.

“Let’s transfer that recreation again!” Brey mentioned, earlier than including: “We’ll get our legs underneath us by Friday afternoon, however we’ll want a while to do this.”

The Preventing Irish enter Friday’s matchup as 4-point underdogs, however they’ve some historical past on their facet. Since 2011, in yearly aside from one — 2019 — a staff that began the match within the play-in spherical has superior not simply to the spherical of 32, however to the spherical of 16.

Coming into Thursday, three different groups that superior out of the play-in video games had been nonetheless alive: No. 12 Indiana, No. 16 Texas Southern and No. 16 Wright State.

Indiana misplaced, 82-53, to St. Mary’s, which received 20 factors and 6 rebounds from Logan Johnson, and Texas Southern misplaced, 83-56, to Kansas. Wright State performs Arizona, a No. 1 seed, Friday night time.

Applications that began in play-in video games have reached the Closing 4 twice (U.C.L.A. in 2021 and Virginia Commonwealth in 2011).

Keep watch over the Massive Ten.

A 12 months in the past, the Massive Ten Convention positioned 9 groups within the N.C.A.A. match, together with 5 top-four seeds: Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State and Purdue. Of the convention’s 9 groups, solely Michigan superior to the spherical of 8.

9 Massive Ten groups had been as soon as once more a part of the 68-team subject this 12 months, probably the most from any convention. The league additionally positioned three gamers on the five-man Related Press all-America staff: Kofi Cockburn of Illinois, Johnny Davis of Wisconsin and Keegan Murray of Iowa, whereas Purdue’s Jaden Ivey made the second staff and Ohio State’s Liddell made the third staff.

However the query this 12 months shall be whether or not the Massive Ten, which hasn’t received an N.C.A.A. championship since Michigan State’s victory over Florida in 2000, can advance a number of groups deep into the match. And even only one.

Notre Dame had already eradicated Rutgers earlier than Iowa, a No. 5 seed, misplaced its first-round recreation Thursday to No. 12 Richmond (Richmond is 9-0 as a No. 12 seed or decrease).

A number of of the league’s showcase groups play Friday, together with No. 3 Purdue, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Illinois, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 7 Michigan State. Wisconsin, which faces No. 14 Colgate, and Michigan State, which drew No. 10 Davidson, may face surprisingly powerful assessments.

Wright State, which can face top-seeded Arizona on Friday night in San Diego, misplaced seven of its first 9 video games this season. That, by far, was simpler than the opposite losses the staff has confronted.

Coach Scott Nagy’s father, Dick, died final fall. Then, simply after the season began, one of many brothers in a household Scott Nagy lived with in highschool additionally died.

“I misplaced my dad and, actually, certainly one of my brothers in a few month’s interval,” Nagy mentioned. “And we received off to a horrible begin. And I wasn’t in an excellent spot emotionally, mentally, spiritually. And so I wasn’t a lot assist after we received off to that dangerous begin.”

Dick Nagy coached for 33 years, together with 17 as an assistant to the Illinois coach Lou Henson. His grandson T.J. Nagy, Scott Nagy’s son, is a junior guard at Wright State, which is close to Dayton, Ohio.

There was extra unhappy information. In late January, heart A.J. Braun’s father died unexpectedly. Beginning guard Tanner Holden misplaced a grandfather throughout the season, and redshirt senior James Manns misplaced a grandmother. The daddy of one of many Raiders’ recruits from Ohio died round Thanksgiving, Nagy mentioned.

The Raiders adopted the motto “Brotherhood Over Basketball,” and the still-raw feelings spilled out once they clinched an computerized N.C.A.A. match berth by edging Northern Kentucky, 72-71, within the Horizon League match championship recreation.

“You go round to among the dad and mom and simply see the crying,” Scott Nagy mentioned.

The Raiders beat Bryant, 93-82, in a play-in recreation on Wednesday in Dayton to earn the fitting to face Arizona as a No. 16 seed.

Maximize your watching technique.

The primary two video games of the day on CBS needs to be entertaining, with Loyola Chicago dealing with Ohio State, adopted by No. 2 Villanova, the Massive East Convention match champion, assembly No. 15 Delaware. Keep watch over the fifth-year Villanova level guard Collin Gillespie, who’s among the many most savvy flooring generals in faculty basketball.

At 4:15 p.m., flip over to TNT to see how Brey and Notre Dame fare in opposition to Alabama — and bear in mind to test in on the 4:30 p.m. recreation on TBS between No. 11 Virginia Tech, which beat Duke within the Atlantic Coast Convention match last, and No. 6 Texas, which options numerous high-profile transfers underneath its first-year coach, Chris Beard.

Keep up late on Friday to see if Colgate or Davidson can pull off upsets, after which end off your day of insanity with the nightcap, No. 8 Seton Corridor in opposition to No. 9 Texas Christian, from San Diego at 9:57 p.m. Japanese.

Scott Miller contributed reporting.