Viewers guide: March to these games when you enter the Madness

Here's the best thing about March Madness on Demand: It's free.

Which doesn't mean everything that's free is great.

Marquette has a marquee player in Dominic James. (Getty Images)

That's not what I'm saying.

Take phonebooks, for instance. Phonebooks are free and they're not great. In fact, they're unnecessary in today's world because you can find numbers at whitepages.com or yellowpages.com or by pushing 411 on your Palm Treo. I mean, phone books are so 1990s. Like Boys II Men. And CDs. And Boys II Men CDs. So don't go thinking March Madness on Demand is worth your trouble just because it's free. Because that's not true. March Madness on Demand is worth your trouble because, well, because it'll save you a lot of trouble given how it allows you to watch any NCAA tournament game you want.

Did you get that? Any.

Game.

You.

Want.

Seriously, this might be the best thing to happen to college basketball fans since the NBA started forcing high school players to college, even if just for a season. Because if we've learned anything the past two seasons it's that the freshmen who should already be in the NBA are absolute delights to watch in college, and now you can watch them in college without worrying whether your local CBS affiliate is going to screw you out of the best possible game.

So that's my sales pitch.

(How'd I do, boss?)

And now that you know you can watch anything you want to watch, I'm going to take it upon myself to tell you what you ought to watch. Why? Because I know these types of things. How? Because I'm an expert. It says so right there on the page with all the brackets. But don't take my word for it, click this link and look. Up top, it says Expert Picks. And there I am, directly underneath those words. And that's pretty much what makes me an expert.

So sit back and let an expert guide you through the first two days of the NCAA tournament.

Every game is at your disposal via MMOD, as you know.

Now I'll tell you what to dispose and when.

And what to keep and why.

(Note: This is merely a rough outline. Obviously, when your favorite school plays you are allowed to watch it, and if a great ending develops you have permission to switch games. Otherwise, stick with me. Again, I'm the expert. Don't ever forget that.)

Thursday

Get the party started with Xavier-Georgia. (US Presswire)

12:20 ET: Xavier and Georgia tip-off the event, and this really is a brilliant way to start. The story of the past week, on the big stage again. But lost in the Georgia lovefest is this fact: All the Bulldogs really did in the SEC Tournament was beat four unranked teams in Ole Miss, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas. In case you didn't know, Xavier is not an unranked team. Thus, this could get ugly early. So be prepared to change at any moment.

1:15 ET: I suspect at this point Xavier will have a comfortable lead, having made Georgia look like the last place team in the SEC. If so, it's time to go to Temple-Michigan State, where Tom Izzo is trying to break a disturbing pattern. Do you realize that despite the Michigan State coach's undeniable success he has been bounced in the first round every other year for the past six years? He made the Final Four in 2001 and backed it with a first-round loss. He made the Elite Eight in 2003 and backed it with a first-round loss. He made the Final Four in 2005 and backed it with a first-round loss. He made the second round in 2007 and will back it with whatever comes next. We'll have to see. But if you're into trends, that's a trend. And it might be a reason to go with the Owls (though I'm still taking Izzo, just so you know).

2:30 ET: Kentucky-Marquette is a game between two pretty intense coaches, one who got the Kentucky job (Billy Gillispie) and another whose name (Tom Crean) was linked to the Kentucky job. Either way, the problem with the Kentucky job was that it didn't come with Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. Crean lucked-out in that regard. And though people have been talking about how well Kentucky has played since losing Patrick Patterson, the reality is that the Wildcats are just 2-2 since Patterson had surgery and 2-3 without him this season. That can't be a good sign, can it?

2:50 ET: You're gonna want to switch to the start of Purdue-Baylor, if only to see history. I mean, Baylor is back in the NCAA tournament less than five years after one player murdered another player, which led to all sorts of trouble (including the elimination of non-league games for a season and probation). Makes you wonder how Tommy Amaker could never make the NCAA tournament at Michigan in six years, but whatever.

Big Twins vs. Big Red -- it's all that's on. (US Presswire)

3:50 ET: This is when you should scan everything, see what's what because nothing that is going on is great on the surface. Pitt should be killing Oral Roberts while UNLV and Kent State are simply playing for the right to get smacked by Kansas. So if Purdue-Baylor is good, stick with it. If not, check out these other two games and see if they're any good. If not, go on a beer run.

5:00 ET: Stanford vs. Cornell is the Big Twins against the Big Red. I Just like the way that sounds. So watch this, because it's going to be the only thing on. And yeah, those Big Twins (Brook and Robin Lopez) are pretty good.

7:10 ET: This is easy. You need to be watching Kansas State-Southern California so you can see Michael Beasley vs. O.J. Mayo. The prediction here is that Tim Floyd will figure out a way to make this game tough to watch and the showdown of freshmen stars won't be what any of us want. But Floyd will win the game, and that's all he really wants.

Poll Which daytime Thursday game will you be sure to watch?   17%  Baylor Purdue     12%  Georgia Xavier     5%  UNLV Kent State     4%  Cornell Stanford     34%  Kentucky Marquette     7%  Kansas Portland State     13%  Temple Michigan State     7%  Pittsburgh Oral Roberts     Total Votes: 5134

7:25 ET: Texas A&M vs. BYU is fine. If you're bored with Floyd's defensive gameplan, take a look at DeAndre Jordan against Trent Plaisted, a battle of two big men -- neither of whom is as good as the big man he will face in the second round if he wins (namely, UCLA's Kevin Love). Meantime, Washington State and Winthrop will be playing. But the only way you're interested in that is if you're a Washington State or Winthrop fan. Otherwise, just stick with Beasley-Mayo.

9:40 ET: The best option is West Virginia-Arizona because three dynamic scorers will be on the court: Jerryd Bayless, Chase Budinger and Joe Alexander. This might be the most interesting first-round game outside of Beasley-Mayo, though it's difficult not to notice the two teams combined to lose 17 league games this season.

10:30 ET: It's probably not a bad idea to check on Notre Dame-George Mason, just to see whether the Patriots are on their way to another Final Four or if Luke Harangody is on his way to another double-double. My guess: Harangody will be on his way to another double-double and George Mason will be on its way home. Still, take a look. I've been wrong about these Patriots before, like two years ago if I remember correctly.

10:45 ET: This is 50 minutes after tip-off of UCLA-Mississippi Valley State, and the Bruins should be winning 39-6. In other words, there's no reason to even bother with this game, unless you're willing to accept the UCLA cheerleaders as a reason. You ever seen them? Wow! Definitely worth a look.

12:15 ET: Go to sleep, if you can. Dream of UCLA cheerleaders. You've got another long day ahead of you. Tip-off is in 12 hours.

Friday

12:15 ET: Tennessee vs. American gets the day started, and don't let any public comments from the Tennessee camp confuse you. Yes, they are indeed pissed that they dropped to a No. 2 seed in North Carolina's region despite having the No. 1 RPI and No. 1 Strength of Schedule in the nation. So the plan is for the Vols to pretend American is the selection committee, and take it all out on those poor souls.

12:25 ET: Assuming the Vols are ahead 11-1, it's time to switch. On tap are three games featuring great players who might not've been on TV enough for you to see them -- Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee, Davidson's Stephen Curry and Saint Mary's Patrick Mills. Lee is playing Drake, Curry is playing Gonzaga and Mills is playing Miami. All three are worth a look. All three are capable of getting 25 to 30.

If you haven't seen Stephen Curry yet, now's the time. (AP)

2:45 ET: It's a shame Butler and South Alabama were paired against each other in the first round because both are non-BCS programs that could easily advance to the Sweet 16. Now, only one of them has a chance. And you know how I feel about that.

3:00 ET: San Diego beat Gonzaga this season. Gonzaga beat Connecticut this season. So can San Diego beat Connecticut in this NCAA tournament? I doubt it. But it doesn't seem crazy when framed like that.

5:10 ET: At this point, all the games should be over with no more starting for two hours. This is when you should talk to your wife. Make her think you still care about her, then get settled in for the round of night games.

7:10 ET: Mount Saint Mary's beat Coppin State in the opening round game, which is really just a fancy name for the we-don't-think-you're-good-enough-to-be-in-the-actual-field game. It was a nice win for Mount Saint Mary's. I'm sure the players were happy. But there's going to come a time in the first half of this game against North Carolina when they wonder whether it was worth it, and it'll probably come on a Ty Lawson-led fast break that results in a Danny Green dunk. Watch this for a minute, but not much longer. It's going to get ugly fast, like Dayton's season.

7:20 ET: Siena over Vanderbilt seems to be the sexy pick of an example where a No. 13 seed can beat a No. 4 seed. This is based on Siena's win over Stanford. That's all anybody remembers. Me? I remember Siena losing to Memphis by 44. So you be sexy and I'll take Vandy.

Enjoy it while you can, Mount St. Mary's, UNC's next. (AP)

7:25: This Mississippi State-Oregon game will be on for the next two hours. If it's good, great. But even if it's not, you owe it to yourself to watch Jarvis Vanardo block shots for a few minutes. You've probably never seen him. But you'll know him when you see him because he'll be the guy blocking shots.

9:40 ET: Indiana vs. Arkansas is a solid first-round matchup, and it seems everybody is convinced the Hoosiers are seeded too low as a No. 8 while I haven't really heard much about the Hogs' No. 9 seed. You want an explanation? Perhaps the Hoosiers are a No. 8 because despite all that talent they only beat three legitimate NCAA tournament teams (Michigan State, Purdue and Kentucky) all season. Arkansas beat four (Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Baylor), and they beat one of them (Vanderbilt) twice. So maybe the Hogs are the ones who should feel slighted.

9:50 ET: My advice is to stick with Indiana-Arkansas because I'm convinced Eric Gordon is about to turn into Eric Gordon and go for 30. But if you must change, Villanova-Clemson is starting and it could be really good. Clemson is better in the frontcourt; Villanova is better in the backcourt. That said, don't be fooled by all the Villanova-was-the-last-team-in-the-field talk. That appears to be true. But I don't think the Wildcats are the worst at-large team in the field, and this is not a good 12-5 draw for Clemson, not really a reward for playing well in the ACC Tournament.

10:50 ET: At this point you should just go with best game available. Boise State-Louisville and UT-Arlington-Memphis will be going on, but there's little chance of those falling into the category of "best game" available. So we're probably choosing between Indiana-Arkansas and Villanova-Clemson, and given how you will have already been through two full days of March Madness on Demand you are likely to have the hang of it by now. So I'll let you pick. I can't help you forever. Teach a man to fish and all that.