NCAA Tournament: Let the games begin — in earnest

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Sports

March 21, 2019 - 10:19 AM

Villanova Head Coach Jay Wright raises his arms during the first-half against Seton Hall at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 27. YONG KIM

Reigning national champion Villanova will be in action along with Michigan, the runner-up from a year ago, while Belmont and Murray State open the NCAA Tournament as trendy upset picks.

There’s Kansas and Michigan State to provide some blue-blood flavor, and Murray State’s Ja Morant and Marquette counterpart Markus Howard some star power. There’s the big-name coaches such as Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and the under-appreciated in Wofford’s Mike Young.

What more could you want on the first real day of the dance?

Other than Zion Williamson, of course. Duke doesn’t get started until Friday.

But there is still plenty of intrigue as the first round gets going Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, with a matchup in the East Region between seventh-seeded Louisville and No. 10 seed Minnesota — the school coached by Richard Pitino , the son of disgraced Cardinals coach Rick Pitino.

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