5 March Madness Games You Should Watch
“The ball is tipped, and there you are…”
There’s nothing better than March Madness.
Specifically, there’s nothing better than the first round of March Madness. Five straight days of (almost) non-stop basketball, every game holding incredible stakes, and an annual guarantee that something insane is going to happen. If you’re like me, you’re planning on blowing off as many responsibilities as possible Thursday through Monday to binge watch college basketball to an unhealthy degree.
Here are five March Madness games you need to make time for this week (just in case the Quentin Grimes scoring explosion in Philly isn’t enough for you right now):
(8) Louisville vs (9) Creighton, Thursday, 12:15 p.m.
This is a matchup a lot of people have circled, after Louisville went 27-7, nearly won the ACC Championship, and finished both No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in KenPom, leading most to believe they should’ve been rewarded with better than an eight-seed. Likewise, Creighton is a deep, experienced team that’s 15-4 in its last 19 games and finished second in the Big East. All in all, these are two very good teams that should produce high-quality basketball in the opening match for the Round of 64.
Louisville is one of the more fascinating teams in the sport, having brought in a whopping 13 transfers last offseason under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey. They’re led by backcourt duo of Terrence Edwards and Chucky Hepburn, and though the Cardinals aren’t littered with high-profile NBA Draft prospects, they wield one of the biggest advantages a team can have in March — seniority, with at least 12 players on the roster already in their fourth year of college hoops (some are even in their fifth and sixth years).
Creighton, on the other side, is enjoying their fifth straight tournament appearance under head coach Greg McDermott. The Bluejays are led by fifth-year players Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth, the former being a seven-footer and a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and the latter a six-foot guard who specializes in post-entry passes and taking threes from well beyond the arc.
On the surface, these are two squads that are way too good to be playing in an 8 vs. 9 matchup. Should be a great game.
(6) Missouri vs (11) Drake, Thursday, 7:35 p.m.
This matchup features two teams with guards who have shot up into potential NBA Draft status throughout the season (though it’s possible neither ends up declaring this season).
For Mizzou, Anthony Robinsson went from coming off the bench a year ago to becoming one of the best defenders in the entire country. On Drake’s side, guard Bennett Stirtz followed his coach Ben McCollum up from D-II and has put together a one-of-a-kind season statistically. Stirtz averaged 19.1 points, 5.7 assists, and — most remarkably — 39.3 minutes per game. Mind you, college basketball is an endeavor with only 40 regulation minutes; he only subbed out at any point during 11 of the Bulldogs’ 33 games, going the distance in the other 22.
Watch for some great basketball, and two guards you should be impressed by for very different reasons.
(4) Maryland vs (13) Grand Canyon, Friday, 4:35 p.m.
In case you missed my article last week, Maryland’s freshman Derik Queen is as entertaining a player as there is in the sport. He’s coming into the tournament off a season-high 31-point performance against Michigan, and is as likely as anyone to go on a crazy run through March.
And if for some reason Queen’s funky excellence isn’t enough for you, take joy in the fact that the Maryland starters go by the moniker, “The Crab Five,” an East Coast take on the Fab Five name that was made famous by Michigan in the early 90s. The four other starters together with Queen have accounted for 85.6% of the team’s total points scored this season, making them well worthy of the distinction.
The WAC’s Grand Canyon is a good 13-seed, having pulled off a first-round upset as a 12-seed just last year, while five of their seven regular season losses were decided by fewer than 10 points. They’re coached by Bryce Drew (yes, that Bryce Drew), and the story of how Tyon Grant-Foster got to where he is now playing basketball at GCU is worth taking the time to read.
Maryland is going to be a popular pick to make a deep run in the tournament with just how talented their starting five is, but Grand Canyon poses a tough test straight off the bat.
(7) Marquette vs (10) New Mexico, Friday, 7:25 p.m.
Marquette has one of the best players in the country in point guard Kam Jones, absolutely sick blue-and-yellow uniforms that always look great on television, and a delightful five-out offense that’s quite aesthetically pleasing if you’re a basketball nerd.
New Mexico likewise has one of the best guards in the country in Donovan Dent, just wrapped up its best regular season since the days of Cameron Bairstow (shoutout if you remember), and should pose a good foil to Marquette’s high-powered attack, with a defense that’s top 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.
(1) USC vs (16) UNC Greensboro, Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
While the men’s tournament kicks off early Thursday, the first round of the women’s tournament gets going on Friday and takes us all the way into the start of next week, and there’s no better player to watch than Naismith Player of the Year frontrunner JuJu Watkins.
Watkins is appointment viewing every time she steps foot on the basketball court. She averaged 25-7-4 as a 19 year-old sophomore for a team that could very well be cutting down the nets in Tampa a few weeks from now.
Box scores Watkins has recorded this season include:
38 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks, and 5 steals in a 71-60 win over No. 1 seed and arch rival UCLA
35 points on 15 shots (she also had 11 rebounds and 5 steals in that game)
A near 5-by-5 performance with 21 points, 9 assists, 6 steals, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Additionally, Kiki Iriafen is an incredible forward averaging a near double-double, and she’ll hear her name called in April during the WNBA Draft. Watch special athletes whenever you get the chance.
Those are five matchups I’d highly recommend, but the more important thing is this — watch as much basketball as you possibly can this week.
Daniel Olinger is a writer for the Rights To Ricky Sanchez, and author of “The Danny” column, even though he refuses to be called that in person. He can be followed on X @dan_olinger.
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