Every UK fan's guide to Thursday's NCAA Tournament action

Early in the last college football season Cats Illustrated produced regular previews of the next week's action outside of Kentucky's own game.

That's the idea here.

While it goes without saying that, if you're reading this, you'll be locked and loaded around 7:10 p.m. when the Cats tip off, here's what you should watch for in all the other games - from a Kentucky-centric view.

- Check the full schedule of games in the chart at the bottom of this page.

- LSU, Florida State and Auburn all tip off between 12:40-1:30 PM (EST) against Yale, Vermont and NMSU respectively. While the two Tigers from the SEC and Seminoles are all widely believed to be capable of making noise in the tournament, though each has their questions and hurdles, here's what's just different about March: None are favored by more than nine points. It is statistically likely, based on how real outcomes correlate to Vegas odds, that one of those teams have their season end tomorrow.

- How will LSU fare without Will Wade? The only team to defeat Kentucky in Rupp Arena this year was knocked out of the SEC Tournament by Florida in a very close game. Minus Wade there in Nashville, in spite of the loss there were no signs that the Tigers are imploding. The talent is still through the roof and Tremont Waters is one of the best guards in the entire tournament. If LSU survives a dangerous 14-seeded Yale, that could be a launching pad that ultimately leads to games against Michigan State and/or Duke. So there's significant risk if you're picking LSU to go a long way, given the circumstances, but does anyone really want to play these Bayou Bengals playing at their peak potential?

- Auburn is only a 5.5-point favorite against New Mexico State after winning the SEC Tournament. Five seeds have a notorious history against 12 seeds - those games seem like true 50-50 tossups most years. If the Tigers survive it could set up a fun game against Kansas with the winner expected to draw North Carolina unless the Tar Heels slip up.

- While Maryland is favored against Belmont, the latter may be an attractive pick to advance to the Round of 32 after playing well in a win against Temple in a play-in game, and because the Terps' Mark Turgeon doesn't have the best NCAA Tournament resume.

- Kentucky fans are familiar with Murray State and Ja Morant by proximity and because of his nationally recognized high-flying highlight reel plays. While the Racers have seemed to be a trendy pick to win a 5-12 game against Marquette, the Golden Eagles are -3.5 point favorites. The winner of that game faces the winner of Florida State's game against Vermont.

- The most immediately significant game as far as Kentucky is concerned, besides the UK-ACU game, is between Seton Hall and Wofford in one of the late slots (9:40 PM EST). Wofford, which is 29-4, is a 2.5-point favorite to handle the Pirates, who of course defeated Kentucky in a neutral site overtime game earlier this season before UK really started to get things cranked up.

It's a big day for the SEC ...

Lets not overstate the importance of Thursday and even this year's tournament for the basketball reputation of the Southeastern Conference. Sure, a bunch of early flame outs would cause the league to take a brief black eye. But anyone paying attention to recent tournament results, the way the league is recruiting, the slate of coaches in the conference and how the regular season went - including getting seven teams into the tournament, second-best of any league - knows that the league and even its reputation are light years better than it was not long ago. A few losses won't change that.

But another strong tournament would continue its forward momentum.

LSU and Auburn are two high-upside picks, the former because of its talent and roster balance and the latter because of how it finished the year, to advance and cause problems for name opponents. But escaping the first game is sometimes dicey and both teams, as mentioned, carry some bust potential. Auburn has only looked okay with Austin Wiley on the court and without him they lack size. They can also be a streaky shooting team and before their latest run the Tigers were floundering. LSU's issues are well-known.

Kentucky losing would be an historic upset regardless of PJ Washington's game status and minutes played as the Wildcats are 22-point favorites. If all three of these SEC teams survive, the league could be poised to make a lot of noise.

As for the Gators, in spite of their big win against LSU in Nashville they are slight underdogs against Nevada. The winner of that game draws Michigan.

If you need a break ...

As usual, there will be a break in the action. If you're hoping to find a TV (or several) and watch all day, you might still have errands, family responsibilities or life in general to attend to. Either take care of it before the noon games or you might have a half-hour break between the conclusion of the Marquette-Murray State game and the start of the evening contests.

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