NCAA Tournament College Basketball South Region Schedule Thursday: Villanova, Baylor, Notre Dame and Richmond Look to Avoid Upset

The 2010 NCAA college basketball tournament kicks off on Thursday and in the South Region four games will be played with each game featuring a school that could make a deep run in the annual affair.

Getting things started in the South Region will be the #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (23-11) and the #11 Old Dominion Monarchs (26-8). This could be one of the more interesting first-round matchups of the tournament as Notre Dame locked up a tournament berth with a late run in the Big East while Old Dominion took care of business in the CAA. While the Monarchs were solid in the CAA they had their challenges against other teams that made the NCAA tournament with losses to Richmond, Missouri and Northern Iowa; they did beat Georgetown. As for Notre Dame, a 10-8 record in the Big East was made possible with wins over Pittsburgh, Georgetown, UConn and Marquette to close the regular season.

Notre Dame has too many weapons for Old Dominion and advances. Tip Off set for 12:25 p.m. ET.

The #2 Villanova Wildcats (24-7) entered the season with high expectations and they could still realize those goals but will have to take the first step against the #15 Robert Morris Colonials (23-11). Robert Morris played a pair of games against Big East opponents this year, getting hammered by Syracuse and Penn State. The Wildcats enter the NCAA Tournament having dropped 5 of their last 7 games but have the talent to make a real run.

Villanova should put up a big number against Robert Morris. Tip Off is set for 12:30 p.m. ET.

South Region action will also feature the #3 Baylor Bears (25-7) taking on the #14 Sam Houston State Bearkats (25-7) on Thursday. Much has been made about the Bears and their shot at a Final Four appearance but their 11-5 record in the Big 12 might not really carry much weight as they lost their only games with Kansas and Kansas State while splitting with Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. As for the Bearkats, they have lost three games since the New Year and those three losses were by a combined six points with two of those games going to overtime. They also challenged the Kentucky Wildcats early in the season, eventually falling by ten points.

This could be a serious challenge for Baylor and if their guards don’t play well this could be the day one shocker. Tip Off set for 2:45 p.m. ET.

Wrapping up the day in South Region action will be the #7 Richmond Spiders (26-8) and #10 St. Mary’s Gaels (26-5). While the Spiders had a solid run in the A 10 they were just as impressive out of conference with wins over Missouri, Old Dominion and Florida- all teams making it into the NCAA Tournament. St. Mary’s has also racked up some big wins, blowing out New Mexico State and San Diego State and while they dropped both their regular season games against Gonzaga they did beat the Zags in the WCC tournament finals to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Richmond should benefit from playing in a tougher conference and find a way to win. Tip Off set for 2:50 p.m. ET.

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