Bracket season: First Four done
The NCAA Tournament's First Four play‑in games ran March 17–18, locking up the first‑round matchups for the March 19–22 slate and setting Sweet 16 dates for March 26–27 (sportingnews.com). Top analysts and channels dropped timely bracket breakdowns this week — Andy Katz released a full bracket video and several pre‑fill guides hit YouTube with upset alerts and matchup strategies you can watch before brackets lock ( ).
Tramon Mark hit a guarded fadeaway with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift Texas to a 68-66 First Four win over NC State. (sports.yahoo.com) The Longhorns’ victory sends Texas to the Round of 64 to face No. 6 BYU at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Howard beat UMBC 86-83 after Bryce Harris scored 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and sank a go-ahead turnaround jumper with 13 seconds left. That result is Howard’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win and sets the Bison up to play No. 1 seed Michigan in Buffalo on Thursday, March 19. The remaining First Four doubleheader at UD Arena on March 18 matched No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 16 Lehigh and No. 11 Miami (OH) vs. No. 11 SMU, with the 16-seed winner slated to face No. 1 Florida and the 11-seed winner slated to face No. 6 Tennessee. Miami (Ohio) entered Dayton with a 31-1 record after an unbeaten regular season and will carry that mark into its First Four matchup with SMU. Broadcast windows and sites for the newly set first-round matchups were confirmed by host programs and networks — Michigan’s game against the First Four winner is listed on CBS, and BYU’s first-round game (should Texas advance) is scheduled for TBS with tip times announced by the host sites.
