Best bets for UConn-Furman, Miami-Missouri, UCLA-UCF and more from Friday's second round schedule
By Chip Patterson Mar 19, 2026 at 6:37 pm ET • 6 min read 
Getty Images By the end of the 2026 NCAA Tournament's first day, the field of 64 will be trimmed to 48 with the rest of the First Round set to play out on Friday. With 16 games across four sites coming from all four corners of the NCAA Tournament bracket, Friday's schedule gives fans an opportunity to bounce back after a tough start to their Bracket Games efforts or build on their Day 1 success.
For our purposes here in the Expert Picks corner, every day that there's an NCAA Tournament game is a chance to keep winning here in March. We examined the 16-game slate and identified our favorite half-dozen plays, including some confidence in the early-game efforts from a big underdog and an outlook for early offense from a heavy favorite.
The day as a whole gets started with Mark Pope and Kentucky on the center stage against Herb Sendek and Santa Clara in a game that's projected to be closer, before the schedule turns to a run of contests with eye-popping point spreads. Arizona, Virginia, Iowa State and Alabama are all favored by double-digits in games that tip off before 3:30 p.m. ET, then in the evening slate, you'll find Florida, UConn and Purdue all similarly staring down gaudy spreads.
But Thursday's First Round action showed us that these projections are not promised to hold true.
No. 16 Siena pushing No. 1 overall seed Duke to the brink should be a wake-up call to all those top seeds, and college basketball as a whole. We might be staring down a handful of games that oddsmakers and markets have determined to likely be blowouts, but just as the Saints (28.5-point underdogs at close) pushed the Blue Devils to the limit, there is a potential that any one of Friday's top seeds could be in trouble if they don't bring the right approach to the game.
Now let's take a look at some of our favorite picks for Friday's games, complemented by the straight and against-the-spread selections from the entire CBS Sports expert panel.
Ultimate 2026 NCAA Tournament cheat sheet: March Madness stats and facts before you lock in your bracket picks Matt Norlander
(8) Iowa vs. (9) Clemson
6:50 p.m. on TNT | March Madness Live
In an NCAA Tournament game expected to be close and low-scoring -- with implied totals in the mid-60s -- identifying the player most likely to deliver in key possessions is critical. Iowa leaves no doubt. The first, second and third options all run through Bennett Stirtz.
Clemson's typically stout defense has been vulnerable on the interior over the past month, which plays directly into Stirtz's strengths in the pick-and-roll. That not only provides a reliable source of offense but also a go-to option in late-game situations. Clemson's by-committee approach on offense -- further impacted by the injury to second-leading scorer Carter Welling -- may not be enough to keep pace.
Ben McCollum, who led Drake to an upset of Missouri as an No. 11 seed in last year's tournament, now has a chance to open his Iowa tenure with another trip to the second round. Pick: Iowa -2
Gary Parrish 
Matt Norlander 
Chip Patterson 
David Cobb 
Cameron Salerno 
Isaac Trotter IOWA -2 IOWA CLEMSON IOWA IOWA IOWA IOWA S/U IOWA CLEMSON IOWA IOWA DUKE DUKE(5) St. John's vs. (12) Northern Iowa
7:10 p.m. on CBS | March Madness Live
St. John's has a clear edge in talent, size and athleticism in this matchup. The question is whether that advantage justifies the point spread, especially considering Northern Iowa's profile and the cross-country trip to San Diego for the Johnnies.
Ben Jacobson is back in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time with Northern Iowa -- and for the first time since 2016 -- and his best teams have consistently featured a patient tempo and strong defense. This year's Panthers group is no different, packing the paint and limiting easy looks at the rim in both half-court sets and transition, forcing opponents to win from the perimeter.
St. John's excels in many areas, but outside shooting is not its primary strength. That puts added pressure on Zuby Ejiofor to take over as a go-to option. St. John's is still the pick to advance, but an upset scare against a difficult Missouri Valley matchup would not be surprising. Pick: Northern Iowa +10.5
Gary Parrish Matt Norlander Chip Patterson David Cobb Cameron Salerno Isaac Trotter ST. JOHN'S -10.5 ST. JOHN'S ST. JOHN'S ST. JOHN'S ST. JOHN'S ST. JOHN'S ST. JOHN'S S/U ST. JOHN'S ST. JOHN'S NORTHERN IOWA ST. JOHN'S NORTHERN IOWA NORTHERN IOWA (7) UCLA vs. (10) UCF
7:25 p.m. on TBS | March Madness Live
Mick Cronin's team might not have fared well outside of the Pacific Time Zone in Big Ten play, but we're still backing the Bruins as the better team in this first-round matchup in Philadelphia. Starters Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau are expected to make their return to the lineup for a UCLA team that won four of five to close the regular season and saw its offense level up with a late-season surge.
UCF had some really high-end wins that helped it make the field, but offensively, this team has gone ice cold since the start of March. The Bruins have a talent advantage and a form advantage, giving enough evidence to overlook those time zone-related struggles. Pick: UCLA -5.5
Gary Parrish Matt Norlander Chip Patterson David Cobb Cameron Salerno Isaac Trotter UCLA -5.5 UCF UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA S/U UCF UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCF(2) Purdue vs. (15) Queens
7:35 p.m. on truTV | March Madness Live
Queens rates as one of the least efficient defensive teams in the entire 2026 NCAA Tournament, and now we are asking that group to defend a Purdue team that just rolled through multiple top-10 defenses to win the Big Ten Tournament? The Boilermakers will to operate their offense with ease and jump all over Queens in front of a St. Louis crowd that will be leaning Missouri, yes, but should still have some heavy Purdue representation.
Getting to 94 points (the full game team total) with the backups in the game might be a little bit more difficult, but the Boilermakers' starters should be able to close to 50 on the scoreboard in the first 20 minutes of the game. Pick: Purdue 1H Team Total Over 46.5
Gary Parrish Matt Norlander Chip Patterson David Cobb Cameron Salerno Isaac Trotter PURDUE -23.5 PURDUE QUEENS PURDUE QUEENS PURDUE PURDUE S/U PURDUE PURDUE PURDUE PURDUE PURDUE PURDUE(2) UConn vs. (15) Furman
10 p.m. on TBS | March Madness Live
There's an argument that UConn's matchup against Furman presents as many challenges as whoever the Huskies might face in the second round. It's a scheme battle that could keep possessions low, giving Furman a chance to hang within the margin for the first 20 minutes. The Palladins also play with a slow, methodical offense like UConn and will be comfortable in the style of game, even if they face a massive talent and size gap.
And if the Huskies get handsy on defense during those long possessions and catch some early foul trouble, this game could get interesting very quickly. The gap, however, could be too much for Furman over 40 minutes, so we're only targeting an upset scare for the first half. Pick: Furman 1H +11.5
Gary Parrish Matt Norlander Chip Patterson David Cobb Cameron Salerno Isaac Trotter UCONN -18.5 UCONN UCONN FURMAN FURMAN UCONN UCONN S/U UCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN UCONN(7) Miami vs. (10) Missouri
10:10 p.m. on truTV | March Madness Live
One of Friday's most entertaining games will be the last one scheduled, but when tip-off finally arrives, you should get some buzz from a Mizzou-leaning crowd in St. Louis. Interestingly, that's where Miami has actually thrived this year, going 8-2 in true road games.
Malik Reneau and Mark Mitchell are must-see TV in this clash of all-conference lead forwards, but it's the experience and play-making of Miami guard Tre Donaldson that can be the X-factor in the late-game possessions to give Lucas his first NCAA Tournament victory as a head coach. Pick: Miami -130
Gary Parrish Matt Norlander Chip Patterson David Cobb Cameron Salerno Isaac Trotter MIAMI -1.5 MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI S/U MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI Join the Conversation comments 
