Skip to footer

NCAA Tournament 2014: Who to watch Friday, Mar. 28

Four more NCAA 'Sweet 16' games tip off Friday night in New York City and Indianapolis, two US cities with a lot of college basketball history.

|
Jamie Rhodes, USA TODAY Sports/REUTERS
Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith (2) dribbles against Kentucky Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison (2) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at Rupp Arena, Dec. 28, 2013.

New York and Indianapolis.

Two diverse cities, but one overriding passion: basketball.

They're both hosting regional semifinal and finals action in the 2014 NCAA men's basketball tournament, beginning Friday evening.

In the Midwest region at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, second seed Michigan will play 11th seed Tennessee Friday night at 7:15 p.m. Eastern time on CBS. The Wolverines (27-8) have reached the 'Sweet 16' for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, the Volunteers (24-12) made a regional semifinal for the first time in four years. These two schools met in the 2011 NCAA tournament's first round, with Michigan winning by 30 points.

At 7:27 p.m. Eastern Friday on TBS, East region third seed Iowa State takes on seventh seed Connecticut at Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City. For many years, New York has been synonymous with basketball, with several early-season college tournaments and the end-of-season National Invitation Tournament, which predates the NCAA Tournament by one year. The Cyclones (28-7) have quietly made their way to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2000. The UConn Huskies (28-8) return to a regional semifinal for the first time since they won it all in 2011.

Perhaps the game of the evening is scheduled to tip off at approximately 9:45 p.m., and will be televised on CBS. In-state neighbors and rivals Louisville and Kentucky will meet for the second time this season in the Midwest region. The Cardinals (31-5), defending national champions, lost to the Wildcats (26-10) back in late December at Kentucky's Rupp Arena. But both U of L and UK are playing at a higher level now.

Finally, at approximately 9:57 p.m. Eastern on TBS, East top seed Virginia meets fourth seed Michigan State in "The World's Most Famous Arena." The Cavaliers (30-6) were perhaps the final No. 1 seed selected for the NCAA tournament, but won both the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles. The Spartans (28-8) are playing their best basketball of the season right now, winning the Big Ten conference tournament and their first two NCAA tournament games in impressive fashion.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to NCAA Tournament 2014: Who to watch Friday, Mar. 28
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/2014/0328/NCAA-Tournament-2014-Who-to-watch-Friday-Mar.-28
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe