The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is officially here, as the First Four in Dayton, Ohio tips off to start the three-week run of this part of March Madness.
Everything is winding toward the April 6 national championship game, the 67th game of the tournament. Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida are the top seeds as the Florida Gators look to defend their title.
What is First Four March Madness?
The First Four is four games involving the last four at-large teams and the bottom four conference tournament champions, essentially a play-in to the 64-team field that begins Thursday. The First Four was created in 2011 when the tournament expanded from 64 to 68 teams.
Three Texas teams are in the first four, as Texas and SMU were the last two teams in the field, while Prairie View A&M will play-in for a 16 seed.
March Madness game schedule today
First Four
- 4:40 p.m. MT/5:40 p.m. CT: No. 16 UMBC vs. No. 16 Howard (truTV)
- 7:15 p.m. MT/8:15 p.m. CT: No. 11 Texas vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (truTV)
March Madness games on Wednesday
- 4:40 p.m. MT/5:40 p.m. CT: No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 16 Lehigh (truTV)
- 7:15 p.m. MT/8:15 p.m. CT: No. 11 Miami (Ohio) vs. No. 11 SMU (truTV)
How to watch First Four games
- TV schedule: truTV
- Streaming: Sling TV
All First Four matchups will be nationally broadcast on truTV.
NCAA Men's Basketball March Madness 2026 Schedule
Here is the full schedule breakdown for the 2026 men's NCAA Tournament:
- First Four: Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18
- First round: Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20
- Second round: Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22
- Sweet 16: Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27
- Elite Eight: Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29
- Final Four: Saturday, April 4
- National championship game: Monday, April 6
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: NCAA First Four: How to watch the start of March Madness