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March Madness first round: Dates, times, scores for 2024 NCAA Tournament

Following the conclusion of the First Four, the traditional 64-team brackets for the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments are officially set.

Now it's time to start filling those brackets in.

One thing that makes March Madness special is the potential for upsets – and there's no better place to find them than in the opening round. The matchups pit the top seeds against the bottom ones in descending order. So the No. 1 seeded team in each region plays the No. 16 seed. The No. 2 team takes on No. 15 and so on.

Only twice in men's NCAA Tournament history has a No. 1 seed lost in the opening round – Virginia in 2018 and last year, when top-seeded Purdue was stunned by Fairleigh Dickinson. On the women's side, it's only happened once, when Harvard knocked off No. 1 Stanford in 1998.

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Zach Edey and top-seeded Purdue were upset in last year's NCAA Tournament by Fairleigh Dickinson.
Zach Edey and top-seeded Purdue were upset in last year's NCAA Tournament by Fairleigh Dickinson.

When is first round for men's March Madness?

The men's NCAA Tournament first round will have 16 games on Thursday, March 21 and 16 more games on Friday, March 22.

Men's March Madness first round schedule

WEST REGION BRACKET

Thursday in Charlotte

No. 1 North Carolina 90, No. 16 Wagner 62

No. 9 Michigan State 69, No. 8 Mississippi State 51

Friday in Spokane

No. 4 Alabama 109, No. 13 College of Charleston 96

No. 12 Grand Canyon 75, No. 5 Saint Mary's 56

Friday in Memphis

No. 3 Baylor 92, No. 14 Colgate 67

No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 11 New Mexico 56

Thursday in Salt Lake City

No. 2 Arizona 85, No. 15 Long Beach State 65

No. 7 Dayton 63, No. 10 Nevada 60

MIDWEST REGION BRACKET

Friday in Indianapolis

No. 1 Purdue 78, No. 16 Grambling 50

No. 8 Utah State 88, No. 9 TCU 72

Thursday in Salt Lake City

No. 5 Gonzaga 86, No. 12 McNeese State 65

No. 4 Kansas 93, No. 13 Samford 89

Thursday in Pittsburgh

No. 3 Creighton 77, No. 14 Akron 60

No. 11 Oregon 87, No. 6 South Carolina 73

Thursday in Charlotte

No. 7 Texas 56, No. 10 Colorado State 44

No. 2 Tennessee 83, No. 15 Saint Peter's 49

SOUTH REGION BRACKET

Friday in Memphis

No. 9 Texas A&M 98, No. 8 Nebraska 83

No. 1 Houston 86, No. 16 Longwood 46

Friday in Brooklyn

No. 4 Duke 64, No. 13 Vermont 47

No. 12 James Madison 72, No. 5 Wisconsin 61

Thursday in Pittsburgh

No. 14 Oakland 80, No. 3 Kentucky 76

No. 11 North Carolina State 80, No. 6 Texas Tech 67

Friday in Indianapolis

No. 2 Marquette 87, No. 15 Western Kentucky 69

No. 10 Colorado 102, No. 7 Florida 100

EAST REGION BRACKET

Friday in Brooklyn

No. 9 Northwestern 77, No 8 Florida Atlantic 65

No. 1 Connecticut 91, No. 16 Stetson 52

Friday in Spokane

No. 5 San Diego State 69, No. 12 Alabama-Birmingham 65

No. 13 Yale 78, No. 4 Auburn 76

Thursday in Omaha

No. 11 Duquesne 71, No. 6 Brigham Young 67

No. 3 Illinois 85, No. 14 Morehead State 69

Thursday in Omaha

No. 2 Iowa State 82, No. 15 South Dakota State 65

No. 7 Washington State 66, No. 10 Drake 61

Men's March Madness first round locations

There are eight regional sites, which will host a total of six games in the first and second rounds.

Thursday's games will be played in:

  • Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Omaha, Nebraska

  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Salt Lake City, Utah

Friday's games will be played in:

  • Brooklyn, New York

  • Memphis, Tennessee

  • Indianapolis, Indiana

  • Spokane, Washington

How to watch first round for men's March Madness

The men's first round will be broadcast on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV with the first game of the day on Thursday and Friday starting at 12:15 p.m. ET. Tip-off times will be staggered throughout the day, with the final games slated to begin at 10:05 p.m. ET.

All games will be streamed live on the NCAA's website.

When is first round for women's March Madness?

In one of the iconic moments of last year's NCAA women's tournament, Angel Reese of LSU points to her ring finger as Iowa's Caitlin Clark can only watch during the national championship game. LSU defeated Iowa 102–85.
In one of the iconic moments of last year's NCAA women's tournament, Angel Reese of LSU points to her ring finger as Iowa's Caitlin Clark can only watch during the national championship game. LSU defeated Iowa 102–85.

The women's NCAA Tournment first round will have 16 games on Friday, March 22 and 16 more games on Saturday, March 23.

Women's March Madness first round locations

The 16 regional sites are the home courts of the tournament's top 16 seeds. They will host a total of four games in the first and second rounds.

Friday's games will be played in:

  • Columbia, South Carolina

  • Corvallis, Oregon

  • Austin, Texas

  • Palo Alto, California

  • Manhattan, Kansas

  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Blacksburg, Virginia

  • Columbus, Ohio

Saturday's games will be played in:

  • Bloomington, Indiana

  • South Bend, Indiana

  • Spokane, Washington

  • Raleigh, North Carolina

  • Iowa City, Iowa

  • Los Angeles, California (UCLA)

  • Los Angeles, California (USC)

  • Storrs, Connecticut

How to watch first round for women's March Madness

Women's NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews with the first game of the day on Friday and Saturday starting at 11:30 a.m. ET. Tip-off times will be staggered throughout the day, with the final games slated to begin at 10:30 p.m. ET..

All games will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.

Women's March Madness first round schedule

ALBANY 1 REGION BRACKET

ALBANY 2 REGION BRACKET

PORTLAND 3 REGION BRACKET

PORTLAND 4 REGION BRACKET

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness first round: When, where, how to watch NCAA Tournament