NCAA tournament: A quick look at Saturday’s 8 2nd-round games

Day 3 of the NCAA tournament sees the start of second-round play. Here’s a quick look at each of the eight games.

Let the madness continue to ensue.

East Region

No. 1 Baylor (26-6) vs. No. 8 North Carolina (25-9)

Location: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Time/TV: 12:10 p.m., CBS
Line: Baylor by 5.5
The skinny: Both are coming off routs — the Bears over a No. 16 seed and the Tar Heels over a No. 9 seed from a power conference. There was nothing surprising about Baylor pounding Norfolk State. But UNC looked truly dangerous in blowing out Marquette. If UNC can duplicate that effort (as well as the one it had in beating Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game), Baylor is in danger of seeing its national title defense end in the second round. Baylor is better offensively, especially in the backcourt, than Marquette and figures to put more pressure on UNC’s inconsistent defense. But if Caleb Love is hitting 3s, that opens up the inside for Armando Bacot. And Brady Manek, a transfer from Oklahoma who is well-acquainted with Baylor, is a versatile weapon for the Tar Heels. UNC’s defensive intensity, which waxes and wanes, is the key in this one.

No. 4 UCLA (26-7) vs. 5 Saint Mary’s (26-7)

Location: Moda Center, Portland
Time/TV: 7:10 p.m., TBS
Line: UCLA by 2.5
The skinny: UCLA struggled to beat Akron in the first round; Saint Mary’s is miles better than Akron, especially offensively. Johnny Juzang, who was limited to nine points by the Zips, has to be productive for UCLA to advance. But Saint Mary’s plays stifling defense and doesn’t allow any open looks. UCLA has some guys who can hit 3s, but the Bruins do most of their damage with mid-range jumpers and around the basket. The Gaels play excellent defense, are effective from 3-point range and rebound well. Four players average between 10.2 and 12.6 points per game, so there is no reliance on one guy to get shots. Tommy Kuhse (pronounced like Bob Cousy) is a good distributor and solid all-around offensive player. His battle with UCLA PG Tyger Campbell, who came up huge down the stretch against Akron, could determine the outcome.

No. 7 Murray State (31-2) vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s (20-11)

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Time/TV: 7:45 p.m., CBS
Line: Murray State by 8
The skinny: We’re sure this is the game that everyone foresaw in the second round. Saint Peter’s pulled one of the most improbable first-round upsets in NCAA history in taking out Kentucky, a team that a lot of folks had winning it all. The Peacocks were a middling offensive team for much of the season, but they looked extremely good on that end of the court against UK. Saint Peter’s defense has been a constant all season, and the Peacocks did an excellent job containing a talented Wildcats team. One issue for Saint Peter’s: Murray State is a better outside shooting team than Kentucky. Murray State enters on a 21-game winning streak (the Racers’ last loss came at Auburn on December 22) and has a nice inside-outside duo in C.J. Williams (18.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 steals per game) and Tevin Brown (16.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 38.7 percent from 3-point range). PG Justice “Juice” Hill has good quickness, is a solid distributor and can hit the 3-pointer.

South Region

No. 3 Tennessee (27-7) vs. No. 11 Michigan (18-14)

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Time/TV: 5:15 p.m., CBS
Line: Tennessee by 6
The skinny: The Wolverines scrapped past Colorado State in the first round without starting PG DeVante’ Jones, who missed the game because he was in concussion protocol. Michigan won despite committing 18 turnovers. The Wolverines won’t beat the Vols committing 18 turnovers. But Jones seems likely to play. Regardless, the key for Michigan will be feeding Hunter Dickinson in the low post and playing high-level perimeter defense. The Vols have been on fire from 3-point range of late; in their past five games, they’re 52-of-104 from beyond the arc. Tennessee has been elite defensively this season, and has a nice combination of quickness on the perimeter and size and athleticism inside. Michigan’s 3-point shooting has been an issue; will that be in play in this one?

Midwest Region

No. 1 Kansas (29-6) vs. No. 9 Creighton (23-11)

Location: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Time/TV: 2:40 p.m., CBS
Line: Kansas by 11.5
The skinny: Creighton lacks depth, is bad from 3-point range, can be sloppy with the ball but does play clampdown defense. The Bluejays also have been incredibly resilient this season, which they showed again Thursday by rallying late to beat San Diego State in overtime. They will need to show more resilience against KU because starting C Ryan Kalkbrenner is likely to miss the game with a knee injury suffered late against SDSU. That puts the onus on F Ryan Hawkins, a former Division II All-American at Northwest Missouri, to put up big numbers. Truthfully, with Kalkbrenner out, it’s hard to see the Jayhawks losing this one.

No. 4 Providence (26-5) vs. No. 12 Richmond (24-12)

Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo
Time/TV: 6:10 p.m., TNT
Line: Providence by 2.5
The skinny: Providence was one of the nation’s biggest surprises and won the Big East regular-season title. While the Friars stumbled a bit down the stretch, they regained their footing in the first round and shut down an extremely prolific South Dakota State offense. Providence is both quick on the perimeter and physical on the interior, and that combination flummoxed the Jackrabbits. The Friars have a share-the-wealth philosophy on offense, but definitely need Jared Bynum to hit some 3-pointers. Richmond, which won the Atlantic 10 tourney as the No. 6 seed, run the Pete Carril/Princeton offense, and confounded Iowa with backdoor cuts. Trust us on this: Providence will be more prepared defensively. Richmond has a nice trio in 6-10 Grant Golden, 6-7 Tyler Burton and 5-9 Jacob Gilyard (nation’s-leading 3.1 steals per game). Despite how it played Thursday, Richmond was nothing special on defense this season. Can Providence, which is a lot more physical than Iowa, do anything in the paint?

West Region

No. 4 Arkansas (26-8) vs. No. 12 New Mexico State (27-6)

Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo
Time/TV: 8:40 p.m., TNT
Line: Arkansas by 6.5
The skinny: New Mexico State can be turnover-prone, which will hurt against the Hogs. But the Aggies have a legit star in Teddy Allen, a Nebraska transfer who was a prolific scorer in the Big Ten and now is a prolific scorer in the WAC. He torched UConn for 37 points in the first round and basically was a one-man offense (he scored more than half of NMSU’s points, and no other Aggie was in double figures). The Aggies need a big game from 6-7 Johnny McCants on the boards and on defense; he’s not much of a scorer, though. The Hogs have two standouts themselves in J.D. Notae and Jaylin Smith. In addition, Arkansas is a bit more athletic on the perimeter than UConn, and it’s hard to see Allen singlehandedly carrying the Aggies again.

No. 1 Gonzaga (27-3) vs. No. 9 Memphis (22-10)

Location: Moda Center, Portland
Time/TV: 9:40 p.m., TBS
Line: Gonzaga by 10.5
The skinny: Gonzaga was wholly unimpressive for about 28 minutes of its first-round win over Georgia State. The Zags finally turned it on and won by 21, but Memphis is vastly more athletic and way more talented than Georgia State. The question: Is Gonzaga going to play tight again or will it regain its free-flowing regular-season ways? Memphis big man Jalen Duren vs. Gonzaga big guys Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren should be something to watch. Gonzaga’s backcourt didn’t do much against Georgia State; that needs to change starting in the second round. Memphis prefers an up-tempo game, which will be just fine with the Zags. Memphis is great on the offensive boards; Gonzaga doesn’t allow offensive rebounds. Memphis has had issues with turnovers, and Gonzaga will be able to take advantage. One concern for Memphis is whether PG Alex Lomax is OK. He injured an ankle in the first half against Boise State in the first-round win, and while he played most of the second half, his effectiveness was limited. He really is Memphis’ only distributor, so his health is vital to any upset hopes.