32 games in 36 hours. David vs. Goliath. Upsets. Buzzer beaters. The joy of victory. The agony of defeat. March Madness, days 1 and 2. The best two days in sports. And they're finally here.

Last year we didn't see a ton of upsets and watched as all four #1 seeds make the Final Four for the first time. What can we expect this year? Here are one man's thoughts:

Games that can't be missed (today)

LSU-Butler, 12:20pm. Butler's been in the top 25 all season, but their only games against top-ranked opponents were road games against Ohio State (a loss) and Xavier (a win). Today we'll get to see Butler on the big stage and find out just how good they are.

Purdue-Northern Iowa, 2:30pm. The Panthers of Northern Iowa have the size to hang with Purdue. I watched the Missouri Valley final between them and Illinois State and the Panthers looked impressive. If they play the way they are capable of and Purdue plays the way they played in the Big Ten Tournament, this one could be a classic.

UCLA-Virginia Commonwealth and Illinois-Western Kentucky, 9:50pm. Two reasons to stay up late on a school night. Western Kentucky went to the Sweet 16 last year and everyone's on the Virginia Commonwealth bandwagon. Both of these games are potential upset material.

Games that can't be missed (Friday)
Utah-Arizona, 7:10pm. The most anticipated first round game of the year. Arizona is the team that doesn't belong. Everyone wanted to see Saint Mary's in the field instead. And yet...they are favored to beat 5th-seeded Utah in this game. If both teams play the "we're being disrespected" card, this one is appointment television.

BC-USC, 7:20pm: Boston College beat Duke and North Carolina this season. They also lost to Harvard. USC went just 9-9 in the PAC-10. But they also lost at Oklahoma by just one point back in December, and won three straight to capture the PAC-10 Tournament. This one is one to watch for two reasons: we have no idea which Jekyll and Hyde team will show up but if both teams play like they can play, this one will be a good one.

Wake Forest-Cleveland State, 9:40pm. Wake Forest has Final Four potential, but they are very young (two juniors, two sophomores, and a freshman start). Cleveland State went to nationally-ranked Butler for the Horizon Tournament final and won on the Bulldogs' home floor. Plus they won at Syracuse back in December.

Game that many people will miss
Washington-Mississippi State, Thursday, 4:55pm. It's the annual Thursday game that isn't shown on the East Coast! I will never figure out why CBS schedules this lone game at this time period every year. Especially when they only do it on Thursday-there's no game during this window on Friday.

Player that could be this year's Stephan Curry
VCU's Eric Maynor. Maynor scored 30 or more points 6 times this season and had two games with 10 or more assists. Two years ago, Maynor led the Rams to a first-round upset of Duke. If there's one player that could put a team on his back and carry them into the Sweet 16, it's Maynor.

The "we don't deserve to be here" team that could go on a run
Last year it was Villanova, who squeaked in with a 12 seed and made the Sweet 16. This year it could be Arizona-the team that everyone wanted to see replaced with Saint Mary's. And yet Vegas has them favored in their first round game against Utah.

Best announcing news of the tournament
Billy Packer, who ruined more than one NCAA Tournament game for me in the last few years, no longer works for CBS. Clark Kellogg might not be the greatest color man in the history of televised sports, but at least he won't make you want to throw your remote control at the TV.

Best use of the Internet
CBS' live, streaming video of all of the games. Stuck at work? Don't want to cough up the 70 bucks for DirecTV's tournament package? The Internet has you covered.

Things that wouldn't surprise me
Arizona making the Sweet 16...two 13 seeds winning their first games (Cleveland State and Mississippi State...all of the 9 seeds, 10 seeds, and 12 seeds winning their first games...Boston College (who beat Duke and North Carolina this year) making a run to the Elite Eight...Boston College (who lost to Harvard) losing their first game...four Big East teams making the Final Four...Villanova making the Final Four instead of Pittsburgh...

Things that would shock me
Any of the #1 seeds losing before the Sweet 16...all of the #1 seeds making the Final Four (it can't happen two years in a row, right?)...

Best ball control in the field
Utah State's Jared Quayle has a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Tyler Newbold's ratio is an incredible 4.1-to-1. Plus as a team Utah State hits a whopping 40.2% of their 3-pointers. Marquette better watch out if Utah State keeps it close. And then Missouri better watch out.

Defensive battle (or ugliest game, depending on your point of view) of the first two days
Florida State-Wisconsin, Friday, 9:55pm. The Seminoles led the ACC in scoring defense (65.0) and field goal percentage defense (.386). Wisconsin ranked second in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing 59 points per game. First one to 60 wins?

Best name in the tournament
Radford center Artsiom Parakhouski. A 6-11 junior from Belarus, he gets to go toe-to-toe with all-world UNC center Tyler Hansbrough. Of course, the player with the best name in college basketball is already out of the tournament: Chief Kickingstallionsims, whose Alabama State Hornets lost in the opening round game on Tuesday. (Of course, if we had my Bubble Busters system in place, this injustice could be rectified.)

Day 1's best "Pod"
Portland, Oregon. If you're holding a ticket to the four games in Portland, you've got three potential upsets on tap. Northern Iowa could give Purdue a run for their money, Mississippi State-who just won the SEC tournament-could surprise Washington, and Western Kentucky-who made the Sweet 16 last year and beat Louisville this year-takes on Illinois. Throw in the chance to see Gonzaga with what could be a home crowd, and Portland's the place to be today.

Day 1's worst "Pod"
Greensboro, North Carolina. The day starts off with a good one-Butler and LSU. The third game could be OK, with Texas taking on Minnesota. And the thought of seeing both Duke and North Carolina in the same building on the same day sounds good. But here's what this situation reminds me of: In college, our intramural hoops team showed up and watched another team drop 100 points. Our goal when our game started was to one-up them crack the century mark ourselves (we missed by 1 point). That's what could happen today. After North Carolina wins by about 50 in the afternoon, Duke might try and top it. Both games are going to be over by halftime. Besides, half the stadium will be Duke fans and the other half will be UNC fans. It's going to make for a very strange atmosphere.

Day 2's best "Pod"
Miami, Florida. You've got Syracuse, who could win by 40 or play a nail-biter, to start the day. Then Arizona State vs. Temple features two of the nation's best shooting guards: State's James Harden and Temple's Dionte Christmas. Harden and Christmas have averaged a combined 40 points per game this season. Game 3 on the docket is the game of the first round: Utah-Arizona. Finally, the potentially exciting game between Wake Forest and Cleveland State.

Of all the stories, which school's is the best?
Hands down, it's North Dakota State. In their first year of Division I eligibility, the Bisons won the Summit Conference's automatic bid. With four seniors who spent the previous three years playing Division II basketball, now North Dakota State plays in the biggest college tournament of them all against Kansas, the defending national champs.

Which school is on the 5-year plan?
UCONN. They won it all five years ago. And five years before that. Both times they had been shipped out West and ended up in Arizona. If history repeats itself, UCONN (who head to Arizona if they win their first two games) could win it all again this year.

Games I'd like to see in the 2nd round
Louisville vs. Siena: The Saints grabbed a 9 seed out of the MAAC after a season in which they hung with Pittsburgh and Tennessee on the road before falling to both. If they get by Ohio State, I'd love to see them go toe-to-toe with Louisville on a neutral floor.

Northern Iowa vs. Mississippi State or Arizona vs. Cleveland State: We've had our share of 12 seed vs. 13 seed battles the last few years, and either one of these would be fun to watch.

Kansas vs. West Virginia: Both of these teams are talented enough to make a run. If the chalk holds, this is the best of the potential 2nd round games.

Sweet 16 games I'd like to see
Connecticut vs. Mississippi State: UCONN's Hasheem Thabeet got all of the press this season, and rightfully so. He averaged 4.6 blocks per game and had 142 for the season. But Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado actually had more blocks (165, 4.7 per game). It would be a treat to see these two go head-to-head.

North Carolina-Gonzaga: The Zags-once the darlings of the tournament as the little engine that could-have not made it out of the first round the last two years as a high seed. They have a 4 seed this year and also get to play close to home in Portland. If they win their first two games they'll face off with powerhouse North Carolina in a classic showdown.

Who do I like for the Final Four?
After scouring the 73 brackets I filled out, the Final Four I like the best is UCONN, Louisville, Duke, and Syracuse, with UCONN beating Syracuse in 7 OTs in the final. Let the madness begin...