Community Picks: Butler 0% vs Virginia 0%

After a first round that featured 13 lesser-seeded teams winning including a record eight with seeds of 11 or worse, the second round has a tough act to follow. Here's a look at some of the biggest storylines heading into Saturday's action: 1. Which No. 1 seed is in the most jeopardy of a second-round knockout? Of the three No. 1 seeds in action on Saturday, Virginia may have both the most to lose and the most dangerous matchup. The Cavaliers face a Butler team with an efficient offense, a level of comfort playing at a methodical pace and a history of pulling seismic upsets. A loss Saturday would be devastating for Virginia because the Cavaliers have a golden opportunity with March nemesis Michigan State no longer a Midwest Region road block. Now a Final Four berth is Virginia's to lose, and seldom has the Cavaliers program ever been able to say that. Neither of the other two No. 1 seeds have free paths to the Sweet 16 though. Providence will test North Carolina by repeatedly putting its big men in ball screens and UConn inevitably seems to rise to the occasion in March. The Huskies are 17-2 in the NCAA tournament since 2009. 2. Will fatigue impact Wichita State? If you're curious what govern the NCAA tournament, Wichita State's tip-off time on Saturday should answer that question. CBS has decreed that the Shockers will play Miami in the earliest game even though that puts Wichita State at a disadvantage after already playing in the First Four on Tuesday night and in the first round on Thursday night. "Miami got a little bit more rest than we did," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "I would obviously prefer the game to be a little later. We've played 9:10, 9:20, and now we bump it up to the first game of the day, noon tomorrow. But again, they didn't ask me. They didn't really care for my opinion." CBS/Turner typically selects a regional with two fairly compelling matchups for the early time slots in the second round because there are no other games going on at the same time. Why the networks chose the Providence Regional is anyone's guess, however, both Wichita State-Miami and Duke-Yale are fun matchups. How concerned with fatigue is Marshall? Enough that Wichita State spent Friday resting and doing mostly film work. "We'll have to practice a little bit, do some walk-through," Marshall said. 'Very light for the guys that played a lot of minutes yesterday in practice. But there will be some guys that get up and down a little bit just to try to keep their conditioning because who knows when some guy who hadn't been playing much will be called on and need to execute for us." Continue to Article

March 19, 2016 6:21:am EST

Indiana and Kentucky haven't met since 2012 because of a disagreement over where they should play. Leave it to the NCAA to fix that issue, even if the timing doesn't feel quite right. Kentucky tied for the SEC regular-season crown and beat Texas A&M for the tournament title but was slotted one line below the Aggies, much to coach John Calipari's chagrin. Continue to Article

March 19, 2016 2:35:am EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Butler says it has partnered with Be The Match, which operates the national bone marrow registry, in honor of late player Andrew Smith. Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 9:06:pm EST

Butler's bulldog mascot ''Butler Blue III'' can't attend his team's NCAA Tournament games this week in North Carolina due to NCAA rules. The mascot, nicknamed ''Trip,'' is making appearances at Butler fan events surrounding the games in Raleigh - including one at a tailgating event outside of PNC Arena - and visiting prospective students in the area ahead of Saturday's second-round matchup against No. 1 seed Virginia in the Midwest Region. ''I'm telling you, he's not like a normal bulldog,'' said Michael Kaltenmark, Trip's handler and school director of external relations. Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 5:06:pm EST

The Cavaliers want Virginia coach Tony Bennett to keep himself hydrated. Butler wants to make him sweat. The top-seeded Cavaliers (27-7) expect a challenge from ninth-seeded Bulldogs (22-10) on Saturday night in the second round of the Midwest Regional. Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 3:50:pm EST