NCAA Tournament 2012: Power Ranking Every Game on Today's Schedule

It's NCAA Tournament time.

I don't know about you, but I'm excited about today's games. I'm so excited, I decided to sit down and look at all of today's matchups and power rank all 16 games that are on the schedule.

I know, mainly because my wife has told me, but I have too much time on my hands.

That's okay, because it's March Madness and in the words of my favorite sports commentator Dick Vitale, "It's Awesome Baby, with a Capital A."

So, enough of this.

Here are my rankings for today's games.

Am I wrong? Is there another game that deserves to be No. 1. Let me know.

16. No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 16 Western Kentucky

After seeing the first game of the "First Four," I came away unimpressed with the Hilltoppers.

Sure, they came back from 16 points down in the final five minutes to win the game. But, for the other 35 minutes, they were an unexciting bunch who couldn't do the simple things when it came to rebounding and good shot selection.

Kentucky, on the other hand, is coming off an SEC Championship Game loss to Vanderbilt.

Yeah, they're kinda ticked off right now.

This one won't be pretty by the time there's five minutes left in the first half.

The game is slated for a 6:50 p.m start time and will shown on TBS.

15. No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Loyola-Maryland

Ohio State is coming off a loss in the Big 10 title game to Michigan State.

Guys like Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas and William Buford are looking to take Ohio State deep into the tourney and aren't going to waste their energy by letting the game stay close.

Let's face it, the Metro Atlantic Conference isn't exactly the greatest conference, especially when you compare it to the Big 10.

Expect Ohio State to run away with this one as well.

The game is slated to start at 9:50 p.m. and will be on TNT.

14. No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 16 UNC-Asheville

Sure, Syracuse has lost Fab Melo for the entire tournament.

But, do you really think that one player is what earned them a No. 1 seed?

There's a reason why Syracuse has been ranked in the top five throughout the year. This game will be no different.

I'll actually give the Bulldogs some credit. They played some tough non-conference opponents, including N.C. State, North Carolina and Tennessee.

So, while I don't think they have a chance in this game, they have earned my respect.

The game is slated to start at 3:10 p.m. on truTV.

13. No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 South Dakota State

Who can really argue what Baylor has done this year.

And, I know that some experts are predicting this to actually be a great game. However, I don't see it happening that way.

In their conference tournament, they barely beat an 18-14 team, and weren't that impressive.

If you can't be impressive in your lower-level conference, what makes you think you can compete with the big boys in the tournament?

This one will be over minutes into the second half.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:27 p.m. and will be on truTV.

12. No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 Davidson

Louisville is one of the most exciting teams in the tournament.

For anyone who followed the Big East Tournament, you were undoubtedly impressed with their play on both sides of the floor.

While I think Davidson was primed for an upset this year, Louisville is the one No. 4 seed that I don't think it would happen against.

I believe the Cardinals will be one of the last two teams left in the tournament.

This game will be close for a while, but Louisville will take control in the second half and win.

The game is slated to start at 1:40 p.m. and will be on TBS.

11. No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 13 New Mexico State

Indiana is one of only two teams to beat Kentucky this year.

They have the ability to make a run to the Final Four.

With Cody Zeller and Christian Watford playing stronger than ever, I just don't see New Mexico State coming close in this one.

Although I think it's obvious that Indiana will win, New Mexico State could make the score respectable, but only if Wendell McKines is on top of his game.

The game is scheduled to start at 9:45 p.m. and will air on CBS.

10. No. 8 Kansas State vs. No. 9 Southern Mississippi

I honestly don't think there are any bad matchups between eight and nine seeds, unlike in year's past.

This is a game that should be a good one. The only reason it's ranked lower is the lack of star power.

But, being the second game to start today, most of America will get a chance to see these two teams compete for the right to play a depleted Syracuse team in the Round of 32.

The game will start at 12:40 p.m. and will be on truTV.

9. No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Harvard

I'm honestly rooting for Harvard.

First, Jeremy Lin, then the run that the Crimson made this year, getting themselves in the top 25 rankings is truly remarkable.

No matter what happens, this is a season where they should be proud of what they accomplished.

With that said, it's not going to happen.

Vanderbilt is strong and is looking towards a Final Four run.

The game is scheduled to start at 4:40 p.m. and will be shown on TNT.

8. No. 3 Marquette vs. No. 14 BYU

BYU has to be given credit for their come-from-behind win over Iona on Tuesday.

For their win, they get Marquette, which is a very winnable game for them.

Out of all the play-in game winners, BYU is the one team that could make the same kind of run that VCU did last year.

I know it will be a tough task, but if there's one thing that Mountain West teams can do, they can shoot the ball very well.

That could be just what the Cougars need to take down the Golden Eagles.

The game will air on CBS and should start around 2:45 p.m.

7. No. 7 Gonzaga vs. No. 10 West Virginia

This is probably the best matchup for the seven and 10 seeds in the tournament.

Gonzaga lost in the West Coast title game, while West Virginia did well in a tough Big East. Both teams have been here before and know what it takes to win in the tournament.

So, what will it take to win this game? Whichever team wins the first five minutes of the second half.

Whichever team starts the second half off the strongest will win.

The game is slated to start at 7:20 p.m. and will be on TNT.

6. No. 6 UNLV vs. No. 11 Colorado

Had Colorado not made a run in the Pac-12 Tournament, they likely wouldn't be in the NCAA Tournament.

But, they did and they're going to make the best of it.

The Buffalos seem to be more balanced across the board and have a big inside presence in Andre Roberson.

UNLV has a deeper bench, and in the NCAA Tournament, that can be the difference between winning and losing.

This is one of the late games of the day, starting at 9:57 p.m. and will be on truTV.

5. No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Montana

This game will go one of two ways.

Either Wisconsin is going to dominate early and not even allow Montana to get into the game.

Or the Grizzlies are going to hang around and pull the first big upset of the tournament.

I'm hoping for the latter, but will be okay with the former.

Montana has two guys that can flat out score in Will Cherry and Kareem Jamar, while Wisconsin runs a more balanced attack behind Jordan Taylor.

The game is slated to start at 2:10 p.m. and will be on TNT.

4. No. 5 New Mexico vs. No. 12 Long Beach State

This is probably one of the best 5-12 matchups I've ever seen in the NCAA Tournament.

Both teams look so even.

The Lobos play in a tough Mountain West Conference that got three teams in the tournament, while the 49ers dominated the Big West all year.

In the end, I think it's going to come down to who wants it more.

For my bracket's sake, I hope New Mexico wins.

The game is slated to start at 4:10 p.m. and will be on TBS.

3. No. 6 Murray State vs. No. 11 Colorado State

The last team to lose a game in Division I this year, Murray State has a chance to do well as a higher seed.

Murray State has all the makings of making a deep tournament run. They have a go-to scorer and everyone rebounds the ball.

And, that's the one thing you have to do in the NCAA Tournament.

Honestly, this game is really 1C, because the two games above it will be just as good.

The game is slated to start at 12:15 p.m. and will open the day on CBS.

2. No. 5 Wichita State vs. No. 12 VCU

This matchup just makes my mouth water.

VCU is primed to make another run to the Final Four this year.

And frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

They get another great team in the second round in Wichita State and will be tested very early on.

If they get past Wichita State, however, VCU will make a deep run into the tournament, again.

The game is slated to start at 7:15 p.m. and will be on CBS.

1. No. 8 Connecticut vs. No. 9 Iowa State

I'll be honest, I have a slight man-crush on this matchup.

This is primed to be the best game of the first round.

You have two very strong teams that are very evenly matched.

Connecticut is, well, Connecticut, while Iowa State can surprise as well.

This game is going to come down to what most great games come down to in the end—execution.

Whoever executes in the home stretch will take away this one.

The game is slated to start at 9:20 p.m. and will be on TBS.