Double-digit seeds to meet after pulling upsets in NCAA Tournament

The NCAA Tournament had barely begun Thursday when most brackets already were busted.

Two No. 14 seeds — Alabama-Birmingham and Georgia State — pulled off upsets for the first time in 20 years in the opening set of games to officially mark the start of the madness.

UCLA, a No. 11 seed, then knocked off No. 6 Southern Methodist to set up a game against UAB on Saturday in the round of 32.

That’s just one of 32 more games in the tournament that will be shown today, Saturday and Sunday on CBS (Cox Channel 8), TBS (7), TNT (18) and truTV (54) in one of the best weekends in sports.

Two popular upset picks among today’s slate of 16 games is No. 12 Buffalo over No. 5 West Virginia (11 a.m., TNT (18)) and No. 13 Valparaiso over No. 4 Maryland (1:30 p.m., TNT (18)).

Former Duke point guard Bobby Hurley has guided Buffalo to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Mid-American Conference tournament champion Bulls are led by Justin Moss, the MAC Player of the Year who averages a league-leading 17.7 points.

Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew should be comfortable as a No. 13 seed. Drew made one of the most memorable shots in NCAA Tournament history in 1998, when his buzzer-beater lifted the 13th-seeded Crusaders to an upset of fourth-seeded Mississippi. A strong defensive squad, Valpo is led by Vashil Fernandez, who is fifth in the nation in blocked shots with 98.

Another interesting game to watch will be coach Rick Pitino’s fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals against the 13th-seeded UC Irvine Anteaters (1 p.m., TBS (7)), who feature 7-foot-6-inch center Mamadou Ndiaye.

TODAY

BEST OF REST — NCAA Tournament: Georgia vs. Michigan State (9:30 a.m., truTV (54)); Wyoming vs. Northern Iowa (10:30 a.m., TBS (7)); Wichita State vs. Indiana, (11:30 a.m., CBS (8)); Oklahoma State vs. Oregon (3:45 p.m., TBS (7)); Davidson vs. Iowa (4:15 p.m., TNT (18)); St. John’s vs. San Diego State (6:30 p.m., CBS (8)); PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational, second round (11 a.m., TGC (339)); Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning (4:30 p.m., NHL (316)); BNP Paribas Open, men’s quarterfinal (noon, ESPN (30)); women’s semifinal (8 p.m., ESPN2 (31)).

SATURDAY

No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Butler (TBA): Two Indiana schools square off for a spot in the Sweet 16 after Jerian Grant and the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion Fighting Irish survived an upset scare in a 69-65 win over No. 14 Northeastern on Thursday and the Bulldogs beat 11th-seeded Texas 56-48.

BEST OF REST — NCAA Tournament: third-round games, 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., CBS (8); 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m., TNT (18); 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m., TBS (7); PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational, third round (9:30 a.m., TGC (339); 11:30 a.m., NBC (3)); BNP Paribas Open, men’s semifinal (11 a.m., ESPN (30)); St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild (11 a.m., NHL (316)); Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings (1 p.m., FSW (49)).

SUNDAY

Potential enticing tournament matchups include Kansas-Wichita State and Virginia-Michigan State. Then again, we could be looking at Albany-Dayton and Davidson-North Dakota State shooting it out as the original field of 68 gets whittled down to 16.

BEST OF REST — NCAA Tournament: third-round games, 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., CBS (8); 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m., TNT (18); 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m., TBS (7); 4:30 p.m., truTV (54); PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational, final round (9:30 a.m., TGC (339)); 11:30 a.m., NBC (3)); NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series, Auto Club 400 (noon, Fox (5)); St. Louis Blues at Detroit Red Wings (9 a.m., NBC (3)); Anaheim Ducks at New York Rangers (4:30 p.m., NBCSP (38)).

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.