It is officially Christmas Eve everyone! The greatest two days of the American sports calendar will soon be upon us. There are countless number of NCAA tournament preview articles written in the days leading up to the NCAA tournament (and I read most of them every year), but I have never seen anyone actually create an intrigue ranking of all the games from first to worst similar to what many analysts do during bowl season. Thus, I am hear to fill that void by publishing this list now for the third consecutive year. The main factors considered were: the possibility of an upset, likelihood of a close game, and the existence of other story lines that enhance the appeal of a particular game. After these games are completed, I will create a second list and post it on the blog which ranks each of these games after they are played. It will be interesting to compare how the pregame rankings compare to the postgame rankings. I hope you enjoy readying this list, but I hope you enjoy watching the games this weekend even more. Merry Christmas everyone!

1	(3) Texas Tech vs. (14) UNCW (Th- 10:10)- TruTV (246)- I’ve got to give my hometown Seahawks, who are making their first tourney trip in 8 years, the top spot here.
2	(3) Kentucky vs. (14) Troy (Fri- 7:10)- CBS (5)- Mark Pope has never won an NCAA tourney game and Kentucky hasn’t won one this decade without me in attendance. Both of those droughts will be on the line in what will be a difficulty test for the banged up Wildcats.
3	(5) Michigan vs. (12) UC San Diego (Th- 10:00)- TBS (247)- If you haven’t seen the Tritons play this season, tune in to this one late night on Thursday. You’re in for a treat. This game has upset special written all over it.
4	(6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake (Th- 7:35)- TruTV (246)- The Bulldogs of Drake join the aforementioned Tritons of UCSD as the other great mid-major Cinderella story that is most likely to win a first round game. This team’s core is made up of Division II transfers!
5	(4) Purdue vs. (13) High Point (Th- 12:40)- TruTV (246)– A trendy upset pick that could very well hit.
6	(4) Arizona vs. (13) Akron (Fri- 7:35)- Tru TV (246)- The Zips know how to win games and in March, Arizona knows how to lose them. Watch out for another big upset here.
7	(5) Oregon vs. (12) Liberty (Fri- 10:10)- TruTV (246)- The Flames are quite talented and should make this one very entertaining.
8	(6) BYU vs. (11) VCU (Th- 4:05)- TNT (245)- A great 6/11 battle between two teams with contrasting styles that could go either way.
9	(5) Clemson vs. (12) McNeese State (Th- 3:15)- TruTV (246)– Will Wade matches up with his alma mater in what may be his last game before taking a Power 5 job somewhere.
10	(7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas (Th- 7:10)- CBS (5)– Two hall of fames coaches with under-achieving, yet extremely talented teams. This is about as good as it gets for a 7/10 game.
11	(4) Maryland vs. (13) Grand Canyon (Fri- 4:35)- TBS (247)– Bryce Drew’s crew pulled a first round upset last year and are more than capable of doing the same in 2025.
12	(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Montana (Th- 1:30)- TNT (245)- The Grizzlies are one of the top offensive teams in the country, and while I don’t think they will pull off the upset here, this game will be fun to watch.
13	(5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State (Fri- 2:00)- TBS (247)- You always have to tune in for the rare instances where the 12 seed is favored over the 5.
14	(8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton (Th- 12:15)- CBS (5)- Both of these teams were underseeded which is why this is one of the most enticing 8/9 games we have seen in years. What a great way to kickoff the tourney.
15	(4) Texas A & M vs. (13) Yale (Th- 7:25)- CBS (5)- See comment above about in my # 11 entry. Yale is the other team who pulled off a big first round upset last year and here they are again matched up against another SEC team that is talented but inconsistent.
16	(2) Tennessee vs. (15) Wofford (Th- 6:50)- TNT (245)– I think the Terriers are capable of shocking the world here and knocking off the Vols, who always seem to underachieve in this tournament.
17	(8) Gonzaga vs. (9) Georgia (Th- 4:35)- TBS (247)- Another better than normal 8/9 game featuring an 8 seed who is a perennial power and a 9 seed who ended the season playing really good basketball.
18	(2) St John’s vs. (15) Omaha (Th- 9:45)- CBS (5)– This game might not be great but it is ranked relatively because this is a matchup between two of the better stories in the tournament. Rick Pitino enters the weekend as the only person to take 6 different schools to the Big Dance, and this may be his last real shot at a national title. Meanwhile, Omaha’s trash can celebrations are epic.
19	(6) Ole Miss vs. (11) North Carolina (Fri- 4:05)- TNT (245)- Can the Heels be that team no one thinks should have gotten in the Big Dance that goes on to make a deep tourney run? They’ll likely be favored in this one following their epic blowout win in the First Four.
20	(7) Marquette vs. (10) New Mexico (Fri- 7:25)- TBS (247)- Can Richard Pitino’s Lobos finally get an NCAA tourney win? The will have a good chance at it when they matchup here against a slumping Marquette team.
21	(6) Illinois vs. (11) Texas/Xavier (Fri- 9:45)- CBS (5)- No matter who ends up playing the Fighting Illini, this should be really good game.
22	(7) Saint Mary’s vs. (10) Vanderbilt (Fri- 3:15)- TruTV (246)– A really cool power 5 vs. mid-major matchup where the mid-major has a slight edge.
23	(3) Iowa State vs. (14) Lipscomb (Fri- 1:30)- TNT (245)- The Cyclones have been upset before and the Bisons (yes I know the “s” shouldn’t be there but that’s what they call themselves) are capable of winning this one if they get hot from deep.
24	(1) Houston vs. (16) SIU-Edwardsville (Th- 2:00)- TBS (247)- This will probably be the closes 1 vs. 16 matchup and also the one with the best Cinderella storyline from the 16 seed. Read about SIU-Edwardsville’s special scissor here, as they enter their First Dance in school history.
25	(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Bryant (Fri- 10:00)- TBS (247)– The Bulldogs of Bryant looked really good in their conference title game victory over Maine, and Michigan State isn’t the most offensively adept team around. This has the makings of a legitimate scare.
26	(8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Baylor (Fri- 12:15)- CBS (5)- This may not be the most entertaining game, as it features two teams who play relatively “dull” basketball, but it should be quite close
27	(2) Alabama vs. (15) Robert Morris (Fri- 12:40)– TruTV (246)- Tune in to see if star forward Grant Nelson plays in this one, and if so, how he looks after the leg injury he sustained in the SEC tournament. Also, if the Tide play sloppy and get cold from deep, the Colonials could stick around in this one.
28	(8) UConn vs. (3) Oklahoma (Fri- 9:25)- TNT (245)– You got to watch to see if the Huskies can keep their 12 game NCAA tournament streak going.
29	(7) UCLA vs. (10) Utah State (Th- 9:25)- TNT (245)– Even though, these teams are seeded very close to one another, I expect this game to be dull and for the Bruins to win relatively easily.
30	(1) Duke vs. (16) American/Mt. St. Mary’s (Fri- 2:50)- CBS (5)- The only reason to watch this one is to see if and how Duke star Cooper Flagg plays after the ankle injury he sustained in the ACC tournament.
31	(1) Auburn vs. (16) Alabama State (Th- 2:50)- CBS (5)- The Hornets one an absolute thriller on two night over St. Francis. I can guarantee you this one will not be a thriller.
32	(1) Florida vs. (16) Norfolk State (Fri – 6:50)- TNT (245)- I can’t think of one reason to watch this game unless you are an alum of either school, especially with three other good tourney games going on at the same time (#’s 2, 6, and 20 on this list).