NCAA Tournament Sweet 16: How to watch the games

The first weekend of the NCAA tournament gets all the attention, thanks to the excitement generated by upsets (although there were few this year), but if what you’re most interested in is the greatest number of high quality games, this weekend usually takes the cake.

Here’s the schedule for tonight with some quick previews to enhance your viewing pleasure. Once you get done catching up on the previews, discuss the games as they unfold in the comments below.

(7) Wichita State vs. (3) Notre Dame

Midwest Region – Cleveland, Ohio

4:15 p.m. PT | CBS | Streaming

How good did the Shockers look in dispatching No. 2 seed Kansas to reach the Sweet 16? Wichita State actually is favored over the No. 3 seed Notre Dame. This, of course, comes as no surprise to tempo-free fanatics, who note that Gregg Marshall’s 2015 squad looks practically identical, statistically speaking, to his 2014 squad.

Kenpom.com says: Wichita State - 52%

(4) North Carolina vs. (1) Wisconsin

West Region – Los Angeles

4:47 p.m. PT | TBS | Streaming

The Tar Heels will be the latest team to try and break the Badgers’ stranglehold on ruthless slow-it-down efficiency. Bad news for UNC: The Tar Heels don’t force many turnovers, and one of the big things that makes the Badgers so darn good is that they give themselves more bites at the apple, so speak, because they get more shots off by just almost never turning the ball over. The good news for UNC, though, is that they have excellent shooting defense, but that’s built, mostly, on opponents not shooting great from three – not a staple of Wisconsin’s attack, anyway. Good luck, Tar Heels.

Kenpom.com says: Wisconsin - 72%

(5) West Virginia vs. (1) Kentucky

Midwest Region – Cleveland, Ohio

6:45 p.m. PT | CBS | Streaming

Yeah, I got nothing to add here. Kentucky is really good. I don’t think West Virginia is skilled enough to truly threaten the Wildcats. The Mountaineers are tough, but that’s just not enough against Kentucky.

Kenpom.com says: Kentucky - 88%

(6) Xavier vs. (2) Arizona

West Region - Los Angeles

7:17 p.m. PT | TBS | Streaming

Arizona looked really darn good in ripping through its first two opponents. Most metrics think Ohio State is better than Xavier, and the Wildcats dispatched the Buckeyes by 15 points – and that was without perhaps their best player, Stanley Johnson, playing well at all. I don’t see any reason to think Arizona won’t run away with this one, too: The Musketeers are pretty terrible at defending twos (212th nationally) and that’s where the Wildcats make their hay (19th nationally).

Kenpom.com says: Arizona – 84%