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The Milwaukee Bucks may not play tonight after their stirring win over the Clippers last night, but you can bet Matthew Dellavedova will be celebrating his clutch performance last night by watching his alma mater, the Saint Mary’s Gaels, take on VCU tonight. Yes, it’s March Madness time everyone. Which also means it’s time to huddle together and share our judgments on prospects some of us (guilty) have barely watched all year.
Wisconsin is also in action tonight, taking on Virginia Tech with a scheduled 8:40 CT tip time. The Badgers may have fallen short of expectations this year, but it’s one last ride for Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Zak Showalter, Vitto Brown and the gang. Let’s hope it’s a long one.
Hayes is currently the only player projected to go in DraftExpress’ mock draft (No. 49), but Koenig’s off the dribble pull-up propensity and shooting ability from deep should mean he’ll get a look from teams. Brown’s length (6’8” with a 7’3” wingspan) and last season’s fireball session in the tournament filled me with some hope coming into this year, but he’s had a rocky, up and down year.
Back to the prospects people care about though. Tom Ziller put together the great roundup below of all the top prospects’ tournament game times and TV schedule over the next two days, so use this as your guidepost and share your thoughts in the comments below. Oh, and while you’re at it, subscribe to Tom’s sterling Good Morning It’s Basketball newsletter already.
This is March
The play-in games have been decided, so we know the full schedule for the first two days of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Here's a look at all the prospects slated for the first round in DraftExpress' latest NBA mock draft and when they play in the first round. Note that if the teams of these players win on Thursday, they'll play again Saturday. If they win Friday, they'll play Sunday. If they lose on either day, they will likely announce their eligibility for the NBA Draft by Monday. If a prospect isn't listed, he's not in the tournament or he's an international prospect.
The DraftExpress mock draft rank is in parentheses. All times are Eastern.
Lonzo Ball (No. 2): UCLA vs. Kent State, Friday at 10 p.m. on truTV
Josh Jackson (No. 3): Kansas vs. UC Davis, Friday at 6:50 p.m. on TNT
Jayson Tatum (No. 4): Duke vs. Troy, Friday at 7:20 p.m. on TBS
De'Aaron Fox (No.5): Kentucky vs. Northern Kentucky, Friday at 9:40 p.m. on CBS
Lauri Markannen (No. 7): Arizona vs. North Dakota, Thursday at 9:50 p.m. on TBS
Malik Monk (No. 8): Kentucky vs. Northern Kentucky, Friday at 9:40 p.m. on CBS
Jonathan Isaac (No. 9): Florida State vs. Florida Gulf Coast, Thursday at 9:20 p.m. ET on TNT
Miles Bridges (No. 12): Michigan State vs. Miami, Friday at 9:20 p.m. on TNT
Justin Jackson (No. 13): North Carolina vs. Texas Southern, Friday at 4 p.m. on TNT
Justin Patton (No. 16): Creighton vs. Rhode Island, Friday at 4:30 p.m. on TBS
Luke Kennard (No. 20): Duke vs. Troy, Friday at 7:20 p.m. on TBS
Donovan Mitchell (No. 21): Louisville vs. Jacksonville State, Friday at 2:45 p.m. on CBS
Johnathan Motley (No. 24): Baylor vs. New Mexico State, Friday at 2:40 p.m.on truTV
Harry Giles (No. 25): Duke vs. Troy, Friday at 7:20 p.m. on TBS
T.J. Leaf (No. 26): UCLA vs. Kent State, Friday at 10 p.m. on truTV
Bam Adebayo (No. 27): Kentucky vs. Northern Kentucky, Friday at 9:40 p.m.on CBS
Semi Olejeye (No. 28): SMU vs. USC, Friday at 3:10 p.m. on truTV
Caleb Swanigan (No. 29): Purdue vs. Vermont, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on truTV
While you wait for the games to begin, be sure to check out Paul Flannery's NBA guide to the prospects and my little piece on why March Madness and college basketball are so entertaining. And if you're into office pools and the like, here's SB Nation's excellent live updating bracket.