Ken Davis

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun had some unexpected free time last week after his Huskies were knocked out of the Big East tournament early with that epic six-overtime loss to Syracuse in New York. Surprisingly, he says he didn’t watch much college hoops.

But before going to New York, Calhoun did tune in to watch the Southern Conference championship game on March 9.

“I did see Chattanooga and the College of Charleston,” Calhoun said Sunday. “[Charleston coach] Bobby Cremins is a very dear friend and I knew he had upset Davidson. So I looked in to see Bobby’s chances of getting back into the Big Dance.”

Calhoun was well versed in many things related to the Mocs when it was announced that the NCAA selection committee had paired the No. 1 Huskies with No. 16 Chattanooga in the first round of the West Region, a game that will be played Thursday in Philadelphia.

Calhoun knows UConn’s defense must find sharp shooter Stephen McDowell in the Mocs’ backcourt. Calhoun knows the Mocs got off to a rough start this season when senior forward Kevin Goffney couldn’t play because of injury.

“They’re a very athletic team,” Calhoun said.

The Huskies obviously will get a more detailed scouting report later in the week. But it always helps to know your opponent a little bit when those surprises appear on the bracket board.

The bracket can be overwhelming at first glance. Some of the names are familiar, but many aren’t. Connecting some automatic bid teams to their proper conference can be challenging. But we’re here to help.

Special feature Players to watch From Blake Griffin to Terrence Williams, here are 21 difference makers for the NCAA tournament. NBCSports.com

Here, in our opinion, are the top first-round games coming up this week. You might want to check them out:

No. 8 LSU vs. No. 9 Butler (Friday)
These might be some of the greatest 8 vs. 9 games ever and this one is at the top of the list.

Brad Stevens has done a remarkable job with a young Butler team. The only real bump in the road came in the Horizon tournament title game against Cleveland State. Butler is 26-5, led by Matt Howard and fully capable of eliminating LSU.

Coach Trent Johnson is another first-year coach who done a remarkable job. LSU won the SEC regular season outright but lost some momentum at the end of the year.

No. 7 Boston College vs. No. 10 USC (Friday)
We were really hoping the committee would match USC with a Big East team after Trojans coach Tim Floyd’s remark about the Big East getting so many bids that “there’s not that many spots left.”

Oh well, B.C. is a former Big East team. Once the Trojans got healthy, they really got their act together. Remember, B.C. beat North Carolina and Duke (almost got the Devils twice) during the ACC season.

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