NCAA Basketball Tournament 2015: Predictions for Friday's 2nd-Round Schedule

There are few encores in sports or entertainment better than second day of the second round of the NCAA tournament.

This year's edition should be no different. Thursday is jam-packed with 16 games, and Friday will bring 16 more. Hope springs eternal for the 64 teams still remaining in the 2015 NCAA tournament.

It's essentially impossible for this round to disappoint, except perhaps for those highly partisan fans who have to watch their favorite school suffer an early exit from the competition

For some players, the NCAA tournament represents the grandest, greatest stage of basketball these players will ever set foot on, the culmination of a longtime dedication to the sport.

Of course, each game in and of itself is bittersweet—one team sent into ecstasy, the other into agony—but taken as a whole, the NCAA tournament adds up to something magical. When everyone has at least a walk-on part, the first two days are often the best of it.

Here's a look at the Friday schedule for the second-round action, followed by a look at two matchups where the lower-seeded teams might soon be trading in basketball shoes for glass slippers should they pull off an upset.

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV	Prediction
12:15 p.m.	No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 New Mexico State	CBS	Kansas
12:40 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Georgia	truTV	Michigan State
1:40 p.m.	No. 5 Northern Iowa vs. No. 12 Wyoming	TBS	Wyoming
2:10 p.m.	No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Buffalo	TNT	Buffalo
2:45 p.m.	No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 10 Indiana	CBS	Wichita State
3:10 p.m.	No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 15 Belmont	truTV	Virginia
4:10 p.m.	No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 UC Irvine	TBS	Louisville
4:40 p.m.	No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Valparaiso	TNT	Maryland
6:50 p.m.	No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State	TBS	Oregon
7:10 p.m.	No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Robert Morris	CBS	Duke
7:20 p.m.	No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Davidson	TNT	Davidson
7:27 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Albany	truTV	Oklahoma
9:20 p.m.	No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 16 Coastal Carolina	TBS	Wisconsin
9:40 p.m.	No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 9 St. John's	CBS	SDSU
9:50 p.m.	No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 15 North Dakota State	TNT	Gonzaga
9:57 p.m.	No. 6 Providence vs. No. 11 Dayton	truTV	Dayton

Upset of the Day

No. 12 Buffalo vs. No. 5 West Virginia

Buffalo over West Virginia very well may be a popular upset pick on Friday. Even United States President Barack Obama has the Bulls upsetting the Mountaineers, per ESPN.com.

SB Nation's Rodger Sherman recommends picking Buffalo to win as well:

The fawning over this team isn't without reason.

The Bulls are playing in their first ever NCAA tournament and are certainly hoping to stick around for awhile rather than just being content to be on the guest list.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

They've won eight straight games and claimed their place in the Big Dance with a scintillating run to the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship, defeating Central Michigan in the title game.

Junior forward Justin Moss paces the squad in both rebounds (9.3 per game) and points (17.7 per game). He has a fine deputy on offense in sophomore guard Shannon Evans, who shoots 37.5 percent from downtown and had 18 points against Central Michigan in the Mid-American tournament title game.

ESPN Stats & Info noted the team does exceptionally well when limiting opponents' outside shooting:

Plus, Buffalo is led by an all-time scrapper in coach Bobby Hurley, who played point guard for Duke from 1989-93 and was Christian Laettner's running mate for two NCAA championships. If anyone knows how to navigate the pandemonium and delirium involved in March Madness, it's Hurley.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

This isn't to say Buffalo is running into a pushover in West Virginia.

The Mountaineers are entering the tournament having lost three of their last four games, but that poor run has come without Juwan Staten, who leads the team in points (14.5) and assists (4.6) per game.

Head coach Bob Huggins expects Staten to play on Friday.

“For all the Mountaineer fans that are wondering if Juwan Staten is back—he is back,” Huggins said, per Allan Taylor of West Virginia MetroNews. “He has played exceptionally well for two days. Exceptionally well.”

BRODY SCHMIDT/Associated Press

Staten's mobility and peskiness are key reasons why the Mountaineers lead the nation with 10.9 steals per game. Moss, Evans and Lamonte Bearden all average over two turnovers per contest. Their ability to keep possession will be huge for Buffalo.

While West Virginia will receive a boost from having Staten back, the Bulls might not be quite at full strength on Friday, per Tim Graham of the Buffalo News: 

The Mountaineers should receive important contributions from Devin Williams, who leads the team with 8.2 boards per game, and Jevon Carter, the team leader in three-point field goals made. Limiting Carter's effectiveness from outside should be a key to the Bulls' victory.

Prediction: Buffalo 66-63 West Virginia