The times for the 2011 NCAA Tournament third-round games at the Verizon Center on Saturday have been set, and both will happen at night. All the favorites (Pittsburgh, Butler, Connecticut and Cincinnati) advanced in the second-round on Thursday, and we now know when they will take their next steps in March Madness.
Here are the times for those two matchups:
7:10 p.m., TBS: No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. No. 8 Butler - Butler advanced past Old Dominion, 60-58, on a thrilling buzzer beater by Matt Howard. Pittsburgh struggled with UNC-Asheville, but eventually put the Bulldogs away, 74-51. Butler is not as big or as physical as Old Dominion, but its experience should prove to be valuable against a tough Pittsburgh team.
9:40 p.m., TBS: No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 6 Cincinnati: The Huskies had no issues with No. 14 seed Bucknell, winning 82-51, while Cincinnati got by No. 11 seed Missouri, 78-63. This sets up a Big East showdown in an earlier round than most expect. The Huskies defeated the Bearcats in Cincinnati, 67-59, back on February 27 in their only matchup of the season. Ironically, Kemba Walker very nearly went to Cincinnati instead of Connecticut.