First, let’s take a look at some notable games in the first round.
Play-In:
#11 Belmont/#11 Temple, Today @ 9:10 p.m. EST
The first game on the slate is the second play-in game on the schedule. Belmont lost in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament final to an ascendant Murray State team that was led by the transcendent point guard prospect Ja Morant. However, Belmont itself has an NBA prospect on its roster with Dylan Windler. A knockdown shooter, Windler canned 43 percent of his triples in his senior season on nearly 7 attempts per game. We know that Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk loves shooters, so keep an eye on this primetime tip on truTV.
First Round:
#3 LSU/#14 Yale, Thursday @ 12:40 p.m. EST
It’s rather wacky to imagine that the LSU Tigers, a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will likely have all of this season’s winnings vacated due to big-time federal charges levied against its head coach Will Wade. That being said, if LSU goes far in the tournament, that’s all people will remember. However, its stacked roster (which includes gifted freshman big man Naz Reid), faces a tough test in round 1 against a feisty Yale team – a trendy upset pick in the early goings.
#4 Virginia Tech/#13 Saint Louis, Friday @ 9:57 p.m. EST
The Saint Louis Billikens (look it up) made it into the tournament very late as the winner of the Atlanta 10 conference tournament – just barely eking by the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, who are represented on the Atlanta Hawks by rookie Jaylen Adams. Virginia Tech’s best player is Brandon Robinson, and his status for this game as of this writing is unknown. However, the team is still stacked with talent – including potential Atlanta Hawks draft pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the cousin of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.