Males’s March Insanity continues Friday with 16 first-round video games. Three prime seeds are in motion — UConn, Houston and Purude — as we’re blessed with greater than 12 hours of hoops once more. Three of our sleeper picks — Alabama, Florida Atlantic and NC State — are additionally in motion.
Males’s NCAA event video games are airing and streaming throughout CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. USA TODAY Sports activities will present the newest information, scores, evaluation and extra all day. Comply with alongside:
Northwestern vs. FAU: Each groups struggling early
The second and remaining day of the primary spherical is underway in Brooklyn with the battle between No. 8 Florida Atlantic and No. 9 Northwester, however the offense was gradual to get off the bus.
Each groups mixed to start out 0-4 and the primary level, a free throw from Northwestern sophomore ahead Luke Starvation got here with 17:52 within the half.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, groups and extra.
Actually, on the first media timeout, each groups mixed to go 2-for-10 from the ground and one-of-eight from 3-point vary. With 15:06 left within the half, the rating is tied at 4. — Lorenzo Reyes
Why Jim Nantz is not calling 2024 March Insanity video games
Because the males’s NCAA Event begins, followers could also be questioning the place Jim Nantz, voice synonymous with one of the vital standard occasions in faculty sports activities is.
Nantz determined the 2023 NCAA Event can be his final so he might give attention to his household and different broadcasting commitments. Nantz did not retire from broadcasting; He is nonetheless calling The Masters and serves because the lead play-by-play particular person for CBS’ NFL protection alongside Tony Romo. The duo had been within the sales space for Tremendous Bowl 58 in February. – Jordan Mendoza
March Insanity scores right this moment
Right here is the entire NCAA event scoreboard for Friday’s first-round video games. Atone for all of Thursday’s first-round motion right here.
Males’s March Insanity video games right this moment
Right here is Friday’s full schedule.
- No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 Stetson, 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS
- No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Longwood, 9:20 p.m. ET on TNT
- No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 Montana State/Grambling, 7:25 p.m. ET on TBS
- No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky, 2 p.m. ET on TBS
- No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 Colgate, 12:40 p.m. ET on truTV
- No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 13 Yale, 4:15 p.m. ET on TNT
- No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 School of Charleston, 7:35 p.m. ET on truTV
- No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 Vermont, 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS
- No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 12 UAB, 1:45 p.m. ET on TNT
- No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 James Madison, 9:40 p.m. ET on CBS
- No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon, 10:05 p.m. ET on truTV
- No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 11 New Mexico, 3:10 p.m. ET on truTV
- No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 Colorado, 4:30 p.m. ET on TBS
- No. 8 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 9 Northwestern, 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS
- No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 TCU, 9:55 p.m. ET on TBS
- No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Texas A&M, 6:50 p.m. ET on TNT
The right way to watch March Insanity 2024
CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV will air first- and second-round video games. CBS and TBS will air Candy 16 and Elite Eight video games. CBS will air the lads’s Closing 4 and championship sport.
The right way to stream March Insanity in your telephone
You possibly can catch each second by streaming each sport by way of a number of totally different choices. All video games will probably be broadcast throughout CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV, however listed below are further streaming choices to look at all of the motion in your units.
We often advocate attention-grabbing services. In the event you make a purchase order by clicking one of many hyperlinks, we could earn an affiliate price. USA TODAY Community newsrooms function independently, and this doesn’t affect our protection.
Greatest first-round matchup: Wisconsin vs. James Madison
That 5-12 pairing between Wisconsin and James Madison is the straightforward alternative right here. The Badgers did effectively to make a run to the Huge Ten championship sport, together with an additional time triumph towards Purdue. However they’ll be at one thing of a drawback by way of restoration time, and the Dukes received’t in any manner be intimidated by taking up an influence convention program. JMU, you may recall, made one of many season’s early splashes with an upset at Michigan State. They went on to win 31 video games, though none of these made fairly as a lot noise. Fortuitously for the Dukes given how tight issues turned out to be on the bubble, they secured the automated berth because the Solar Belt champs.
JMU can rating a bit, to the tune of 84.4 factors a sport. Wisconsin is traditionally recognized for protection, though this 12 months’s model of the Badgers has surrendered some excessive level totals. Suffice to say there will probably be loads of shot makers on the ground on this one, often a formulation for entertaining basketball in March. — Eddie Timanus
Jack Gohlke on UK upset: Oakland’s ‘not a Cinderella’
Who’s Jack Gohlke? Not your common shooter. He lit up the field rating with 32 factors off the bench for Oakland of their 80-76 upset over No. 2 Kentucky.
All 20 of his area targets got here from three-point vary, going 10-for-20 from deep and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. He almost matched the NCAA Event report of 11 three-pointers set by Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer in 1990.
“Clearly, we are available, we are the underdog by all measures, however as a participant you possibly can’t suppose that manner,” Gohlke mentioned. “You bought to go on the market and suppose you will have the identical expertise stage as them. I do know they’ve draft picks, and I do know I am not going to the NBA, however I do know on any given night time I can compete with these guys — and our crew can.
“That is why I say we’re not a Cinderella, as a result of once we play our A-game, we might be the most effective crew on the ground.”
Who will win the East Area? UConn
OK, so let’s get actual: Anybody aside from UConn profitable the area and going to the Closing 4 can be a giant shock. (Anybody aside from UConn profitable the entire thing is likely to be a giant shock, truly.) The Huskies are lengthy, deep, explosive, dripping with athleticism and loaded with the type of confidence you’d anticipate from the defending champs. The Huskies are constructed to deal with the depth of event play and can profit from the depth developed whereas battling some accidents throughout the common season. — Paul Myerberg
Why Florida Atlantic is the sleeper choose of the East Area
If for no different motive than the truth that FAU does not lose NCAA Event video games in New York. (If we’re counting all 5 boroughs, that’s.) A 12 months in the past, the Owls punched their ticket to the Closing 4 out of Madison Sq. Backyard in Manhattan. This time, the No. 8 Owls will get began at Brooklyn’s Barclays Heart towards No. 9 Northwestern earlier than — gulp — taking up UConn. FAU struggled at occasions throughout the common season as first-year members of the American however have the skilled roster and depth of manufacturing to make one other March run within the Huge Apple. — Paul Myerberg
Potential upset in first spherical: Auburn vs. Yale
No. 12 Alabama-Birmingham is sizzling sufficient to take down No. 5 San Diego State, although the Blazers’ play for the overwhelming majority of the common season does not converse too effectively to their possibilities. Let’s go as an alternative with No. 13 Yale discovering a sizzling hand and taking down No. 4 Auburn, which had one of many cruelest event touchdown spots of any Energy Six crew. The Tigers had been positioned behind No. 3 Kentucky regardless of profitable the SEC, for one, and worse but will very possible should tussle with one of many Huskies and Iowa State to get again to the Closing 4 behind coach Bruce Pearl. — Paul Myerberg
Who will win the East Area? Purdue
On condition that the opposite crew in NCAA Event historical past to lose within the first spherical as a No. 1 seed — Virginia — got here again to win the nationwide championship the next 12 months, additionally as a No. 1 seed, how will you resist this one? After spending a lot of this season ranked No. 1 within the nation, the Boilermakers confirmed their fallibility in dropping to Wisconsin within the Huge Ten event semifinals. However guess what? That Virginia crew that received the nationwide championship did so after dropping within the Atlantic Coast Convention event semifinals. Oh, and by the best way, en path to the NCAA event title, Virginia beat Purdue within the regional semifinals in additional time.
To get to the regional remaining this 12 months, Purdue’s hardest take a look at could come within the second spherical towards TCU, if the Horned Frogs can get previous Utah State. TCU has the type of crew velocity that may trigger issues for Purdue and doubtlessly reduce the affect of its 7-4 senior middle Zach Edey. However karma is what it’s. — Steve Berkowitz
March Insanity predictions: 7 Cinderella groups that might bust your NCAA Event bracket
Relating to the NCAA males’s event, there’s one kind of crew anybody will probably be scared to face: Cinderellas. There all the time appears to be groups which can be heating up on the proper time that end in making surprising runs and busting brackets throughout the nation.
This 12 months can provide up the same event expertise with nationwide championship favorites getting despatched house early and a crew going from unknown to changing into the darling of March. For this function, it may very well be groups beginning on the No. 8 seed line, because it might flip the event the wrong way up by knocking out a No. 1 seed within the second spherical.
Listed here are groups that may not solely pull off a first-round event upset, however might additionally surprisingly taking part in within the second weekend of the NCAA Event within the Candy 16 and Elite Eight. — Jordan Mendoza
Defending nationwide champion Huskies look to defend title
NEW YORK – The primary-round video games on the Barclays Heart in Brooklyn will function two of the 2023 Closing 4 groups. The day’s first sport pits final 12 months’s shock Cinderella, Florida Atlantic, towards Northwestern, an at-large choice from the Huge Ten, at 12:15 p.m. ET.
The No. 8 seed Owls adopted up their Closing 4 run with a 25-8 marketing campaign this season, ending second within the AAC and dropping to Temple within the convention event.
UConn (31-3), the defending nationwide champion, has received 21 of its final 22 video games and blew by way of the Huge East, profitable the common season title and the convention event to earn the No. 1 general seed. They’re led by AP first-team All-American guard Tristen Newton and lead all remaining event groups in scoring margin, beating opponents by a mean of 17.1 factors a sport.
The Huskies will face the No. 16 seed Stetson Hatters, who received the Atlantic Solar convention event and are making their first-ever look within the NCAA Event. − Scooby Axson
March Insanity predictions
The NCAA males’s event is all about chaos and unpredictability. There are positive to be upsets And if there was one lesson to be taught from final season’s version, it is that nothing is assured and something can occur. We noticed on the second No. 16 seed win over No. 1 seed in event historical past and no No. 1 seeds made it to the Elite Eight. These predictions could sound loopy − and it is not possible all of them are appropriate − however with the surprising nature of the event, who’s to say they can not occur? Listed here are daring predictions.
March Insanity knowledgeable picks: Our bracket predictions for 2024 NCAA males’s event
The consultants have dissected the males’s NCAA Event bracket, offering sleepers, Closing 4 matchups and upset predictions. Your probabilities of filling out a good bracket are miniscule, however perhaps you want a number of tricks to win your workplace pool. We have you lined with a have a look at learn how to choose an upset and a look traditionally at how the seeds have carried out within the NCAA Event. Three of our 5 USA TODAY consultants have UConn as their picks to win the nationwide title on April 8. Listed here are our knowledgeable picks.
Greatest March Insanity upset picks: Our predictions for NCAA event first-round stunners
Our goal right here is to try to determine the true first-round upset candidates within the males’s tourney area seeded eleventh or decrease. There are often a number of, however discovering the proper ones isn’t all the time simple. (Full disclosure: we went 0-for-5 on this house final 12 months – however we press on.) Listed here are 5 upset candidates to think about as you fill out your bracket.
Males’s March Insanity schedule
Right here is the lads’s schedule:
- First spherical: March 21-22
- Second spherical: March 23-24
- Candy 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-31
- Closing 4: Saturday, April 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
- NCAA championship sport: Monday, April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.