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Iowa and Clemson open the South Region with one of the tighter first-round games on the board Friday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Tipoff is set for 6:50 PM ET on TNT, and the market has Iowa laying 2.5 with the total at 129.5. Iowa enters as the 9 seed at 21-12 after an 11-11 run through the Big Ten, while Clemson is the 8 seed at 24-10 after a strong ACC season. This is a fascinating number because the teams get here in very different ways. Iowa is the cleaner shot-making offense and has a real late-clock creator in Bennett Stirtz. Clemson is more methodical, more defensive-minded, and usually a little more comfortable dragging games into a lower-possession

Northern Iowa draws one of the tougher first-round assignments on the board Friday night when the Panthers face St. John’s at Viejas Arena in San Diego. Tipoff is set for 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. Northern Iowa enters at 23-12 out of the Missouri Valley, while St. John’s brings a 28-6 record, a No. 10 AP ranking, and the kind of late-season momentum that usually gets bettors interested fast. The Red Storm have won 19 of their last 20 games, and they did not just survive the Big East Tournament. They controlled it. This matchup is interesting because the styles are not especially friendly to a runaway favorite. Northern Iowa is comfortable playing a slower, cleaner game, and the Panthers

UCF and UCLA meet Friday night in Philadelphia in one of the tighter first-round games on the board. Tipoff is set for 7:25 PM ET at Xfinity Mobile Arena on TBS, and the bracket gives this one real swing-game energy. UCF arrives as the No. 10 seed out of the Big 12 at 21-11, while UCLA is the No. 7 seed at 23-11 after a strong close to Big Ten play. The Bruins are favored by 5.5, which feels like respect for their late-season form more than blind trust in the seed line. There is a lot going on in this matchup. UCF has already beaten quality teams this year and has enough scoring punch to make a favorite uncomfortable,

The Colorado Avalanche head to United Center on Friday night for an 8:30 PM ET matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks on ESPN+. Colorado comes in at 44-14-10 and still holds the top spot in the Central Division, but this is not exactly a team rolling right now. The Avalanche are just 1-3-1 over their last five games, and Wednesday’s 2-1 shootout loss to Dallas tightened the race at the top a bit more than they would like. Chicago, meanwhile, is 26-31-12 and still buried in the division standings, but the Blackhawks are playing better hockey lately. They have gone 3-1-1 in their last five and just knocked off Minnesota 2-1 on Thursday behind 28 saves from Spencer Knight. So even