2010 NCAA Tournament: Thursday Schedule, Previews And Predictions

SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean, editor of Blogging The Bracket, has your rundown of Thursday's NCAA Tournament action, including announcer pairings and picks from his bracket.

All games are on CBS, check your local listings to see your affiliate's choices. You can watch all 63 games of the event through NCAA® March Madness on Demand®. 

Early Afternoon

The day starts with action at three sites.

12:20 p.m. ET (West: Oklahoma City) No. 10 Florida (21-12) vs. No. 7 BYU (29-5) (Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner): The Cougars can score in bunches, while the Gators have gotten into a bad habit of disappearing for stretches offensively. My pick: BYU

12:25 p.m. ET (South: New Orleans) No. 11 Old Dominion (26-8) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (23-11) (Dick Enberg/Jay Bilas): This one is so much more than Gerald Lee vs. Luke Harangody. Both squads have plenty of shooters, with the Irish having a slight edge in that department. My pick: Old Dominion

12:30 p.m. ET (South: Providence) No. 15 Robert Morris (23-11) vs. No. 2 Villanova (24-7) (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery): The Wildcats may be limping into the Tournament, but they should have no problems in this matchup. My pick: Villanova

Late Afternoon

The nation will be split four ways for the first time as play starts in San Jose. All tip times except for San Jose are approximate.

2:30 p.m. ET (West: San Jose) No. 13 Murray State (30-4) vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt (24-8) (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel): The last time the Commodores were in the Tournament, they lost as a 4 to a 13th-seeded Siena team that lost five conference games. This time, they face a 13th-seeded Racer team who lost once in the OVC. My pick: Murray State

2:50 p.m. ET (West: Oklahoma City) No. 15 North Texas (24-8) vs. No. 2 Kansas State (26-7) (Harlan/Bonner): The Wildcats should romp, but the Mean Green gave Memphis a fight as a 16 in 2007. My pick: Kansas State

2:55 p.m. ET (South: New Orleans) No. 14 Sam Houston State (25-7) vs. No. 3 Baylor (25-7) (Enberg/Bilas): The only chance the Bearkats have is for Corey Allmond to go crazy from behind the arc like he did at Rupp Arena, only that game didn't work out for Sam Houston. My pick: Baylor

3:00 p.m. ET (South: Providence) No. 10 St. Mary's (26-5) vs. No. 7 Richmond (26-8) (Lundquist/Raftery): There is no first-round game I'm more excited about. These two teams matchup so well against each other, it's going to be a true nailbiter. My pick: Richmond

The Lone 2 p.m. PT Tip

Tip time is approximate for the second San Jose game. You can see this one on TV if you have CBS College Sports.

5:00 p.m. ET (West: San Jose) No. 12 UTEP (26-6) vs. No. 5 Butler (28-4) (Dedes/Wenzel): Who stays on the court longer, the Miners' Derrick Caracter or the Bulldogs' Matt Howard? That could be the difference today. My pick: Butler

Early Evening

All four sites will see action in the two evening timeslots.

7:10 p.m. ET (Midwest: Oklahoma City) No. 9 Northern Iowa (28-4) vs. No. 8 UNLV (25-8) (Harlan/Bonner): A Valley vs. Lon Kruger matchup isn't for the faint of heart. My pick: Northern Iowa

7:15 p.m. ET (East: New Orleans) No. 16 East Tennessee State (20-14) vs. No. 1 Kentucky (32-2) (Enberg/Bilas): The Bucs will hope to keep this interesting for awhile, like they did against Pitt last year. My pick: Kentucky

7:20 p.m. ET (East: San Jose) No. 11 Washington (24-9) vs. No. 6 Marquette (22-11) (Dedes/Wenzel): It's a contrast of styles: West Coast flash vs. Midwestern toughness. My pick: Marquette

7:25 p.m. ET (Midwest: Providence) No. 14 Ohio (21-14) vs. No. 3 Georgetown (23-10) (Lundquist/Raftery): The Hoyas are playing some of their best ball of the season, but so are the Bobcats. My pick: Georgetown

Late Evening

All tip times are approximate for the final session of Thursday.

9:40 p.m. ET (Midwest: Oklahoma City) No. 16 Lehigh (22-10) vs. No. 1 Kansas (32-2) (Harlan/Bonner): The Mountain Hawks will attempt to do what Bucknell did in 2005. I don't think Bill Self will let his team forget that, however. My pick: Kansas

9:45 p.m. ET (East: New Orleans) No. 9 Wake Forest (19-10) vs. No. 8 Texas (24-9) (Enberg/Bilas): Someone has to win this one, featuring two maddening teams who have struggled at the end of the year. My pick: Texas

9:50 p.m. ET (East: San Jose) No. 14 Montana (22-9) vs. No. 3 New Mexico (29-4) (Dedes/Wenzel): How many will Anthony Johnson score tonight? Can Roman Martinez and Darington Hobson match him? My pick: New Mexico

9:55 p.m. ET (Midwest: Providence) No. 11 San Diego State (25-8) vs. No. 6 Tennessee (25-8) (Lundquist/Raftery): After getting rolled by Kentucky in the SEC final, do the Volunteers have enough to top Kawhi Leonard, Billy White, and company? My pick: San Diego State

Follow Chris on Twitter, @BracketDobber, for his thoughts and reactions throughout the day and evening.