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Saturday's Game Schedule
| REGION | GAME | VENUE | TIME | TV | ANNOUNCERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South | Pittsburgh Panthers (9) vs. Florida Gators (1) | Amway Center (Orlando, FL) | 12:15p | CBS | Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Kristine Leahy |
| MidWest | Saint Louis Billikens (5) vs. Louisville Cardinals (4) | Amway Center (Orlando, FL) | 2:45p | CBS | Anderson/Bonner//Leahy) |
| MidWest | Texas Longhorns (7) vs. Michigan Wolverines (2) | BMO Harris Bradley Center (Milwaukee, WI) | 5:15p | CBS | Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson |
| West | North Dakota State Bison (12) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (4) | Spokane Memorial Arena (Spokane, WA) | 6:10p | TNT | Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jaime Maggio |
| South | Dayton Flyers (11) vs. Syracuse Orange (3) | First Niagara Center (Buffalo, NY) | 7:10p | TBS | Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Allie LaForce |
| West | Oregon Ducks (7) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (2) | BMO Harris Bradley Center (Milwaukee, WI) | 7:45p | CBS | Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson |
| East | Harvard Crimson (12) vs. Michigan State Spartans (4) | Spokane Memorial Arena (Spokane, WA) | 8:40p | TNT | Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jaime Maggio |
| East | Connecticut Huskies (7) vs. Villanova Wildcats (2) | First Niagara Center (Buffalo, NY) | 9:40p | TBS | Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Allie LaForce |
ACC Teams in the Mix
(9) Pittsburgh Panthers vs (1) Florida Gators, 12:15pm, CBS
The Panthers come in on the heels of a 29-point, 77-48 dismantling of Colorado that saw 3 players score double digits and saw them shoot nearly 51% from the field as a team. They're now 6-2 in their last 8 games, including an ACC semifinal appearance that saw them fall to (1) Virginia. On the other hand, Florida comes in as the Tournament's #1 overall seed. The Gators have only lost twice all season, and their last was December 2 to Connecticut. (Their other loss was the second game of the season, where they lost to now-2-seed Wisconsin.) They are the first team ever to go 18-0 in SEC play, and only really had a few close calls, although it should be mentioned that the SEC was a poor conference this year that only saw three Tournament entrants. That said, it should also be mentioned that over 27% of brackets submitted to ESPN's Tournament Challenge have Florida winning the National Championship.
(3) Syracuse Orange vs (11) Dayton Flyers, 7:10pm, TBS
The Orange come in after a first-round win over Western Michigan, 77-53, that was never really close. They led by 19 at halftime and ended up winning by 24 over the MAC champion Broncos. They'll take on the Dayton Flyers, who are fresh off of an upset of 6-seed Ohio State in the Tournament's first game. The Flyers (previous employer of Georgia Tech's Brian Gregory) are 24-10, but are 11-2 since February 1, including a 4-3 record against teams in this year's Tournament (all three losses to St. Joe's, who fell to UConn in OT on Thursday). Nearly 70% of those entered in ESPN's Tournament Challenge picked Syracuse to advance to the Sweet 16 (I'm one of them), while under 4% picked Dayton to do so.
Did your bracket survive the first round? Who do you have winning on Saturday?