March Madness: First Four tonight
March Madness officially fires up with First Four games tonight as teams battle for entry into the main bracket — tip times, TV channels and announcers are published so you can catch every opener. (ncaa.com) (usatoday.com)
No. 16 UMBC vs. No. 16 Howard (Tuesday, March 17 at 6:40 p.m. ET), No. 11 Texas vs. No. 11 NC State (Tuesday, March 17 at 9:15 p.m. ET), No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 16 Lehigh (Wednesday, March 18 at 6:40 p.m. ET) and No. 11 Miami (OH) vs. No. 11 SMU (Wednesday, March 18 at 9:15 p.m. ET) are the four First Four matchups in Dayton this week. (ncaa.com) Jordan Kent, Jim Spanarkel and sideline reporter Jenny Dell are assigned to call the First Four’s opening game Tuesday and both Wednesday contests from UD Arena. (ncaa.com) Brian Anderson will team with Charles Barkley and Dick Vitale — with Jenny Dell on the sideline — for the late Tuesday First Four game, a pairing that Sporting News notes reunites Barkley and Vitale for a rare on-air college broadcast. (ncaa.com) The UMBC/Howard winner is slotted to face No. 1 seed Michigan in the first round on March 19 in Buffalo, while the Texas/NC State victor will advance as an 11-seed to play No. 6 BYU on Thursday in Portland. (umhoops.com) Wednesday’s winners carry defined first-round dates as well: the Prairie View A&M/Lehigh winner will become the South Region’s 16-seed and meet No. 1 Florida on March 21, and the SMU/Miami (OH) winner will take on No. 6 Tennessee in Philadelphia on Friday. (vsin.com) Tuesday’s results produced late drama — Howard defeated UMBC 86-83, and Texas escaped NC State 68-66 when Tramon Mark drilled a jumper with 1.1 seconds left to clinch the Longhorns’ win. (espn.com) All four First Four games are being televised on truTV with studio coverage originating from Atlanta, and the University of Dayton’s UD Arena (capacity listed at 13,409) is hosting the play-in doubleheaders. (ncaa.com)
