The First Four stands as Dayton’s greatest contribution to NCAA lore. Every spring, eight teams travel to western Ohio to stake their claim for a spot in the greatest basketball tournament devised by man or gods. When the dust settles Wednesday night, only four will move on to the traditional 64-team field that will eventually crown a national champion.
March Madness 2017: truTV schedule for NCAA Tournament First Four
Four games in Dayton will finalize the 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket.
Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
The action begins Tuesday evening when New Orleans Privateers and Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers square off for the opportunity to face the No. 1 overall seed Villanova Wildcats. The Privateers, led by Southland Conference Player of the Year Erik Thomas, are favored to win Tuesday but wouldn’t have the odds on their side Thursday. No 16-seed has ever toppled a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament.
That game will be followed by a bubble team showdown between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Kansas State Wildcats. Each team proved how dangerous they can be with some high-profile upsets this winter — the Demon Deacons beat Louisville, while the Wildcats have a pair of wins over Baylor — but inconsistent play dropped them to the lowest depths of an at-large bid. The winner Tuesday will face No. 6 Cincinnati on Friday.
Thursday will bring two more season-ending losses in Dayton. North Carolina Central went 25-8 this season, but beat just one other NCAA Tournament team — Northern Kentucky. That weak schedule dropped it to the First Four, where UC Davis awaits. The Aggies had a tougher slate, but a similarly unimpressive list of victories. The winner of their matchup will face Kansas on St. Patrick’s Day.
Dayton’s time as host will conclude with one more 11-seed brawl, this time between Providence and USC. The Friars were one of the nation’s hottest teams after ending the regular season on a six-game winning streak, but ran out of gas in the Big East Tournament. The inconsistent Trojans will try to take advantage of that. They only have three victories over NCAAT teams this winter, but two were against SMU and UCLA, two premier programs in 2017.
The first game tips off Tuesday evening. Thirty hours later, the First Four will have set the proper 64-team bracket in ink. Here’s how the full schedule looks; here’s hoping you’ve got truTV if you want to catch any of it.
NCAA Tournament First Four TV Schedule
Tuesday, March 14 (all times Eastern)
6:40 p.m., truTV
No. 16 New Orleans vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s
9:10 p.m., truTV
No. 11 Wake Forest vs. No. 11 Kansas State
Wednesday, March 15
6:40 p.m., truTV
No. 16 North Carolina Central vs. No. 16 UC Davis
9:10 p.m., truTV
No. 11 Providence vs. No. 11 USC
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