A look at the key March Madness 2025 games to watch on Friday:
(9) Baylor vs. (8) Mississippi St.
12:15 p.m., CBS
Take a half day at work and get the weekend started early with 12 hours of Madness. St. John’s fans unfortunately are familiar with Baylor, having lost a wild, 99-98 thriller in 2OT back in November. The two teams have gone in opposite directions since then, however, as Baylor enters having won consecutive games just once since late January.
(12) Colorado State vs. (5) Memphis
2 p.m., TBS
We already saw one 12-over-5 upset Thursday with McNeese holding on against Clemson; could there be an encore? Despite the difference in seed, Colorado State is actually favored over Memphis, which will be without star guard Tyrese Hunter (left foot injury).
(11) North Carolina vs. (6) Mississippi
4:05 p.m., TNT
The decision to include North Carolina in the field wasn’t vindicated by their blowout over San Diego State in the First Four, but the Tar Heels can send another strong message by winning again. They certainly have history on their side as one of the sport’s most storied programs going up against an Ole Miss squad that hasn’t reached the second round since 2013.
(10) New Mexico vs. (7) Marquette
7:25 p.m., TBS
New Mexico coach Richard Pitino didn’t have to look hard for help scouting Marquette. His father, Rick, immediately texted him a scouting report after the bracket was revealed. No doubt near the top of the list was slowing Kam Jones, Marquette’s star guard who scores 19.3 points a game.
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(9) Oklahoma vs. (8) Connecticut
9:25 p.m., TNT
It’s been all-or-nothing for Dan Hurley in the NCAA Tournament at UConn, twice losing in the first round and, most recently, winning back-to-back championships. His counterpart Friday has some experience cutting down nets as well — Oklahoma coach Porter Moser famously led Loyola Chicago to the Final Four in 2018. He’s finally dancing for the first time with the Sooners and has a star guard to be afraid of in Jeremiah Fears.
(11) Xavier vs. (6) Illinois
9:45 p.m., CBS
There may not be a team in the field more inconsistent than Illinois, which one minute looks like a Final Four contender and the next is getting blown out by 20-plus points. They’ll need their A game against Xavier coach Sean Miller, who is coming off a First Four victory over Texas and has eight career Sweet 16 appearances.
