March Madness Preview: NCAA Tournament Breakdowns

In Roman times, March 15th (the Ides of March) was a festive holiday dedicated to the Roman God, Mars, and parades and celebrations were often held. In 2009, a different holiday fell on March 15: Selection Sunday....the day when the almighty bracket is finally released and workplace productivity slumps to all-time lows.

Over the past three weeks here at the SportsJudge Blog, we've previewed every conference tournament, kept tabs on the field of 65, broken down the true meaning and history of the RPI rating, and even taken a look back at Hollis Price, Mateen Cleaves, Scoonie Penn, and the legendary run of Austin Carr.

The 2008-2009 NCAA basketball season has featured more parity than previous seasons. Last month, Brian Doyle took a look at the game of musical chairs taking place with the #1 seed, and the chaos hasn't stopped since. Over the next three days, our team of College Basketball experts will dive into the bracket region by region and attempt to give you in-depth insight you can't find anywhere else:

Tuesday 1pm ET: South Regional Preview (can be found here)
Tuesday 5pm ET: East Regional Preview (can be found here)
Wednesday 9am ET: Midwest Regional Preview
Wednesday 11am ET: West Regional Preview
Thursday 9am ET: An inside look at entertaining announcer Gus Johnson
Thursday 12:20 ET: 2009 Tournament tips off with Butler and LSU from Greensboro, NC

Bracket to View can be found here

Bracket to Print can be found here

Here's the schedule of the rest of the first two rounds just in case you end up at home "sick" later this week and need something to watch:

THURSDAY, MARCH 19
12:20 p.m. (Greensboro I) LSU vs. Butler
12:25 p.m. (Kansas City I) Memphis vs. Cal St. Northridge
12:30 p.m. (Philadelphia I) Brigham Young vs. Texas A&M

2:30 p.m. (Portland I) Purdue vs. Northern Iowa
after conc. I (Greensboro II) North Carolina vs. Radford
after conc. I (Kansas City II) California vs. Maryland
after conc. I (Philadelphia II) Connecticut vs. Chattanooga

after conc. I (Portland II) Washington vs. Mississippi St.

7:10 p.m. (Greensboro III) Texas vs. Minnesota
7:10 p.m. (Kansas City III) Clemson vs. Michigan
7:20 p.m. (Philadelphia III) Villanova vs. American
7:25 p.m. (Portland III) Gonzaga vs. Akron

after conc. III (Greensboro IV) Duke vs. Binghamton
after conc. III (Kansas City IV) Oklahoma vs. Morgan St.
after conc. III (Philadelphia IV) UCLA vs. Virginia Commonwealth
after conc. III (Portland IV) Illinois vs. Western Kentucky

FRIDAY, MARCH 20
12:15 p.m. (Miami I) Syracuse vs. Stephen F. Austin
12:25 p.m. (Dayton I) Oklahoma St. vs. Tennessee
12:30 p.m. (Minneapolis I) Kansas vs. North Dakota St.
12:30 p.m. (Boise I) Marquette vs. Utah St.

after conc. I (Miami II) Arizona St. vs. Temple
after conc. I (Dayton II) Pittsburgh vs. East Tennessee St.
after conc. I (Minneapolis II) West Virginia vs. Dayton
after conc. I (Boise II) Missouri vs. Cornell

7:10 p.m. (Miami III) Utah vs. Arizona
7:10 p.m. (Dayton III) Louisville vs. Alabama St./Morehead St.
7:20 p.m. (Minneapolis III) Boston College vs. Southern Cal
7:25 p.m. (Boise III) Xavier vs. Portland St.

after conc. III (Miami IV) Wake Forest vs. Cleveland St.
after conc. III (Dayton IV) Ohio State vs. Siena
after conc. III (Minneapolis IV) Michigan St. vs. Robert Morris
after conc. III (Boise IV) Florida St. vs. Wisconsin

SATURDAY, MARCH 21
1:05 p.m. (Philadelphia I) Villanova/American vs. UCLA/Virginia Commonwealth

3:20 p.m. (Kansas City I) Memphis/Cal St. Northridge vs. California/Maryland
after conc. I (Philadelphia II) Connecticut/Chattanooga vs. Brigham Young/Texas A&M

5:40 p.m. (Portland I) Purdue/Northern Iowa vs. Washington/Mississippi St.
5:45 p.m. (Greensboro I) North Carolina/Radford vs. LSU/Butler
after conc. I (Kansas City II) Oklahoma/Morgan St. vs. Clemson/Michigan

after conc. I (Portland II) Gonzaga/Akron vs. Illinois/Western Kentucky
after conc. I (Greensboro II) Duke/Binghamton vs. Texas/Minnesota

SUNDAY, MARCH 22
12:10 p.m. (Miami I) Syracuse/Stephen F. Austin vs. Arizona St./Temple

2:20 p.m. (Boise I) Florida State/Wisconsin vs. Xavier/Portland St.
2:30 p.m. (Minneapolis I) Kansas/North Dakota St. vs. West Virginia/Dayton
after conc. I (Miami II) Wake Forest/Cleveland St. vs. Utah/Arizona
2:50 p.m. (Dayton I) Oklahoma St./Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh/East Tennessee St.

after conc. I (Boise II) Missouri/Cornell vs. Marquette/Utah St.
after conc. I (Minneapolis II) Michigan St./Robert Morris vs. Boston College/Southern Cal
after conc. I (Dayton II) Ohio State/Siena vs. Louisville/Alabama St. or Morehead St.

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