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The 5 best NCAA Tournament games to watch today for second day of 2024 March Madness

Editor's note: Follow all of Friday's men's March Madness scores, highlights, upsets and updates with USA TODAY Sports' live coverage.

March Madness rolls on into its second day Friday, and there looks to be no shortage of first-round upset possibilities on day two.

For one thing, there are three No. 5 versus No. 12 matchups on Friday, a seeding pair that is well known for its high upset potential. Of the last 38 tournaments, 32 of them have featured a No. 12 upset over a No. 5 seed. It's happened 53 times in all since the tournament field expanded in 1985, according to the NCAA.

Even outside of the clashes between those seeds, there are other intriguing matchups around the country on Friday. Those include several No. 8 versus No. 9 duels and one game featuring a No. 11 as a betting odds favorite over their No. 6-seeded opponent.

Here are the top five March Madness games for Friday, March 22.

Colorado forward Cody Williams is projected to picked 4th in USA TODAY's mock NBA draft.
Colorado forward Cody Williams is projected to picked 4th in USA TODAY's mock NBA draft.

NCAA Tournament East Region: Connecticut is the big favorite but face rough road

Best March Madness games Friday, March 22

No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Texas A&M vs. Nebraska is a showdown between two teams that made their conference tournament semifinal games before losing to the eventual tournament champions. Two storylines to look out for are the two teams' talented guard pairs facing off and Texas A&M announcing they poached Nebraska's athletic director on Monday.

No. 11 New Mexico Lobos vs. No. 6 Clemson Tigers

Clemson is the higher seed but it's the Lobos who are the betting favorites in this game. The Tigers struggled down the stretch coming into the NCAA tournament, but New Mexico enters Friday off of a four-game win streak that won them the Mountain West tournament.

No. 12 James Madison Dukes vs. No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers

Perhaps the most intriguing No. 12 versus No. 5 matchup on Friday is between James Madison and Wisconsin. The Dukes beat Michigan State in East Lansing to open their season and haven't lost a game since late January. The Badgers were rocky to end the season before heating up in time to beat Purdue and finish as runners-up in the Big Ten tournament. Will Wisconsin remain steady? Will James Madison's hot streak continue? Time will tell.

No. 9 Northwestern Wildcats vs. No. 8 Florida Atlantic Owls

FAU's program achieved legendary status last season after making the Final Four as a No. 9 seed. The Owls didn't win quite as many games this year and lost by one point in the AAC tournament final in their first year after moving from Conference USA. Their matchup with a frisky Wildcats team featuring scoring threat Boo Buie and that took down teams like Purdue and Illinois this season will likely be a tightly contested challenge.

No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes vs. No. 7 Florida Gators

Only Texas A&M-Nebraska have a points spread as close as Colorado vs. Florida on Friday: Florida is favored by 1.5 points according to BetMGM. The Gators lost in the SEC title game on Sunday and also lost center Micah Handlogten, one of the country's best offensive rebounders, to injury. Colorado has handled their business well in recent weeks, winning their final six regular season games and two more in the Pac-12 tournament before losing to Oregon in the final. The Buffs also defeated Boise State in a First Four clash on Wednesday.

Colorado Buffaloes: First Four winner extends Boise State's March Madness misery. Can Buffs go on run?

How to watch NCAA Men's Basketball March Madness 2024

All games will be broadcast across CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Here are additional streaming options to watch all the action on your devices.

How to watch March Madness: Watch all tournament games with a subscription to fuboTV

Printable March Madness bracket

You can find a printable bracket for the men's tournament here.

A women's tournament printable bracket is available here.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5 best March Madness games to watch in NCAA Tournament today