clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Bracket is busted, but I'm still watching: NCAA Tournament Day 4 Open Thread

Are your Elite 8 teams still alive?

By MrCLM

I lost Villanova last night.  I wavered back & forth on going with ISU in that bracket, but felt that was my heart talking and not my head. Oops.  At least I have Michigan State coming out of that branch, so there is still hope.  I still have 7 of my 8 Elite 8 teams in the running.  We'll see how that looks after today.

The first three games of the day will all be televised on CBS.

The games get started at 9:15 p.m. Pacific time in St. Louis, as South region No. 2 seed Kansas (25-9) meets 10th seed Stanford (22-12). The Jayhawks survived a stern test from Eastern Kentucky. The Cardinal defeated New Mexico in the second round.  I don't think Stanford has enough firepower here to keep up.

The next game at approximately 11:45 p.m., Midwest top seed and undefeated Wichita State Shockers face one of their toughest tests of the season in eighth seed Kentucky. The Shockers (35-0) raced past Cal Poly, while Kentucky (25-10) outlasted a game Kansas State squad Friday night.  Kentucky has been some people's dark horse, and they are probably seeded too low, but I still think the Shockers keep marching.

Perhaps the most interesting match up of the day (in my opinion anyhow) can be found in the East region as third-seeded Iowa State meets sixth seed North Carolina at 2:15 p.m. Pacific in San Antonio. The Cyclones (27-7) beat North Carolina Central, but lost forward Georges Niang to a foot injury. He won't be available to play against the Tar Heels (24-9), who battled Providence down to the wire before advancing.  Losing Niang is a big deal, so it will be interesting to see how "The Mayor" Fred Hoyberg adjusts.  I'll be cheering for ISU, but too close to call for me.

Mercer, the biggest Cinderella of in 2014, tries to take out another team from a power conference. The 14th-seeded Bears (27-8), who provided THE upset in this year's tournament when they beat Duke (yea!), play 11th seed Tennessee at 3:10 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.. The Volunteers (23-12) routed Massachusetts on Friday. This game will be broadcast on TNT. I'm going Tennessee here.

From the South region at approximately 4:10 p.m. Pacific time, 12th seed Stephen F. Austin will meet No. 4 UCLA in San Diego. The Lumberjacks (32-2) needed overtime to knock off Virginia Commonwealth, while the Bruins (27-8) made quick work of Tulsa. This game will be televised on TBS.  I think UCLA wins this handily.

More good basketball is expected as Sunday evening progresses. At 4:40 p.m. on truTV, the West's third seed Creighton (27-7) will play sixth seed Baylor (25-11) in San Antonio. In the East at Raleigh, N.C., top seed Virginia (29-6) will next tangle with eighth seed Memphis (24-9) at 5:40 p.m. on TNT.  I'm going Creighton and Virginia here.

And Sunday's basketball buffet ends with a West region match up in San Diego: Top seed Arizona plays eighth seed Gonzaga at approximately 6:40 p.m. Pacific on TBS.  SDSU advances another round.

Who you got today?  Hop in the comments and cheer along!

More From Sonics Rising