Viewer's guide: How to watch from someone who'll be there with you
NEW YORK -- You know how kids love that Justin Bieber?
That's how much I love March Madness on Demand.
I love it like Bob Huggins loves windbreakers, like Jarvis Varnado loves blocking shots, like Herb Pope loves cracking opponents in their private parts, and, well, you get the point. It's heaven for hoopheads (not to mention degenerate gamblers). So you can imagine my excitement when I was told that rather than go to a site to cover the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, I would be a part of March Madness on Demand coverage from the studios in New York. In fact, the conversation went something like this:
Me: So rather than go to Buffalo and watch games that may or may not develop into a story, I'll hang in Manhattan, stare at four TVs, and watch every game from a comfortable chair?
Boss: Yeah.
Me: Thank you.
Yes, CBSSports.com will still have writers at every site. And yes, I'll still be blogging, Tweeting and filing wrap-up columns each night. But for the first time in a long time, I'll get to see what you see when you use March Madness on Demand to watch the NCAA tournament, and when the games go to halftime you'll get to see ... me! I'll be with Jason Horowitz, Lauren Shehadi and a parade of coaches and former coaches talking about what we just saw, what we think we're about to see, and anything else that happens to pop up.
I can't wait.
But decisions must still be made.
March Madness on Demand provides you with access to every game, but it doesn't tell you what you ought to watch. That's my job. I am to NCAA tournament games what Oprah is to books. She tells you what to read, and you read it. I tell you what to watch, and you watch it.
Thursday is in the books, so here's your guide to Day 2 of the NCAA tournament:
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12:15 p.m. ET: WVU vs. Morgan St. | 12:30 p.m. ET: Temple vs. Cornell | 2:35 p.m. ET: Clemson vs. Missouri | 2:50 p.m. ET: Wisconsin vs. Wofford | |
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12:25 p.m. ET: Xavier vs. Minnesota | 2:45 p.m. ET: Pitt vs. Oakland | 2:45 p.m. ET: Gonzaga vs. FSU | 9:30 p.m. ET: Syracuse vs. Vermont | |
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2:30 p.m. ET: Purdue vs. Siena | 4:45 ET: Texas A&M vs. Utah State | 7:25 p.m. ET: Duke vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 9:45 p.m. ET: Cal vs. Louisville | |
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7:15 p.m. ET: Okla. St. vs. Ga. Tech | 7:20 ET: Michigan State vs. NMSU | 9:35 p.m. ET: Ohio State vs. UCSB | 9:40 p.m. ET: Maryland vs. Houston | |
All times ET
Friday
12:15 p.m.: The day starts with West Virginia-Morgan State, and this is probably a good time to tell you that, on the surface, Friday's games don't seem to be as intriguing as Thursday's. On the other hand, things rarely develop as planned in the NCAA tournament. So this will probably be the best second day in the history of the event.
12:30 p.m.: Cornell is a lot of people's most likely double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet 16, and it's possible. But the Big Red's best win is over St. John's; that concerns me. So I'll take Temple because the Owls at least have quality wins (Villanova, Xavier, Richmond, Siena).
2:25 p.m.: Temple-Cornell and Xavier-Minnesota should be finishing up. Both could be close games, so that should be fun. Meantime, Siena-Purdue is about to start. If Robbie Hummel were playing, the Boilermakers would roll. But he's not, so they won't.
2:35 p.m.: It's time to switch to Clemson-Missouri because it's going to happen this year, I just know it. Somehow, someway, Clemson coach Oliver Purnell will get his first NCAA tournament victory. He enters with a 0-5 record. Trevor Booker will move it to 1-5, I'm certain.
4:20 p.m.: Is Siena about to upset Purdue? It's time to check if you're not watching that game, then get ready for Utah State-Texas A&M.
4:45 p.m.: Utah State-Texas A&M tips off. It's the only game on. Watch it.
7:10 p.m.: The night schedule gets under way with Florida State-Gonzaga, and it could go either way. Likewise, Georgia Tech-Oklahoma State tips in five minutes with the winner earning the right to try to contain Evan Turner on Sunday. Good luck with that.
9:30 p.m.: Arinze Onuaku's bad quadriceps will be on Syracuse's bench. The Orange will prove you don't need your center to have good quadriceps to beat Vermont (even if they once proved the opposite in this same tournament).
9:35 p.m.: You watch Ohio State-UC Santa Barbara not because it'll be competitive, but because Turner could post a triple-double, hit a 37-footer, dunk on people, whatever. He's awesome and not to be missed. That's the point.
9:40 p.m.: I can't imagine Houston beating Maryland, but I can easily imagine Aubrey Coleman and Greivis Vasquez getting into a shootout to end all shootouts. The possibility alone makes it worth monitoring. My guess is that Coleman gets 30 points in a 15-point loss.
9:45 p.m.: The final game of the night is Louisville-California; it's also the best game of the night. So keep an eye on Turner, close tabs on Coleman and Vasquez, but settle in for the Cardinals and Bears. It could come down to the final seconds, which would be the perfect way to end the first two days, a proper way to prepare for the weekend's Round of 32.
