NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Round 2

Was this the greatest opening round in NCAA Tournament history? I'm not even sure it's much of a debate at this point.

Two 12 seeds won. Three 11 seeds did too. A 13, 14, and 15 got in the boat as well, culminating with Middle Tennessee's emphatic claim as the best basketball team in the Volunteer State. Michigan State and West Virginia, two popular Final Four picks, are gone. Yale, Little Rock, and Stephen F. Austin, however, are still dancing.

And Phil Martelli asked if he can buy some weed in Spokane.

The only real question left is if day three can live up to the standard of the two days that preceded it.

There are eight games on tap for day three of the big dance, and there's plenty to like about this schedule. Indiana and Kentucky will clash in a battle of college basketball royalty. The same goes for a 1-vs.-9 seed matchup between Kansas and Connecticut. On the other side of the spectrum, Yale and Little Rock will try to make history, while Gonzaga and Wichita State work to prove their Cinderella cred is still good.

The day kicks off with the Shockers' attempt to become the third team in NCAA history to win three games in five days and advance from the First Four to the Sweet Sixteen. Wichita State's lockdown defense put the clamps on Vanderbilt and Arizona in its first two games; those two power conference programs managed to shoot just 35.6 percent from the field in defeat. With tournament veterans Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet (9-3 in the NCAAT all-time) leading the way, they'll push No. 3 seed Miami to the limit.

Nine hours later, Providence and North Carolina will cap off the day's action in a rematch of a 2014 big dance thriller. That year, the Tar Heels held off an underdog Friar team in a 79-77 barnburner. Providence's All-American point guard Kris Dunn was just a freshman then, and injuries prevented him from seeing the court. Now, he'll have a chance for revenge after leading his team to a thrilling 70-69 victory over USC.

Seven underdogs advanced out of the first day of action. Will those teams survive another week and live to see the Sweet Sixteen? Here's what the NCAA Tournament has in store for Saturday.

No. 11 Wichita State vs. No. 3 Miami

Time: 12:10 p.m.

Place: Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, RI

TV: CBS

Online: NCAA March Madness Live

No. 12 Yale vs. No. 4 Duke

Time: 2:30 p.m.

Place: Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, RI

TV: CBS

Online: NCAA March Madness Live

No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 4 Kentucky

Time: 5:15 p.m.

Place: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

TV: CBS

Online: NCAA March Madness Live

No. 12 Little Rock vs. No. 4 Iowa State

Time: 6:10 p.m.

Place: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

TV: TNT

Online: NCAA March Madness Live

No. 9 Butler vs. No. 1 Virginia

Time: 7:10 p.m.

Place: PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C.

TV: TBS

Online: NCAA March Madness Live

No. 9 Connecticut vs. No. 1 Kansas

Time: 7:35 p.m.

Place: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

TV: CBS

Online: NCAA March Madness Live

No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 3 Utah

Time: 8:30 p.m.

Place: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

TV: TNT

Online: NCAA March Madness Live

No. 9 Providence vs. No. 1 North Carolina

Time: 9:30 p.m.

Place: PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C.

TV: TBS

Online: NCAA March Madness Live