NCAA Tournament 2016: Upset Picks for Key Friday Games and Full Weekend Schedule

Upsets give the NCAA tournament the spice to make it one of the most flavorful taste delights on the sports calendar.

Yale accomplished a jaw-dropping upset with it's defeat of a heavily favored Baylor team. The Bulldogs played well throughout and had the lead for the majority of the game before having to withstand a Baylor rally.

Arkansas-Little Rock got the best of Big Ten powerhouse Purdue. But unlike Yale, UALR came from behind in the late stages and earned its victory in double overtime.

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Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.

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Friday's action is likely to see its share of upsets as well, and the first one may occur when 10th-seeded Syracuse takes on seventh-seeded Dayton at 12:15 p.m. ET.

Not only are the Flyers the higher seed, they are also one-point favorites according to Odds Shark, and they may have more than they can handle from Jim Boeheim's team.

Boeheim and the Orange have heard the talk that Syracuse (19-13) did not belong in the tournament and that other teams left on the outside were more deserving of an invitation. Boeheim will use that to motivate his team and have the Orange prepared to play their best game.

Matchup	Time (ET)	Network
Dayton vs. Syracuse	12:15 p.m.	CBS
Vlllanova vs. UNC-Asheville	12:15 p.m.	truTV
Oregon State vs. VCU	1:30 p.m.	TNT
California vs. Hawaii	2 p.m.	TBS
Michigan State vs. Middle Tennessee State	2:45 p.m.	CBS
Iowa vs. Temple	3:10 p.m.	TBS
Oklahoma vs. CSU-Bakersfield	4 p.m.	TNT
Maryland vs. South Dakota State	4:30 p.m.	TBS
Wisconsin vs. Pittsburgh	6:50 p.m.	TNT
West Virginia vs. Stephen F. Austin	7:10 p.m.	CBS
Texas A&M vs. UW-Green Bay	7:20 p.m.	TBS
Oregon vs. Holy Cross	7:27 p.m.	truTV
Xavier vs. Weber State	9:20 p.m.	TNT
Notre Dame vs. Michigan	9:40 p.m.	CBS
Texas vs. Northern Iowa	9:50 p.m.	TBS
St. Joseph's vs. Cincinnati	9:57 p.m.	truTV
Winners of Friday's First Round games will compete Sunday, March 20 at times to be determined.

Look for a big game from leading scorer Michael Gbinije, who is averaging 17.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Gbinije can create offense for himself and his teammates, and he has been getting good support from Malachi Richardson, who is scoring 13.2 points per game, Trevor Cooney (12.8 points per night) and Tyler Lydon (10.1 points per game).

Four double-figure scorers for the Orange will cause problems for the Flyers (25-7). Dayton has been a bit more consistent than Syracuse, and the Flyers have a big-time contributor in Charles Cooke, who leads the team with a 15.7 points per game average.

Dyshawn Pierre is a major force for the Flyers, averaging 13.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. If the Orange can keep him from dominating on the glass, they should have an excellent chance of pulling off the upset.

Look for 10th-seeded Pittsburgh to pull of another upset as two-point underdog when it takes on seventh-seeded Wisconsin at 6:50 p.m. ET.

The Badgers lost to Duke in the National Championship game a year ago, but they are not the same kind of team they were in 2015.

Wisconsin (20-12) had an impressive season and finished with a respectable 12-6 record in the Big Ten, and the Badgers may go as far as Nigel Hayes can take them. Hayes had a remarkable season, averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Hayes is a big, powerful man who can take over a game when he gets hot.

Matchup	Time (ET)	Network
Kansas-UConn	7:45 p.m.	CBS
Wichita State-Miami	12:10 p.m.	CBS
Yale-Duke	2:40 p.m.	CBS
Indiana-Kentucky	5:15 p.m.	CBS
Virginia-Butler	7:10 p.m.	TBS
UALR-Iowa State	6:10 p.m.	TNT
North Carolina-Providence	9:49 p.m.	TBS
Utah-Gonzaga	8:40 p.m.	TNT

Bronson Koenig continues to improve, and he has averaged 13.4 points per night this season while shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc.

However, the Panthers (21-11) are not going to be impressed or intimidated by Wisconsin's past achievements. The Panthers can play tough and physical basketball, and they know how to grind opponents down.

Pittsburgh must win the rebounding battle to get this victory. That is the Panthers' greatest strength, and they have outrebounded opponents by a 38.2-30.8 margin this season.

Michael Young is averaging 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while teammate Jamel Artis is right behind with 14.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per night.

The expectation is that the physical Panthers will have just a bit more energy in the closing minutes and will get the best of the Badgers.

Two other upset possibilities are on tap in a pair of 6-11 games. Michigan, the 11th-seed, certainly has enough to stay close to sixth-seeded Notre Dame, but it may be tough for the Wolverines to finish down the stretch unless they have a brilliant shooting night.

Texas is supposed to have an advantage as the sixth seed over 11th-seeded Northern Iowa, but the Panthers are loose and battle-tested. Look for Northern Iowa to keep this game close until the final minutes against the Longhorns. The Panthers may not have quite enough to pull off the upset, but they will make Texas work hard for the win.