It’s almost indisputable that the two best sports days of the year are first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament. There are 32 basketball games over two days. It’s amazing.
Keeping up with it all can be kind of difficult, so we decided to help you out by making a watch guide for all of the games from the NCAA’s first round. This includes the First Four games that will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
(Note: All times marked with an asterisk are estimates via ESPN.)
Tuesday, March 14
East Region
No. 16 Mount Saint Mary’s vs. No. 16 New Orleans, 6:40 p.m., truTV
South Region
No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 11 Wake Forest, 9:10 p.m.*, truTV
Wednesday, March 15
Midwest Region
No. 16 NC Central vs. No. 16 UC Davis, 6:40 p.m., truTV
West Region
No. 11 Providence vs. No. 11 USC, 9:10 p.m.*, truTV
Thursday, March 16
East Region
No. 5 Virginia vs. No. 12 UNC-Wilmington, 12:40 p.m., truTV
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 13 East Tennessee State, 3:10 p.m.*, truTV
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Mount Saint Mary’s/New Orleans, 7:10 p.m., CBS
No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech, 9:40 p.m.*, CBS
South Region
No. 4 Butler vs. No. 13 Winthrop, 1:30 p.m., TNT
No. 5 Minnesota vs. No. 12 Middle Tennessee State, 4:00 p.m., TNT
Midwest Region
No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 Vermont, 7:27 p.m., truTV
No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Nevada, 9:57 p.m.*, truTV
West Region
No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Princeton, 12:15 p.m., CBS
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 South Dakota State, 2:00 p.m., TBS
No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Bucknell, 2:45 p.m.*, CBS
No. 8 Northwestern vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt, 4:30 p.m.*, TBS
No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Xavier, 6:50 p.m., TNT
No. 7 St. Mary’s vs. No. 10 VCU, 7:20 p.m., TBS
No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast, 9:20 p.m.*, TNT
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 North Dakota, 9:50 p.m.*, TBS
Friday, March 17
East Region
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 New Mexico State, 12:40 p.m., truTV
No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 USC/Providence, 3:10 p.m.*, truTV
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Troy, 7:20 p.m., TBS
No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Marquette, 9:50 p.m.*, TBS
South Region
No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Seton Hall, 1:30 p.m., TNT
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Texas Southern, 4:00 p.m.*, TNT
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Wichita State, 7:10 p.m., CBS
No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Kansas State/Wake Forest, 7:27 p.m., truTV
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Northern Kentucky, 9:40 p.m.*, CBS
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 Kent State, 9:57 p.m.*, truTV
Midwest Region
No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State, 12:15 p.m., CBS
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 14 Iona, 2:00 p.m., TBS
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State, 2:45 p.m.*, CBS
No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 Rhode Island, 4:30 p.m.*, TBS
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 NC Central/UC Davis, 6:50 p.m., TNT
No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 Michigan State, 9:20 p.m.*, TNT
West Region – None.
