Thursday's NCAA tournament games - latimes.com Thursday's games NCAA, second round 8 Kansas State (21-10) vs. No. 9 Southern Mississippi (25-8) at Pittsburgh, 9:30 a.m. Neither team offers a great offense, so expect a lot of defense and physical play. Both teams do a good job forcing turnovers. Expect Southern Mississippi to focus on slowing Kansas State guard Rodney McGruder. If he is stymied, the Golden Eagles' chances get better. 4 Wisconsin (24-9) vs. No. 13 Montana (25-6) at Albuquerque, 11 a.m. Montana has won 20 of its last 21 games, but the Grizzlies need to shoot well from the outside to advance against Wisconsin. The Badgers' perimeter defense has been excellent, and Montana can't rely on its inside game. Wisconsin has committed the fewest turnovers in the nation. Watch the point guard duel between the Badgers' Jordan Taylor and Montana's Will Cherry. 1 Syracuse (31-2) vs. No. 16 North Carolina Asheville (24-9) at Pittsburgh, noon Syracuse won't have center Fab Melo, who has been declared ineligible, but it shouldn't matter in this one. Asheville guards Matt Dickey and J.P. Primm can score from three-point range, but the Bulldogs probably don't have enough athletes or firepower to hang with Syracuse for more than a half. 5 Vanderbilt (24-10) vs. No. 12 Harvard (26-4) at Albuquerque, 1:30 p.m. Welcome to the "Brain Bowl." Vanderbilt opened the season in the top 10 but underachieved before winning the Southeastern Conference tournament by beating top-ranked Kentucky. The Commodores have all the required components for a deep tournament run - athletic big men, good three-point shooters and an explosive slasher in forward Jeffery Taylor. Harvard must get production from forwards Kyle Casey and Keith Wright. 7 Gonzaga (25-6) vs. No. 10 West Virginia (19-13) at Pittsburgh, 4:15 p.m. Gonzaga is playing across the country; West Virginia is playing about an hour from its campus. West Virginia's Kevin Jones is the only player in the nation averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds. Gonzaga big men Elias Harris and Robert Sacre will have to handle him. Gonzaga would much rather see Mountaineers point guard Daryl Bryant shoot from the perimeter than the ball in Jones' hands. 2 Ohio State (27-7) vs. No. 15 Loyola (Md.) (24-8) at Pittsburgh, 6:45 p.m.