Ranking the eight NCAA men’s tournament games to watch Sunday

Your bracket has already been blown up, destroyed, disintegrated and embarrassed. Don’t pretend otherwise — we all know it’s true.

How many teams will you have in your Sweet 16? We’ll know who advances after Sunday’s eight-game slate featuring some of the highest seeds still standing after a wacky and unpredictable start to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

But we’ll all be paying close attention to the outlier, as No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson looks to build off Friday night’s historic upset of No. 1 Purdue with a second-round matchup against No. 9 Florida Atlantic.

Keep this in mind, though: Of the eight games played Sunday, six feature the highest possible seeds — No. 6 against No. 3, No. 5 against No. 4 and No. 7 against No. 2.

Here’s the list of Sunday’s games ranked by watchability:

No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic

TIME/TV: Sunday, 7:45 p.m., TruTV

Five years ago, Maryland-Baltimore County upset Virginia to become the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed and then lost a close game to Kansas State in the second round. Can FDU make even more history as the first No. 16 to reach the Sweet 16? On one hand, any team that can outwork and intimidate Purdue could have the same luck against Florida Atlantic. On the other, FAU has more shooters than the Boilermakers and averaged nearly 79 points per game during the regular season. Despite the change in seed, this should be a tougher matchup for the Knights.

Fairleigh Dickinson guard Grant Singleton (4) celebrates a three-pointer against Purdue during the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Nationwide Arena.

No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 4 Connecticut

TIME/TV: Sunday, 6:10 p.m., TNT

UConn went into halftime down two points to Iona but ran the Gaels out of the gym across the final 20 minutes. If you’re a believer in the Huskies’ ability to reach the Final Four — and the bandwagon has filled up fast the past few weeks — the second half against Iona only supports that faith. Saint…


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Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2023-03-19 11:00:06

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