The first day of March Madness didn’t fail as it usually does. We got a glorious 4/13 upset of Furman in Virginia, a major 2/15 upset of Princeton in Arizona, and a few scares along the way. As a result of those games, here are some of the best to watch for Saturday in the round of 32.
March Madness Games to Watch
No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 13 Furman
- When: Saturday, March 18, 2023
- Start time: 12:10 PM ET
- Location: Amway Center – Orlando, Florida
- How to watch: CBS
San Diego State vs Furman Preview
This game suddenly got a lot more fun as the Furman Paladins pulled off a miraculous comeback against Virginia on Thursday.
We’ll see if they can continue the magic with Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell leading the charge for Furman. They will certainly be dealing with some nerves and excitement coming off the school’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1974. If they can stop Matt Bradley, they have a real chance to win this game.
San Diego State got a sloppy win against the College of Charleston and you could argue they got some ref help in that one. They will need to overcome their poor shooting from last game, especially from beyond the arc as they only hit a quarter of their shots from there.
No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 15 Princeton
- When: Saturday, March 18, 2023
- Start time: 6:10 PM ET
- Location: Golden 1 Center – Sacramento, California
- How to watch: TNT
Missouri vs Princeton Preview
This might be the most surprising matchup since most people have Arizona going to the Final Four if not the Elite Eight. Princeton was absolutely terrifying but somehow made Arizona worse despite being the clearly better team. It will be tough to pull off that victory twice even against a less talented Missouri team.
The Tigers shot the ball well at 47.4% from the floor overall and 36.2% from beyond the arc. Princeton’s ability to hold back either of those percentages could lead to another upset and this year’s version of St. Peter in the Sweet 16.
No. 1 Houston vs No. 9 Auburn
- When: Saturday, March 18, 2023
- Start time: 7:10 PM ET
- Location: Legacy Arena – Birmingham, Alabama
- How to watch: TBS
Houston vs Auburn Preview
This usually wouldn’t be an exciting game, but this case has some exceptions. Auburn is playing in front of what should really be a home crowd in Birmingham and Houston is hobbled today. Marcus Sasser may not play and now Jamal Shead is also questionable.
If Auburn’s guards don’t play poorly and honestly, to even a modest degree, they can win this game. Jarace Walker will still be a load to deal with, but without those guards to relieve some pressure, this could be a closer game for the Cougars than they expected. Auburn will still need to punch above its weight class, but the level of difficulty has certainly decreased after Thursday’s results.
Stay tuned to Project Spurs for more March Madness games coverage.