We’re halfway through the First Round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and after a stellar Thursday opener to March Madness, Friday’s set of 16 games looks slightly lower-profile.
March Madness 2016: Game times and TV schedule for Friday
All four No. 2 seeds are in action, and the night could bring fun matchups.
Oregon is the lone No. 1 seed in action on Friday, after Kansas, North Carolina and Virginia all won on Thursday, and the Ducks won’t play until Friday night. But all four No. 2 seeds are in action, and three of them play in the afternoon: Michigan State, Oklahoma and Villanova will all tip off their first games of this tournament between 12:40 and 4:00 p.m. ET.
The best solution to your case of the Friday afternoon blues at work might just be tuning in to see player of the year candidates Denzel Valentine and Buddy Hield. Or you could lean on the four No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchups on Friday, in the hopes of finding games that are a little closer and more competitive.
The night also brings a couple of potentially thrilling shootouts. No. 3 West Virginia and No. 14 Stephen F. Austin press incessantly, ranking first and second nationally in defensive turnover percentage, and should play an up-tempo game, while No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 11 Michigan have the sort of shooters to trade buckets down the stretch.
As always, you can catch March Madness action even without a TV, because every NCAA Tournament game is available to stream via NCAA March Madness Live, which exists in both browser and app versions.
NCAA Tournament First Round TV Schedule
Friday, March 18 (all times Eastern)
Afternoon Games
12:15 p.m., CBS (Brian Anderson, Steve Smith, Dana Jacobson)
No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Syracuse
12:40 p.m., truTV (Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel, Allie LaForce)
No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 15 UNC Asheville
1:30 p.m., TNT (Carter Blackburn, Mike Gminski, Jaime Maggio)
No. 7 Oregon State vs. No. 10 VCU
2:00 p.m., TBS (Spero Dedes, Doug Gottlieb, Ros Gold-Onwude)
No. 4 California vs. No. 13 Hawai’i
2:45 p.m., CBS (Brian Anderson, Steve Smith, Dana Jacobson)
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Middle Tennessee State
3:10 p.m., truTV (Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel, Allie LaForce)
No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Temple
4:00 p.m., TNT (Carter Blackburn, Mike Gminski, Jaime Maggio)
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield
4:30 p.m., TBS (Spero Dedes, Doug Gottlieb, Ros Gold-Onwude)
No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 12 South Dakota State
Evening Games
6:50 p.m., TNT (Brian Anderson, Steve Smith, Dana Jacobson)
No. 7 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh
7:10 p.m., CBS (Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel, Allie LaForce)
No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin
7:20 p.m., TBS (Carter Blackburn, Mike Gminski, Jaime Maggio)
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 14 Green Bay
7:27 p.m., truTV (Spiro Dedes, Doug Gottlieb, Ros Gold-Onwude)
No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 16 Holy Cross
9:20 p.m., TNT (Brian Anderson, Steve Smith, Dana Jacobson)
No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 15 Weber State
9:40 p.m., CBS (Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel, Allie LaForce)
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Michigan
9:50 p.m., TBS (Carter Blackburn, Mike Gminski, Jaime Maggio)
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa
9:57 p.m., truTV (Spiro Dedes, Doug Gottlieb, Ros Gold-Onwude)
No. 8 Saint Joseph’s vs. No. 9 Cincinnati
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