Tourney time: What to watch
Virginia has become the enigma of this tournament, consistently bringing a strong squad to the Dance in recent years, but falling short of the Final Four. The pressure is on for it to happen this year as the Cavaliers earned the top overall seed in the tournament, but Tony Bennett's squad won't have it easy. De'Andre Hunter, the ACC's sixth man of the year, is out for the tournament due to injury, which will make UVA's margin for error slim, and a potential Sweet 16 matchup against either Arizona or Kentucky looms. Entangled in controversy, Arizona seems to be on a mission after it was reported last month that coach Sean Miller was caught on FBI wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment for star Deandre Ayton. Miller has denied the allegation. And while that investigation continues, the Wildcats seem to be re-energized and looking like the team some thought could win the national championship before the season started. Ayton could be the best player in the tournament, and Miller is trying to make an elusive Final Four shortly after some thought he'd never coach again. Trae Young took the college basketball world by storm at the beginning of the season before Oklahoma took a dive down the stretch. Somehow, though, the Sooners made the tournament after losing 11 of their last 15 games. Young, who led the country in scoring and assists per game, has a shooting range with no limit, and he's must-watch TV. Could the 10th-seeded Sooners have a revival in the tournament? Crazier things have happened. With Young at the controls, you can't completely write them off. Last year not withstanding, every tournament seems to have at least one first-round upset no one sees coming. This year, popular picks include No. 11 Loyola-Chicago over No. 6 Miami, No. 12 South Dakota State over No. 5 Ohio State and No. 12 New Mexico State over No. 5 Clemson. But who will provide a shocker? Watch for No. 13 Marshall, which can push the pace into a track meet against No. 4 Wichita State. And No. 15 Georgia State has the shooters to give No. 2 Cincinnati a run. Missouri is one of the toughest teams to figure out in this year's tournament, and it's for one reason: Michael Porter Jr. The 6-foot-10 freshman and one of the top recruits in last year's class missed all but two games because of a back injury, but he returned in last week's SEC tournament. It remains to be seen just how much Porter can contribute, but when healthy, he's one of the best talents in the country, and he could help the Tigers put a scare into No. 1 Xavier in a potential second-round matchup. With the East regionals coming to TD Garden next weekend, it's worth monitoring for locals to see which teams might be heading there. Villanova has a favorable road to the second weekend, but beyond the Wildcats, it's anyone's guess. The region's other top seeds are Purdue, Texas Tech and Wichita State, with a good West Virginia team lurking as the No. 5 seed. Could 11th-seeded St. Bonaventure -- led by coach Mark Schmidt, a North Attleboro native and former Boston College player -- make a Cinderella run to Boston? Speaking of locals, Providence and Rhode Island are the only teams from New England in this year's tournament, but both have a good chance to win at least a game this weekend. The 10th-seeded Friars, fresh off making the Big East tournament championship, are finally healthy and clicking at a good time. They're a popular upset pick against Texas A&M, but North Carolina looms in the second round. The No. 7 Rams should beat Oklahoma, but a second-round matchup against Duke might be too difficult to overcome. Since the tournament field expanded in 1985, No. 16 seeds are 0-132 against. An upset of a top seed is still not likely to happen, but there's a reason why people are talking about Penn's chances of beating Kansas. The Quakers are not your typical 16 seed, and are better than their slot based on advanced metrics like KenPom. They have the nation's second-best 3-point defense, and the Jayhawks rely heavily on the 3, so if they're cold, watch out. By the end of the weekend, Mike Daum could easily be a household name. Nicknamed the “Dauminator,” South Dakota State's 6-foot-9 junior power forward does it all. He averaged 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game this season and shot 42.1 percent from 3. He's the biggest reason why the 12th-seeded Jackrabbits are a trendy upset pick against Ohio State. North Carolina will have to buck a decade-long trend if it's going to make a deep run this season. Since Florida repeated as champions in 2006 and 2007, no defending champion has even advanced past the Sweet 16. The Tar Heels are an interesting case. They earned a No. 2 seed despite losing 10 games, but they have experience back from making two straight national championships and they have a good draw in the West region.
By STEPHEN HEWITT
It’s not really debatable. The first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament are two of the best days on the sports calendar every year. More than 12 hours of nonstop college basketball each day. Upsets, buzzer-beaters, the drama. Even casual fans can’t help but check in to the madness.
This year, the tournament promises to be as unpredictable as it’s ever been, and plenty of storylines await. Here are 10 to watch as we get started.