The first round of the NCAA tournament is done and dusted. Next comes a weekend of regionals, with second round action kicking off Thursday and Friday, followed by the third round Sunday or Monday. With the margins that much tighter, this is where the unexpected upsets and drama fueled storylines break through the initial tournament buzz. Below are the marquee matchups, some under the radar show downs, and a hot take or two.

Marquee Matchups

If your night only has room for one women’s soccer game, make it the 5:00pm ET No. 6 Texas Tech versus UNC showdown. The University of North Carolina is unranked, vulnerable, and defending their title from last year. Texas Tech is a perennial tournament team without a lot to show for it. No matter what the Tar Heels record is, everyone in women’s college soccer wants to beat UNC every year. It makes a statement. Both teams have scored more than twice the number of goals than their opponents. UNC averages 15.9 shots a game, Texas Tech averages 17.4. The game will have goals, probably lots of them.

Likewise, on Friday tune in to the 7:00pm ET no.5 BYU versus no.4 UCLA matchup. UCLA is a stingy team when it comes to giving up goals. BYU tends to score slightly more than they concede. This probably isn’t a game that BYU can slug out by managing to find just one more goal. However, the Cougars have a history of making magic happen at the tournament. A slow start, an early goal–an early response to that goal…any one of those things would be enough to flip the calculus and change the odds. Every match up in the NCAA is winner takes all, but this one feels the closest to an actual showdown, where every single movement has to be countered by two tournament heavyweights. The tension is high…and the game could still be a blowout either way.

Under the Radar

No.3 Kansas versus no.6 seed Louisville at 4:00 pm ET on Thursday has all the makings of a classic without the seeding of one. Louisville needed penalty kicks to vanquish Kentucky, who scored early in the second half to force the Cardinals to rally. Kansas is riding the high of an incredible season where there have been no easy results. Neither are tournament power houses–that’s the reason to tune in. Both teams have made it this far by tuning out the noise and playing their game, even when the score is against them. That signature identity and style makes this an under the radar much watch.

Hot Takes

Does Lipscomb continue their dream run against Florida St? Probably not. Should it be a hot take to say that UNC gets past no.6 Texas Tech? That’s lukewarm at best. The hottest take possible with the current bracket might be that 8-seed Clemson knocks off 1-seed Vanderbilt. Yes, it’s true that Clemson has yet to knock off a ranked opponent this season. And yes, Vanderbilt looked dominant in their first round match up.

But, with only one shock win in the first round, the NCAA tournament has a lot to give in the second round, with the margins even closer. It’s true that Clemson has struggled against ranked opponents. The Tigers have not performed at their ceiling or even been consistent for most of the season. But that sets the stage for playing with an underdog mentality and house money. Winning is hard. The Commodores are expected to waltz out of the second round with a dominant performance. Clemson just has to show up and play. If the Tigers can play with that freedom, it just might be enough to flip the narrative and have all the pieces come together just in time.

A final hot take: three of the four seven seeds still in are going to advance to the third round. (UCF does not make it past Duke). Memphis (who probably shouldn’t be a seven seed) have the best of both worlds: an underdog mentality combined with a chip on their shoulders. They won’t just want to beat Texas tech, they’ll want to leave no doubt that they belong in the tournament and should have been seeded higher.

West Virginia likewise won’t have an easy time beating a difficult Georgetown team. But it’s that unexpected element, combined with a stingy defense playing a stingy defense. Both teams tend to win on shutouts, averaging above two goals a game while holding opponents to 0.52 (Georgetown) and 0.90 (West Virginia.) Anything can happen, of course, but if West Virginia gets that first goal, then that might just be enough to send them through.

Finally, Wake Forest survives a tough Michigan St. side through experience. The Demon Deacons lost a lot of key players coming into this year, but that only feds their identity as perennial underdogs who win because of their grit and gameplan. No coach would want to lose that much talent and experience but, if it had to happen, Wake Forest is probably the team that absorbs the hit the best. The Spartans aren’t an easy team to beat, but Wake Forest is a team that succeeds the most when the games are hardest. This matchup is tailor made to their strengths.