Saturday has a loaded slate with some of the biggest brands in college sports on a huge stage, but the schedule also features two of the year’s big upset darlings with No. 13 seed Furman and 15-seed Princeton looking to establish themselves as true Cinderellas by punching a ticket to the tournament’s second weekend.
The No. 1 seeds from the West Region (Kansas), Midwest Region (Houston) and South Region (Alabama) all face tough tests with their seasons on the line, and each has their own concerns about being able to perform to peak potential. Throw in the expansive reach that comes with programs like Duke, UCLA, Texas and Penn State, AND Saturday’s second round will demand the attention of sports fans everywhere regardless of how broken anyone’s bracket may be.
LIVE updates: Follow along with live scores and highlights in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Here’s some of the biggest storylines to keep in mind for Saturday’s second-round action.
Princeton, Furman look to keep magical seasons alive
For the third season in a row, a 15 seed upset a No. 2 seed in first round of the NCAA Tournament. The last two — Oral Roberts in 2021 and Saint Peter’s in 2022 — won the next game and advanced to the Sweet 16. That’s now the challenge at hand for 15-seed Princeton, which broke the bracket open with its upset win against No. 2 seed Arizona on Thursday. Princeton has not reached the Sweet 16 since the tournament expanded, with its best finish coming from a Final Four appearance in 1965. The Tigers do have Round of 32 appearances in 1983, 1996 and 1998 but lost in each of those games. Head coach Mitch Henderson was a Princeton player for the 1996 and 1998 teams, and now he’s looking to lead his alma mater to new tournament heights when the Tigers face 7-seed Missouri.
Furman might have delivered one of the best shots and most thrilling moments we’ll get all tournament with its game-winning steal and 3-pointer in the final seconds against 4-seed Virginia. The Paladins, the 13 seed in the South Region, had not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1974, and prior to Thursday, that was the only tournament win in program history. Furman’s efforts to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since the tournament expanded will kick off Saturday’s action as the Paladins face 5-seed San Diego State.
Availability questions for Alabama, Houston and Kansas
All three 1 seeds that are in action Saturday carry a significant amount of intrigue, at best, and uneasiness, at worst, around their teams heading into their second-round games. First there’s No. 1 overall seed Alabama, which saw All-American freshman Brandon Miller go scoreless in the tournament opener in part because of a hamstring injury that kept Nate Oats from using him extensively in the Crimson Tide’s 96-75 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It was the first time Miller had been held scoreless all season, though he played just 18 minutes. While he’s expected to play in Alabama’s second-round game against Maryland, he was again limited during the Crimson Tide’s practice on Friday. Houston started the tournament with injury concerns around star guard Marcus Sasser, and those concerns were brought back to the forefront when he reaggravated his groin injury in the Cougars’ opening-round win against Northern Kentucky. Making matters worse was a knee injury sustained by fellow guard Jamal Shead, though both players indicated after the game their plan is to play on Saturday against Auburn.
Then we have Kansas, which is not dealing with player availability issues but instead questions surrounding whether two-time national championship-winning coach Bill Self will return to the sideline. Self, who underwent a heart procedure and missed the entirety of the Big 12 Tournament as well as the Jayhawks’ first-round win against Howard, has been considered “day-to-day” in terms of returning as the team’s in-game coach. He has been with the team in practice and some meetings, but whether he will coach against Arkansas has yet to be determined.
Game of the day: (1) Kansas vs. (8) Arkansas
What an absolutely delightful second-round matchup between the reigning national champions and an Arkansas program that has reached the Elite Eight in back-to-back years under Eric Musselman. This will test Kansas’ ability to mix and match lineups, which makes Self’s availability particularly notable as Norm Roberts may be tasked with orchestrating the substitution patterns against a long and athletic Arkansas rotation. Nick Smith, the Razorbacks’ freshman superstar, didn’t even have a particularly strong game in the win against Illinois and the team still nearly went wire-to-wire thanks to tenacious defense and strong showings from Ricky Council, Davonte Davis and Anthony Black. Kansas was exquisite in its tournament opener against Howard with freshman star Gradey Dick flying all over the floor and totaling 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way. The 96 points scored are the most by Kansas in a tournament game since 2017 and the most scored by a reigning champion in next tournament game since Florida in 2007 — the first win of the Gators’ repeat title run.
Ultimately, Kansas’ ability to advance to the Sweet 16 may not lie with Bill Self’s availability but the play of key veterans: point guard Dajuan Harris and Big 12 Player of the Year Jalen Wilson. The oddsmakers have made this point spread one of the tightest lines a 1-seed has faced in the second round in years, and if those expectations play out, it will come down to stops and shots in the final minutes.
Check out the full TV and streaming schedule for Saturday’s second-round NCAA Tournament action below.
