NCAA Tournament Friday Preview: 16 More Games To Feast On

After a busy, upset-filled Thursday of the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament, Friday will bring yet another 16 games in an action-packed Day Two of the tourney.

Friday kicks off at 12:15 Eastern time (ET) with 15-seed Morgan State (27-9) trying to follow the path that Robert Morris nearly did and pull off an upset over Big East champion, No. 2 seed West Virginia (27-6). However, expect the Mountaineers to finish with an easy confidence-building victory in Buffalo's HSBC Arena. The winner will face either Clemson or Missouri in the second round.

Moments later, the second game of the day tips off between 11-seed Minnesota (21-13), who put together a nice run in the Big Ten tournament, and six-seed Xavier (24-8), who fell in the Atlantic-10 tournament semifinals, in Milwaukee.

The favored Musketeers have a solid record, but key losses against formidable opponents make Xavier a tough team to figure out. The Golden Gophers, on the other hand, didn't stand out through much of the year but late-season wins at Illinois, Michigan State, and Purdue gave the Gophers a jump into the postseason. Expect a tight matchup, but, in the end, Xavier seems poised to come away with a tight victory.

Starting at 12:30, the third game of the day, will be 12-seed Cornell (27-4) and 5-seed Temple (29-5) in yet another tough game to figure out. Both teams will complain they were seeded too low, and they both have a case.

The Big Red (Cornell) enters the tourney with 15 wins in their last 16 games, and just four losses on the year, with two of which against number-one seeds Kansas and Syracuse. However, Temple, the Atlantic 10 Champion, also has a very solid resume, with keys wins against Siena, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Xavier, Rhode Island, and Richmond. Simply put, despite the seeding difference, this game might just be too close to call.

Following the first three games is another set of matchups, starting at 2:30 when 13-seed Siena (27-6) looks for a popular upset against overrated four-seed Purdue (27-5). The Boilermakers' season ended on a low note when they were crushed by Minnesota 69-42, and up-and-coming Siena, the Metro Atlantic title-holder, is finishing up a great year highlighted by a massive 15-game mid-season winning streak. While nothing's assured, watch for the lower seed to come out victorious here.

At 2:35 p.m. will be the tip-off between 10-seed Missouri (22-10) and seven-seed Clemson (21-10). After a 13-2 start, the Tigers of Clemson finished the season losing three of five and enter the tournament looking a little shaky. On the other hand, the Tigers of Missouri did decently through their tough Big 12 schedule but were disappointingly eliminated in the first round of the tournament by Nebraska. While this should be a tight game, watch for Clemson to pull ahead in a high-scoring affair.

Up next will be 14-seed Oakland (26-8) facing off versus three-seed Pittsburgh (24-8) in the Bradley Center. While the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland had a solid season in the Summit League against lowly opponents, the high-potential Pittsburgh Panthers should prevail in one of the most one-sided games of the day.

A few minutes later will be a game in Jacksonville between 13th-seeded Wofford (26-8) and fourth-seeded Wisconsin (23-8) at 2:50 ET.

The Terriers of Wofford enter the NCAA Tournament having cruised through the Southern League and currently riding a 13-game winning streak. However, they'll have their hands full with Wisconsin, who's currently sporting plenty of key victories against Maryland, Duke, Marquette, Ohio State, Purdue, and Michigan State (despite being knocked out in the first round of the Big Ten tournament). While I have my doubts on the Badgers, they should make it through at least Wofford.

A couple hours later will be 12-seed Utah State (27-7) tipping off against five-seed Texas A&M (23-9) in Spokane, Wash. The "Battle of the Aggies" includes two interesting opponents. Utah State just had their 17-game winning run snapped in the WAC finals by New Mexico State, but A&M will be their first ranked opponent of the season. On the other hand, Texas A&M had a solid season, but lacks much confidence going into the tourney. This game could end up in an upset, so make sure to keep an eye out for this battle.

At 7:10 p.m. will be a tight battle between ninth-seeded Florida State (22-9) and eighth-seeded Gonzaga (26-6). The Seminoles have had their moments this year, but they seem like they might end up being surprisingly overwhelmed by Gonzaga, who looks like a team that might be worth watching in the early rounds.

Just five minutes later, 10-seed Georgia Tech (22-12), who made a shocking run to the ACC Championship Game, will start up their first-round game against seven-seed Oklahoma State (22-10). Tech had their share of quality ACC wins this season, but, once again, it looks like the Atlantic Coast Conference may get downed early by another team with more potential like Oklahoma St., who played a far tougher schedule with slightly better results.

Then at 7:20 p.m. will be another 12-5 matchup, with underdog New Mexico State (22-11) playing Michigan State (24-8), who made it all the way to the national championship game last year. The Aggies overcome a drowsy 3-6 start to finish strong and claim the WAC title, but the Spartans just seem like clearly the better team in this one and should advance to likely play Maryland.

The 7:25 slot features top-seeded Duke, ACC Champions, and play-in game winner Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Simply put, it's going to be a blowout. Congratulations on UAPB for getting into the top 64, but there's just no way they're going any farther.

The latest batch of games on Friday will tip-off at 9:30 when top-seeded Syracuse (28-4) gets set to face Vermont (25-9). The Catamounts' America East tournament title was enough to get them a last-chance automatic qualifying bid, but national powerhouse Syracuse should overwhelm Vermont by 30 or more.

Then at 9:35 will be a only a slightly more intriguing matchup between No. 2 seed Ohio State (27-7) and 15th-seeded UC-Santa Barbara (20-9). The Buckeyes have looked vulnerable at bits during their season, but the Gauchos of UCSB shouldn't likely pose a problem to heavily favored Ohio St.

The busy day that has begun to wind down, however, gets a jolt at 9:40 and 9:45 when streaking Houston, despite their pathetic 19-15 record, faces fourth-seeded Maryland (23-8) and nine-seed Louisville (20-12) plays eight-seed California (23-10).

All of these teams have had interesting seasons and are poised to make two very interesting matches during the late-night session, so make sure to stay up a little late and watch the second halves of both of these two affairs.