Games during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament

Thursday and Friday are near-perfect sports days with only one flaw: It’s just about impossible to adequately pay attention to every NCAA Tournament game in action throughout the first round.

Inevitably, you have to pick and choose the game — or handful of games — to pay attention to at any given point, then be ready to adjust on the fly. Let these games be your starting points when you plan out your days later this week: a first-round draft choice.

Yale scored 97 points against the Harvard Crimson in the Ivy League championship and has a legitimately talented team. Shooting guard Miye Oni could be a second-round pick in June.

In a normal scenario, it would still be tough to envision the Bulldogs knocking off the Southeastern Conference regular-season champions, but coach Will Wade is embroiled in an FBI investigation, which could make things difficult for LSU. Star center Naz Reid will have to dominate. is one of only five active players with 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds.

The matchups between the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds are supposed to be good and Ole Miss-Oklahoma fits the bill. The Sooners boast a top-25 defense in the Pomeroy College Basketball rankings, while the Rebels feature the No. 33 offense in the country.

As for an individual matchup, Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree averages 18.2 points per game and Oklahoma guard Christian James averages 14.4. They could find themselves trading buckets in the second half of this one with a likely meeting with the Virginia Cavaliers on thee line.