March Madness Underdog Watch: Which Underdogs Are Ready to Bark on Friday?

McNeese State was the 12 seed but the Cowboys were a better team than Clemson from the opening tip on Thursday.

A quick and aggressive defense clogged lanes for the Tigers, who made a furious rally but fell short in the 5-12 bracket pairing known for producing upsets.

There is blood in the water for another 5 seed on Friday. Memphis is in Seattle against Colorado State in the site’s first game of the day, and the upset alert siren is blaring for these Tigers, too.

Here’s a look at the teams who might also be hearing the underdog bark on Friday.

3 seed Iowa State (vs. Lipscomb, at Milwaukee, 1:30 p.m. ET)

The curtain-raiser in Milwaukee on Friday features Jacob Ognacevic, the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, and Lipscomb against a team that spent much of the season as a top-15 ranked team. Lipscomb has a lot of experience — and spreads the court with shooters. Ognacevic averages over 20 points per game and shoots 40.2 percent from 3-point range. The Bisons are in the top 50 in the nation in 3-point percentage (36.7 percent) and offensive efficiency. They don’t give away possessions. In a November matchup with Arkansas, the Razorbacks’ length was a factor in a 76-60 Lipscomb loss. Lipscomb’s 3-point defense is 40th in the nation with opponents shooting 31.1 percent.

Keshon Gilbert, who missed four of Iowa State’s final seven games with a groin injury, will not play again this season. They’ll lean heavily on sixth man Curtis Jones, who had 31 points in the loss to BYU that bounced Iowa State from the Big 12 Tournament. Jones averages 17.1 points per game.

4 seed Arizona (vs. Akron, at Seattle, 7:35 p.m. ET)

Arizona will be awake for Akron, a heavily experienced group that won the MAC Tournament on a last-second layup, in part because of the Wildcats’ own personnel. Trey Townsend transferred to Arizona from Oakland, where he was part of the first-round upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky in 2024.

But Arizona has been wildly inconsistent, going 5-6 over the final five weeks of the season. This is Akron’s third tournament appearance in four years, but they’re 0-6 all-time. The Zips were a popular upset pick against Creighton in their last visit.

Akron isn’t going to be bothered by Arizona pushing the pace. Only one team in the field is better at sharing the basketball — Gonzaga — than the Zips, who averaged 18.1 assists per game this season. Nate Johnson, who cashed the shot that sent the Zips into the tourney field, led the team in scoring and Akron averaged 84.6 points by attempting almost 30 3-pointers per game.

6 seed Illinois (vs. Xavier, at Milwaukee, 9:45 p.m. ET)

Talent and depth are in Illinois’ favor. They’re fifth in Division I in 3-point attempts per game at over 30 and can light up the scoreboard if shots are falling.

But Illinois isn’t a great shooting team, and Xavier rides in full of emotion as a First Four winner on Wednesday. The Musketeers mounted a 10-point comeback late in the game to advance to the big bracket.

Illinois averages 83.8 points per game and five players average over 10 points, but streaky is the buzzword for Brad Underwood’s boys. Against Maryland, the Illini shot just 36.5 percent and missed 21 of their 27 shots from deep.

The key could be the play of Illinois sophomore Tomislav Ivisic, a 7-1 big who can play outside or with his back to the basket.