The First Four of the 2016 NCAA Tournament wraps up Wednesday with two more games in Dayton. The first is between two No. 16 seeds in Holy Cross and Southern, while Michigan and Tulsa will do battle in a matchup of No. 11 seeds in the nightcap.
March Madness 2016: Start times and TV schedule for Holy Cross-Southern, Michigan-Tulsa
The second pair of First Four games takes place Wednesday in advance of Thursday’s first round action.
Holy Cross will look to continue its improbable postseason run under head coach Bill Carmody, who’s in his first year at the helm. The 14-19 Crusaders went just 5-13 in the Patriot League and didn’t win a road game all season before winning four straight to win the Patriot League Tournament thanks in part to its stingy 1-3-1 defense. It was the first time a team had won four games to earn the Patriot League Tournament crown.
This is Holy Cross’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007, and Carmody’s first as head coach since 1998 while he was at Princeton. He failed to reach the Big Dance in 13 seasons while the headmaster at Northwestern.
Southern is 22-12 on the season after winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament. The Jaguars last made the NCAA Tournament in 2013 when they nearly upset Gonzaga.
The winner of Holy Cross and Southern will take on top-seeded Oregon Friday.
In the second game of the night, Michigan hopes to extend its season without star Caris LeVert. The oft-injured guard is done for the year and hasn’t played since late December, but the Wolverines still managed to stay afloat without him.
Michigan escaped Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament before pulling off a huge upset of conference champion Indiana in the quarterfinals. The Wolverines were squarely on the bubble after a blowout loss to Purdue in the semifinals, but that bubble didn't burst.
Michigan will face a Tulsa team that enters the NCAA Tournament at 20-11 following a humbling defeat to Memphis in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Frank Haith’s Golden Hurricane missed out on the Big Dance last season in his first year on the job, but now he has them back with a senior-laden squad.
The winner of Michigan vs. Tulsa will face sixth-seeded Notre Dame on Friday.
Game times (ET): Holy Cross vs. Southern, 6:40 p.m. -- Michigan vs. Tulsa, 9:10 p.m.
How to watch on TV: truTV
How to live stream: NCAA’s March Madness Live or truTV’s website
How to listen: Westwood One Sports
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