Friday's March Madness and Sports Betting Rundown

It's the first day of spring. VCU basketball nearly pulls the upset of UCLA. Stevie Vincent goes 3-1 with NCAAB Level 5 plays.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Louisville and Pittsburgh hit the floor as the NCAA Tournament finishes up its first-round matchups with 16 games on Friday.

The search for Cinderella . . .

The second half of the Round of 64 gets underway in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, with top-overall seed Louisville getting its first taste of the action. The Cardinals will tip off against Morehead State, which came out on top in the Play-In Game against Alabama State on Tuesday. The oddsmakers don't see Louisville having much trouble in this contest, as they're listed as 21-point faves.

The other 14 teams in the Midwest quarter of the bracket also begin their tournament on Friday, with No. 14 North Dakota State vs. No. 3 Kansas (-10), No. 11 Dayton vs. No. 6 West Virginia (-9), No. 12 Arizona vs. No. 5 Utah (-1), No. 10 USC (-2.5) vs. No. 7 Boston College, No. 13 Cleveland State vs. No. 4 Wake Forest (-8), No. 9 Siena vs. No. 8 Ohio State (-3), and No. 15 Robert Morris vs. No. 2 Michigan State (-17). The Spartans earned the No. 2 seed despite stumbling in the Big Ten tournament, where they lost 82-70 to Ohio State.

The top seed in the East Region, Pittsburgh, hits the floor on Friday in a game against No. 16 East Tennessee State. The Panthers are pegged as 20-point favorites. The other three East games: No. 9 Tennessee (-2) vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Portland State vs. No. 4 Xavier (-10.5), and No. 12 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Florida State (-2.5). The Seminoles fell to Duke in the ACC championship.

Finally, the West and South offer up just two games apiece on Friday. In the West it'll be No. 11 Utah State vs. No. 6 Marquette (-4.5) and No. 14 Cornell vs. No. 3 Missouri (-12.5). Down in the South it'll be No. 14 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 3 Syracuse (-11.5) and No. 11 Temple vs. No. 6 Arizona State. (-5.5). The Sun Devils were upset by Southern Cal in the Pac-10 title game on the weekend.

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Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The NBA offers up 11 games on Friday night, including Boston on the road in San Antonio. The Celtics and Spurs last met back on February 8, when San Antonio came away with a 105-99 road victory as a 6.5-point underdog. The injury-ravaged Celtics knocked off Miami 112-108 on Wednesday, and hope to have Kevin Garnett back in the lineup on Friday. The Spurs are also coming off a victory - they got past Minnesota 93-86 Tuesday with 24 points from Tony Parker.

Also on the busy NBA slate for Friday: Charlotte at Toronto, Dallas at Indiana, Miami at New Jersey, Sacramento at New York, the Clippers at Detroit, Utah at Oklahoma City, Memphis at New Orleans, Minnesota at Houston, Philadelphia at Golden State, and Washington at Denver. The Nuggets got 35 points and five boards from Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday in a 111-109 win over Memphis.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Evgeni Malkin will be trying to add to his Hart Trophy resume on Friday night when his Penguins play host to the Kings. Malkin had two goals and three assists in Pittsburgh's 6-2 win over the Thrashers on Tuesday night, which pushed him past the 100-point mark on the year. The Kings lost 4-3 to Nashville on Monday.

There are six other games on the NHL's schedule for Friday night, including the Islanders at Carolina, Philadelphia at Buffalo, Minnesota at New Jersey, Detroit at Atlanta, Edmonton at Chicago, and St. Louis at Calgary. The Flames edged Dallas 2-1 in their meeting on Thursday, with Miikka Kiprusoff stopping 19 shots.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

The World Baseball Classic gets the day off on Friday before returning with semi-final matchups on the weekend at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Saturday's contest will have Venezuela taking on the loser of Thursday night's late game between Japan and Korea, while Sunday's contest will match Thursday's winner up against the United States. The WBC championship game will be on Monday.