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NCAA tournament viewing guide: What to watch and what to skip on Friday

After an unusually upset-free opening day of the NCAA tournament, perhaps more carnage awaits on Friday. Here’s a look at what to watch and what to skip on day two of the NCAA tournament:

FRIDAY AFTERNOON SESSION

12:15 p.m. ET — No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State (CBS)
12:40 p.m. ET — No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 New Mexico State
1:30 p.m. ET — No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Seton Hall
2 p.m. ET — No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Iona

Must-see: Two sleeper threats to make deep NCAA tournament runs meet in Friday’s opening game. Surging Michigan reeled off four wins in four days to capture last weekend’s Big Ten tournament. Oklahoma State had won 10 of its previous 11 before ending the regular season with a trio of close losses to Kansas and Iowa State.

Must-skip: There’s always one humdrum 8-9 game each season, and Arkansas-Seton Hall may be this year’s. The Pirates defend and control the glass. The Razorbacks boast a top-30 offense. But the winner of this game is likely just cannon fodder for top-seeded North Carolina two days later.

North Carolina is one of the top favorites to win the NCAA tournament. (Getty)
North Carolina is one of the favorites to win the NCAA tournament this season. (Getty)

Potential upsets: Whether it was Georgia State two years ago or Yale last March, Baylor has been the victim of a couple of memorable opening-round upsets. The third-seeded Bears appear somewhat vulnerable again this year after losing six of their last 11 games, but New Mexico State is a favorable matchup. The Aggies are a poor outside shooting team and only average on the defensive glass, two keys against a Baylor team that favors zone and gobbles up offensive boards.

Player to watch: Hampered by an offseason foot injury early in the season, Dillon Brooks has played like an All-American the past six weeks. The Oregon forward has averaged more than 20 points in his last 12 games thanks to an improved outside shot and his ability to exploit mismatches against either bigger or smaller defenders.

2:45 ET — No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State (CBS)
3:10 ET — No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 USC (TruTV)
4:00 ET — No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Texas Southern (TNT)
4:30 ET — No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 Rhode Island (TBS)

Must-see: The last time SMU met USC, the Trojans emerged with a 78-73 victory in Los Angeles behind torrid 12-for-24 3-point shooting. Chances are that USC won’t shoot quite that well again on Friday, but that’s still a tough draw for a sixth-seeded Mustangs team that won the American Athletic Conference and has lost only four games all season.

Must-skip: Texas Southern played four Top 25 teams this season and did not come within 20 of any of them. There’s no reason to expect the Tigers to get any closer Friday against top-seeded North Carolina.

Potential upsets: Fighting to stay in at-large contention after a damaging loss to Fordham, Rhode Island reeled off eight straight wins to end the season and captured the A-10’s auto bid. Drawing Creighton is a break for Rhode Island because the Bluejays aren’t the same team as they were before Maurice Watson tore an ACL, leaving the team without anyone especially adept at creating shots for others.

Player to watch: Louisville wing Donovan Mitchell’s emergence as a go-to scoring threat is a major reason the Cardinals are a Final Four contender this season. The sophomore is averaging 19.1 points per game since Dec. 31. He’s always been a fantastic on-ball defender and led the ACC in steals this season. Now he has the offense to go with that defensive prowess.

FRIDAY NIGHT SESSION

6:50 ET — No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 UC Davis (TNT)
7:10 ET — No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Wichita State (CBS)
7:20 ET — No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Troy (TBS)
7:27 ET — No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Kansas State (TruTV)

Must-see: Wichita State has nine NCAA tournament victories the past four seasons despite receiving better than a No. 7 seed just once. The perennially underseeded Shockers will try to add to that total on Friday against a Dayton program that won the Atlantic 10 this season. With Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker both in the NBA this season, Wichita State has built around a smothering defense and a balanced offense headlined by forward Markis McDuffie and guard Landry Shamet.

Must-skip: Could Troy pull a Mercer? Or a Lehigh? Don’t count on it. A team that finished 10-8 in the Sun Belt and beat only one top-100 foe all season probably isn’t going to stick with Duke for very long. UC Davis-Kansas isn’t likely to be close for long either.

Potential upsets: Wichita State over Dayton would be an upset in seeding only. The Shockers opened as a 6.5-point favorite this week. Kansas State has a chance of shutting down Cincinnati and making a run out of the First Four, but this is a better scoring Bearcats team than those of years past.

Player to watch: One of the keys to Duke making a deep NCAA tournament run is freshman Jayson Tatum building off the momentum he has mounted over the past few weeks. The 6-foot-8 combo forward scored 19 or more in all four of Duke’s ACC tournament wins, suggesting that he’s peaking at the right time.

9:20 ET — No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 Michigan State (TNT)
9:40 ET — No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Northern Kentucky (CBS)
9:50 ET — No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Marquette (TBS)
9:57 ET — No. 3 Lonzo Ball vs. No. 14 Kent State (TruTV)

Must-see: Tom Izzo may be Mr. March, but it will take something special for him to conjure some more NCAA tournament magic this season. An undersized, injury-plagued Michigan State team staggered to a 19-14 season and lost in the Big Ten quarterfinals to Minnesota. Opening-round opponent Miami is not an easy draw. The Canes beat North Carolina and Duke this season and are among the 20 best defensive teams in the nation.

Must-skip: Thanks to a flurry of upsets, Northern Kentucky won the Horizon League Tournament title without beating a team seeded better than fifth. The competition is about to increase dramatically on Friday when the Norse get a crack at in-state juggernaut Kentucky. Would a Northern Kentucky victory be an amazing story? You bet. Will it come close to happening? Don’t count on it.

Potential upsets: Even though Marquette has the misfortune of facing South Carolina in Greenville, this is not a bad draw for the Golden Eagles. The fading Gamecocks skidded into the NCAA tournament with losses in six of their past nine games. Marquette scores quickly and efficiently, and if it gets hot, cold-shooting South Carolina may not have the firepower necessary to rally.

Player to watch: One of the keys to UCLA’s chances of a deep NCAA tournament run is the health of forward T.J. Leaf, who was nursing an injured ankle late during the Pac-12 tournament and was at less than his best. When healthy, all UCLA’s other freshman has done is lead the Bruins in scoring and field-goal percentage this season.

More March Madness coverage from Yahoo Sports:
NCAA tournament live blog: Follow the action with the Yahoo Sports team
Perfectly awful: Here’s the worst NCAA tourney bracket
Vanderbilt’s foul may be the worst March Madness blunder ever
Former President Obama has two big mistakes in his women’s bracket

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!