12:15 p.m. — Feeling Blue: Friday begins with America’s favorite March tradition — rooting against Duke in the NCAA Tournament. The third-seeded Blue Devils take on No. 14 Mercer (CBS), and all eyes will be on Duke freshman sensation Jabari Parker.
3:10 p.m. — Doing the Dougie: New York fans may be familiar with Creighton’s Doug McDermott, the likely national player of the year who led the Bluejays to the Big East Tournament final, but those who missed the show at the Garden should tune in to see one of the best scorers in college basketball history take on No. 14 Louisiana-Monroe (truTV). With a win, Creighton could set up an intrastate game between No. 11 Nebraska if the Huskers can upset No. 6 Baylor (12:40 p.m., truTV).
4:10 p.m. — Shorthanded Jayhawks: No. 2 seed Kansas opens the tournament missing a key piece, freshman big man Joel Embiid, but the Jayhawks likely won’t need him in their opener against No. 15 Eastern Kentucky (TBS).
4:40 p.m. — Get Smart: Marcus Smart, No. 9 seed Oklahoma State’s sophomore star, has played well since his suspension stemming from an in-season physical confrontation with a fan. For the Cowboys to move on, they’ll have to get past eight-seed Gonzaga (TNT), with the Zags trying to forget about last year’s second-round flameout as a No. 1 seed.
7:10 p.m. — Shock the world? Unlikely No. 1 seed Wichita State, which enters the NCAA Tournament a perfect 34-0, begins its quest for 40-0 against Cal Poly (CBS). The Mustangs entered the First Four with a 13-19 record, but the unlikely tournament team beat Texas Southern to move on.
7:20 p.m. — Big East bump? No. 11 seed Providence, which needed to win the Big East Tournament just to make the field, hopes to ride that momentum against six-seed North Carolina (TNT). Watch for a pair of guards — Providence’s Bryce Cotton and North Carolina’s Marcus Paige — to steal the show.
9:40 p.m. — ’Cats vs. ’Cats: A potential Kentucky-Wichita State matchup in the round of 32 has drawn headlines, but the No. 8 seed would be wise not to look back a different Wildcats team — No. 9 seed Kansas State (CBS). Bruce Weber’s team holds wins over tournament teams such as Iowa State, Kansas and Texas this season.