2022 men’s NCAA tournament viewing guide: What to watch and what to skip on Thursday – Yahoo Sports

Welcome to the 2022 NCAA tournament. The tournament tips off in earnest just after noon on Thursday with Colorado State and Michigan. That's the first of 16 games throughout the day as we'll get an awesome 12 hours of basketball that will likely include an upset or three. Here's your viewing guide for the first full day of the 2022 men's tournament. All times are Eastern.

12:15 p.m.: No. 6 Colorado State vs. No. 11 Michigan (CBS)

12:40 p.m.: No. 4 Providence vs. No. 13 South Dakota State (TruTV)

1:45 p.m.: No. 8 Boise State vs. No. 9 Memphis (TNT)

2 p.m.: No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 16 Norfolk State (TBS)

Must-see: After tuning into the first few minutes of Colorado State and Michigan you need to have your attention on South Dakota State and Providence. The Jackrabbits are picked by nearly 30% of Yahoo users to pull the upset and are just 2.5-point underdogs to the Friars. SDSU went undefeated in the Summit League this year while Providence had a bunch of close wins. This could be a great one.

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Must-skip: Baylor should make easy work of Norfolk State. While you may need to spend some time watching this one because its the final game of the early session, itll probably be a blowout by the time you turn it on. The other three games should be much more competitive.

2:45 p.m.: No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Longwood (CBS)

3:10 p.m.: No. 5 Iowa vs. No. 12 Richmond (TruTV)

4:15 p.m.: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 Georgia State (TNT)

4:30 p.m.: No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Marquette (TBS)

Must-see: North Carolina is favored by 3.5 points over Marquette in a game that could be the only close one of this set of games. The Eagles beat Villanova twice this season while North Carolina beat Duke to end the regular season. Both teams score over 74 points per game so this could be a race to 80.

Must-skip: Check the score on Gonzaga and see how star freshman Chet Holmgren is doing and thats about it. Theres a little more upset potential with Longwood and Richmond, but UNC and Marquette should take most of your attention late in the afternoon.

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North Carolina takes on Marquette in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

6:50 p.m.: No. 5 UConn vs. No. 12 New Mexico State (TNT)

7:10 p.m.: No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 St. Peters (CBS)

7:20 p.m.: No. 5 St. Marys vs. No. 12 Indiana (TBS)

7:27 p.m.: No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 9 Creighton (TruTV)

Must-see: You know how we said that North Carolina and Marquette could be high-scoring? Thats not going to be the case between San Diego State and Creighton. San Diego State allows 58 points per game and Creighton has allowed 65 points or fewer in each of its last five games. The total for this one is just 119 points. But it should be exceptionally close and dont be surprised if its a one-score game with under a minute left.

Must-skip: Sorry St. Peters, we arent putting much stock in your ability to hang with Kentucky. Indiana is capable of pulling off a 12-5 upset over St. Marys and New Mexico State is just a 6.5-point underdog against UConn. Kentucky should win this one easily and you could be flipping back and forth among the other three games.

9:20 p.m.: No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Vermont (TNT)

9:40 p.m.: No. 7 Murray State vs. No. 10 San Francisco (CBS)

9:50 p.m.: No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 13 Akron (TBS)

9:57 p.m.: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Texas Southern (TruTV)

Must-see: If youre a casual college basketball fan you likely havent seen any Murray State or San Francisco games this season. Change that late Thursday night. The Racers are 1.5-point favorites in this one and average nearly 80 points per game. San Francisco has scored 77 per game and shoots a lot of threes. Youll be entertained.

Must-skip: There wont be a UMBC moment on Thursday and all No. 1 seeds should win easily. If youre in the Eastern or Central time zones you can probably head to bed after UCLA and Akron because Kansas should have things under wraps by early in the second half at the latest against Texas Southern.

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2022 men's NCAA tournament viewing guide: What to watch and what to skip on Thursday - Yahoo Sports