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KSR Today: The Day Before March Madness

Nick-Roush-headshotby:Nick Roush•about 17 hours•

RoushKSR

Alabama State gave us our first March Madness moment, via Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Alabama State gave us our first March Madness moment, via Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

It’s almost here. You only have to wait one more day for March Madness to unleash its full fire and fury with wall-to-wall basketball.

Tom Petty taught us that the wait is the hardest part. Fortunately, we got a pretty great appetizer on Tuesday. Watching a No. 16 seed rarely produces eye-open results, but that was the case when two of them met Tuesday night in Dayton at the First Four.

St. Francis and Alabama State gave us the goods. It was a back-and-forth affair that went down to the wire. It reached a crescendo with one incredible play that will certainly tip-off the One Shining Moment montage.

The second game did not feature as many theatrics as North Carolina completely blitzed San Diego State. The Tar Heel haters can’t be too happy with it, but we can be happy that March Madness has arrived, even if it is just a couple of games in Dayton.

First Four Schedule

In addition to tonight’s First Four slate, I’m kind enough to share with you what’s happening across the NIT on the day before the NCAA Tournament’s first round barrage of basketball.

MatchupTimeTVOdds
Mount St. Mary’s vs. American6:40 PMtruTVAMER -2.5, O/U 129.5
Xavier vs. Texas9:10 PMtruTVXAV -3.5, O/U 149.5
UAB @ Saint Joseph’s7:00 PMESPN+JOES -5.5, O/U 155.5
Samford @ George Mason7:00 PMESPN+GMU -7.5, O/U 147.5
Florida Atlantic @ Dayton7:00 PMESPN2, ESPN+DAY -1.5, O/U 150.5
North Alabama @ Bradley8:00 PMESPN+BRAD -2.5, O/U 145.5
Furman @ North Texas8:00 PMESPN+UNT -8.5, O/U 130.5
Northern Iowa @ SMU9:00 PMESPN2, ESPN+SMU -10.5, O/U 146.5
Northern Colorado @ UC Irvine10:00 PMESPN+UCI -7.5, O/U 150.5
Utah Valley @ San Francisco11:00 PMESPNU, ESPN+SF -7.5, O/U 146.5
Loyola Chicago @ San José State11:00 PMESPN2, ESPN+LUC -3.5, O/U 141.5

Finish Your March Madness Bracket ASAP

The First Four has technically tipped things off already, but you still have another 27 hours to complete your NCAA Tournament bracket. Sign up for the On3 Bracket Challenge right now for your chance to add another amazing screen to your wall of TVs.

  • 1st place: 75-inch 4K Smart TV and a 1-year comped subscription to On3
  • 2nd place: 1-year comped subscription to On3
  • 3rd place: 6-month comped subscription to On3

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Right now you can head to rhoback.com and use code KSR for 20% off for new customers.

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Mark Pope Follows Through on His Promise to Kentucky Fans

Mark Pope is fired up for the NCAA Tournament. He wants everyone in Big Blue Nation to enjoy the March Madness experience, so much so that he promised on his call-in show to pony up for gas money to get fans to Milwaukee.

Promises made, promises kept.

Fans traveling to Kentucky’s first round NCAA Tournament game can get a $100 gas card by showing their ticket at Paul Miller Ford. It’s on a first-come, first-serve basis for the first 100 Kentucky fans, starting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

A Travel Day for Kentucky

The Wildcats’ final preparations for March Madness will conclude in Lexington as the team makes its way to Milwaukee. If you plan on arriving a day early, you can see them in action at the Fiserv Forum. Kentucky will take the court for a 45-minute shoot-around, starting at 2:45 p.m. CT. If you’re in Lexington and want to see some of the NCAA Tournament teams up-close and personal, open practices are free of charge and will be running all afternoon at Rupp Arena.

Lexington NCAA Tournament Open Practices (Wednesday, all times EDT)

  • 11:00-11:40 a.m.: Creighton
  • 11:45 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Louisville
  • 12:30-1:10 p.m.: Wofford
  • 1:15-1:55 p.m.: Auburn
  • 2:00-2:40 p.m.: Alabama St./St. Francis
  • 2:45-3:25 p.m.: Tennessee
  • 3:30-4:10 p.m.: Utah State
  • 4:15-4:55 p.m.: UCLA

Make sure you are LOCKED IN for March Madness. Join KSR+ to get bonus coverage of the Cats, including the latest recruiting and roster intel, basketball game threads, and in-depth scouting reports. Just $1 for a week.

Indiana got a Head Coach

The post-Bob Knight era has not been kind to Indiana. One might even describe it as completely unremarkable, aside from Mike Davis’ magical run to the National Championship game 23 years ago. They’re now on their sixth head coach since Knight was terminated and this one was a surprise.

Darian DeVries only spent one season at West Virginia, which was surprisingly cut short when the Mountaineers were left hanging on Selection Sunday. Now, DeVries is leaving Morgantown to coach the Indiana Hoosiers. Prior to his time at West Virginia, he took Drake to the NCAA Tournament three times over six seasons. That one year appears to have been enough to edge out the current Drake head coach, Ben McCollum, for the job. Kentucky fans will get to see DeVries’ Hoosiers at Rupp Arena in December.

Ride a Roller Coaster of Emotion

The SEC Tournament is long in the rearview mirror for almost every Kentucky fan, but you should take the time to revisit the magical moment Otega Oweh provided against Oklahoma. Steven Peake captured his reaction to the late-game collapse and shocking game-winner, and it is something every KSR fan needs to experience.

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2025-03-19