The first full day of March Madness featured a benign day for high-seeded teams in the bracket.
Just two teams seeded 11th or lower won on Thursday, with No. 12 seed McNeese State holding off Clemson to keep its viral team manager and an ex-Syracuse guard dancing for another day.
The NCAA Tournament continues all day with 16 more games on Friday’s schedule.
STREAM: Every NCAA Tournament game on DirecTV Stream (free trial)
By the end of the day, the field will be down to 32 teams.
Tournament action tips off with No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor at 12:15 p.m. on CBS.
Former Syracuse guard Brycen Goodine and the Oklahoma Sooners are in action vs. two-time defending champion Connecticut, with tip-off scheduled for 9:25 p.m., on TNT.
Former Syracuse forward Maliq Brown’s status is in doubt after dislocating his shoulder at last week’s ACC tournament.
“He wants to do whatever he can to get back and have a chance to play,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer told reporters ahead of the Blue Devils first-round game vs. Mount St. Mary’s.
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”
Predictive analytics experts Dimers has identified Duke has a 27.1% chance to win the NCAA championship.
The other No. 1 seed in action Friday, Florida, has a 69.7% chance to reach the Final Four, according to Dimers.
Here’s the updated bracket:
Friday’s Round of 64 TV schedule
(8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Baylor, 12:15 p.m. | CBS
(2) Alabama vs. (15) Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m. | truTV
(3) Iowa State vs. (14) Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m. | TNT
(5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State, 2 p.m. | TBS
(1) Duke vs. (16) Mount St. Mary’s, 2:50 p.m. | CBS
(7) Saint Mary’s vs. (10) Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m. | truTV
(6) Ole Miss vs. (11) North Carolina, 4:05 p.m. | TNT
(4) Maryland vs. (13) Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m. | TBS
(1) Florida vs. (16) Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m. | TNT
(3) Kentucky vs. (14) Troy, 7:10 p.m. | CBS
(7) Marquette vs. (10) New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. | TBS
(4) Arizona vs. (13) Akron, 7:35 p.m. | truTV
(8) UConn vs. (9) Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m. | TNT
(6) Illinois vs. (11) Xavier, 9:45 p.m. | CBS
(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Bryant, 10 p.m. | TBS
(5) Oregon vs. (12) Liberty, 10:10 p.m. | truTV
Thursday’s first-round results
(9) Creighton 89, (8) Louisville 75
(4) Purdue 75, (13) High Point 63
(3) Wisconsin 85, (14) Montana 66
(1) Houston 78, (16) SIU Edwardsville 40
(1) Auburn 83, (16) Alabama State 63
(12) McNeese 69, (5) Clemson 67
(6) BYU 80, (11) VCU 71
(8) Gonzaga 89, (9) Georgia 68
(2) Tennessee 77, (15) Wofford 62
(10) Arkansas 79, (7) Kansas 72
(4) Texas A&M 80, (13) Yale 71
(11) Drake 67, (6) Missouri 57
(7) UCLA 72, (10) Utah State 47
(2) St. John’s 83, (15) Omaha 53
(5) Michigan 68, (12) UC San Diego 65
(3) Texas Tech 82, (14) UNC Wilmington 72
