If you still have a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket after Thursday’s 16 first-round games, kudos as you already are ahead of the curve. In some respects, the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament sees better basketball overall than Thursday because coaches have an extra day to prepare for their opponent.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
No team has repeated as national champion since Florida in 2007, and North Carolina begins its defense Friday as the No. 2 seed in the West Region against No. 15 Lipscomb, a school with an enrollment of about 4,500 located in Nashville. The Bisons were the winners of the Atlantic Sun Tournament to reach their first-ever Big Dance.
Only eight No. 15 seeds have ever upset a No. 2, and Lipscomb doing so as a 19.5-point underdog would surely be the biggest upset in tournament history.