March Madness 2023 viewer's guide: What to watch and what to skip on Sunday

The Sweet 16 will be rounded out on Sunday as the NCAA men's tournament finishes its round of 32 while the women’s tournament enters its second round of action.

Sunday's schedule is again backloaded but offers plenty of intrigue throughout the day. The women's tournament takes centerstage early in the day as juggernauts South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Iowa all tip off before 5 p.m. ET. Then the men's tournament will come into focus with five games in a six-hour window, including No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, which made history on Friday night in delivering the second upset of a No. 1 seed in the first round of the NCAA men's tournament. Have your remote at the ready.

Here's your full viewing guide for Sunday's action. All times Eastern.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Men's schedule

12:10 p.m. — No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 11 Pitt | CBS

2:40 p.m. — No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 6 Kentucky | CBS

5:15 p.m. — No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 7 Michigan State | CBS

Women's schedule

1 p.m. — No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 South Florida | ABC

3 p.m. — No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 10 Georgia | ABC

3:30 p.m. — No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Mississippi State | ESPN

5 p.m. — No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 South Dakota State | ESPN2

5:30 p.m. — No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 7 Arizona | ESPN

Must-see: Anytime Caitlin Clark is playing, it qualifies as must-see TV. Clark flirted with a triple-double Friday against Southeast Louisiana before finishing with 26 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in 29 minutes. She has four triple-doubles this season and 10 in her career.

Must-skip: South Carolina failed to cover the spread in its opening-round win over Norfolk State. Of course, that spread was a whopping 50.5 points. The Gamecocks didn't need to overexert, taking their foot off the pedal and playing 14 players in a 70-42 win. They're favored by 25.5 points in their second-round matchup against No. 8 South Florida, which won an OT thriller over Marquette. South Florida and South Carolina both excel on the boards, ranking top four in total rebounding rate. Expect a fresh South Carolina team to run the Bulls out of the gym and book the first ticket to the women's Sweet 16.

Most likely potential upset: Much has been made of Notre Dame's injury woes and with good reason. The Irish lost key role player Dara Mabrey to a season-ending knee injury in January, then it was announced Thursday that star guard Olivia Miles (14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists per game) would miss the duration of the tournament. Neither injury impeded the Irish in a first-round blowout win over tourney newcomer Southern Utah, but the competition steps up considerably from here. Notre Dame is favored by 6 over a Mississippi State team that throttled No. 6 Creighton, 81-66, in the opening round after winning its First Four matchup against Illinois. The Bulldogs are just 39th in NET rankings but have played against elite competition in the SEC and Jessika Carter can take over a game when needed.

Player to watch: Oscar Tshiebwe has struggled at times this season finding a rhythm offensively but he impacts the game many ways. He had a remarkable 25 rebounds on Friday – 11 on the offensive glass — in Kentucky's 61-53 win over Providence. He's had seven games this season where he's recorded at least three steals. Facing another small-ish team in Kansas State on Sunday, the 2022 national player of the year should eat up the boards in what could be a crucial game for his coach.

SUNDAY EVENING

Men's schedule

6:10 p.m. — No. 4 UConn vs. No. 5 Saint Mary's | TNT

7:10 p.m. — No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 6 Creighton | TBS

7:45 p.m. — No. 9 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 16 FDU | truTV

8:40 p.m. — No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Miami (Fla.) | TNT

9:40 p.m. — No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 TCU | TBS

Evening women's schedule

7 p.m. — No. 2 Utah vs. No. 10 Princeton | 7 p.m. | ESPN2

7:30 p.m. — No. 3 LSU vs. No. 6 Michigan | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN

9:30 p.m. — No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 Ole Miss | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

Must-see: Look, we're not saying this game doesn't have the potential to get ugly, but when a No. 16 seed knocks off a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's tournament for the second time in history, you should probably be following along. After ousting top-seeded Purdue on Friday, Fairleigh Dickinson continues its march through madness against No. 9 Florida Atlantic. The Owls escaped a first-round tilt with No. 8 Memphis in controversial fashion, but the C-USA champs aren't here by mistake. They're now 32-3 on the season and boast a 13 NET ranking. Fairleigh Dickinson is a 14.5-point underdog.

Must-skip: The Hoosiers limped into the NCAA tournament having lost four of their last eight and didn't exactly blow the doors off in a first-round win over Kent State. The Hurricanes needed a rally in the final minutes to overcome an eight-point deficit in an unconvincing win over No. 12 Drake. One of these teams will be in the Sweet 16. But there are better ways to spend your Sunday night.

Most likely potential upset: UConn has been a bit of an analytics darling this season, but the Huskies weren't great against top-tier competition (7-6 against Quad 1 teams). Admittedly, the Gaels have had their own struggles against teams like Houston and Gonzaga, but they also have a top-five scoring defense that could muck this one up. The Huskies are favored by 3.5 points.

Player to watch: Angel Reese is a living, breathing 20-20 threat every time she's on the court. The Tigers will go as far as their 6-foot-3 star takes them, and that figures to be pretty far. The Wolverines are outside of the top 50 in rebound rate and haven't faced a big approaching Reese's talent this season, which means she should have a pleasant day at the office on Sunday.

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