3 most intriguing opening-round matchups on Thursday

The First Four is a nice appetizer, but the real March Madness begins just after 12:00 p.m. ET on Thursday with the opening round.

Both Thursday and Friday feature 16 games, with plenty of potential for upsets and thrilling moments.

Multiple screens will be needed to keep track of the action, but here are the three most intriguing games from Thursday's slate.

No. 9 Auburn vs. No. 8 Iowa

Offense meets defense in this opening-round matchup, with tenacious Auburn facing the high-powered Iowa attack. Bruce Pearl and the Tigers allow just 95 points per 100 possessions, while the Hawkeyes fill it up by scoring 120 points every 100 trips down the court.

While Auburn stands by its defense, the team struggles to score. The Tigers rank 322 out of 350 Division I teams in 3-point shooting at a paltry 31.4%. They also stumble into the tournament with an eye-popping 4-9 record in the last 13 games. The SEC program will need to muck things up if it stands a chance against the Hawkeyes on Thursday.

That type of contest is exactly what Iowa wants to avoid, as Fran McCaffrey's team has a clear objective every game: get out in transition and get plenty of shots up. The Hawkeyes rank 18th in the country in points per game at just over 80; that soars to No. 3 nationally in KenPom's efficiency listing.

If styles make the fight, the contrast between these two programs makes for a very intriguing matchup.

No. 12 Oral Roberts vs. No. 5 Duke

Oral Roberts is back in the tournament two years after its Sweet 16 Cinderella run as a No. 15 seed. This time, the Golden Eagles are No. 12 with a blockbuster matchup against No. 5 Duke waiting Thursday. Guard Max Abmas is back to lead the Oral Roberts attack, with the senior standout seventh in the nation in scoring at over 22 points per contest. Abmas' supporting cast is stronger this time around, with massive 7-foot-3 center Connor Vanover supplying a strong second option. His size and production in the post, combined with Abmas' outside touch, will be needed to help secure the upset.

The Blue Devils come into Jon Scheyer's first NCAA Tournament as head coach fresh off a win in the ACC tourney final over Virginia. Duke got off to a mediocre 5-4 start in league play this season but enter the tournament on an eight-game winning streak. Kyle Filipowski's emergence has been huge for the Blue Devils, as the freshman center has averaged 20 points and 8.5 rebounds over the last four games. If he and fellow freshman center Dereck Lively can handle Vanover down low, the Blue Devils could roll through with ease.

No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M

One of the final games of Thursday has a chance to be an absolute banger. No. 7 Texas A&M is arguably the bracket's poorly seeded team in the bracket - the Aggies finished second in both the SEC regular season and tournament. The KenPom efficiency rankings have Buzz Williams' program as the country's 25th-best team, ahead of two No. 4 seeds and one No. 5. Wade Taylor IV leads the offense with over 17 points per contest; he's the type of guard who can get hot and lead a team through multiple rounds of the tournament.

No. 10 Penn State enters on an absolute heater with eight wins in its final 10 games of the season. That includes an impressive run through the Big Ten Tournament before falling just short against top-seeded Purdue. The Nittany Lions have a star perimeter player of their own in Jalen Pickett. The senior standout was fifth in the Big Ten in scoring this season, including an epic 41-point performance in February against Illinois. Penn State's weakness is on the glass, where the team ranks 304th in the country in rebound margin. The Aggies rank 34th in the same metric. It's likely that area of the floor will be where this one is decided.