Friday’s slate of Sweet 16 games should provide college basketball fans with everything they crave from NCAA tournament games. There are four impressive games Friday, but your eyes are drawn to one in particular: the No. 3 seed UCLA Bruins vs the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in the South Region.
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Butler, 7:09 p.m. (CBS)
The South Region easily has the best two matchups of the night. Before we get to the UCLA-Kentucky matchup, North Carolina and Butler get Friday started. North Carolina enters the Sweet 16 as the lone remaining ACC team (RIP) after eight conference teams fell during the first weekend. Butler took down Winthrop and Middle Tennessee to keep their tournament runs alive.
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 3 UCLA, 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
Following that game, we’ll get UCLA-Kentucky: Part Two. Their first matchup on Dec. 3 saw UCLA walk out of Rupp Arena with a 97-92 win and snap a 42-game home winning streak for Kentucky. Freshman point guards, Lonzo Ball for UCLA, and De’Aaron Fox for Kentucky, both look like top-10 picks after this season, and we get to see them match up once more at this level before the draft. Of course, keep an eye on Malik Monk from Kentucky and T.J. Leaf from UCLA, two more freshmen currently projected by SB Nation to go in the first round. This one tips off around 9:39 p.m. ET Friday on CBS.
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 7 South Carolina, 7:29 p.m. ET (TBS)
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 8 Wisconsin, 9:59 p.m. ET (TBS)
The East Region is also in action Friday, as No. 3 seed Baylor takes on No. 7 seed South Carolina, which upset Duke in the Round of 32. Following that game No. 4 seed Florida, which held Virginia to a mere 39 points, will play No. 8 seed Wisconsin, which eliminated defending national champs Villanova last weekend.
The South region gets the night started on CBS with UNC-Butler at 7:09 ET. The East Region games tip on TBS, starting with Baylor-South Carolina at 7:29 ET. All games can also be streamed on March Madness Live.
Schedule (all times Eastern)
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Butler, 7:09 p.m.
South region | FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
TV: CBS | Announcers: Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 7 South Carolina, 7:29 p.m.
East region | Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: TBS | Announcers: Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel, Allie LaForce
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 3 UCLA, 9:39 p.m.*
South region | FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
TV: CBS | Announcers: Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 8 Wisconsin, 9:59 p.m.*
East region | Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: TBS | Announcers: Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel, Allie LaForce
*game time is approximate