March Madness

March Madness games today: NCAA Men’s D1 basketball Tuesday First Four matchups

The college basketball tournament begins with the First Four play-in round, in which eight teams will hope to qualify for the First Round proper.

Rick Osentoski

Roddy Cons

Scottish sports journalist and content creator. After running his own soccer-related projects, in 2022 he joined Diario AS, where he mainly reports on the biggest news from around Europe’s leading soccer clubs, Liga MX and MLS, and covers live games in a not-too-serious tone. Likes to mix things up by dipping into the world of American sports.

Update: Mar 18th, 2025 04:24 EDT

March Madness 2025 officially gets underway today, Tuesday March 18, with the first four of the 68 college basketball hopefuls starting their tournaments.

As has been the case since 2011, the 2025 edition begins with the First Four play-in games, all four of which will be played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

2025 March Madness First Four games on Tuesday, March 18

Two First Four games open the tournament on Tuesday:

South Regional

Alabama State Hornets vs Saint Francis Red Flash, 6:40 p.m. ET
San Diego State Aztecs vs North Carolina Tar Heels, 9:10 p.m. ET

2025 March Madness First Four games on Wednesday, March 19

East Regional

American Eagles vs Mount St Mary’s Mountaineers, 6:40 p.m. ET

Midwest Regional

Texas Longhorns vs Xavier Musketeers, 9:10 p.m. ET

How to watch 2025 March Madness First four

Fans in the United States can stream all four First Four games on truTV.

2025 March Madness full tournament schedule

The First Round, in which 64 teams will take part, will begin on Thursday, March 20, with the rest of the tournament taking place over the following two and a half weeks.

The full schedule for the tournament is as follows:

First Round/Round of 64: March 20-21
Second Round/Round of 32: March 22-23
Regional semifinals/Sweet 16: March 27-28
Regionals Finals/Elite 8: March 29-30
National semifinals/Final Four: April 5 (Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas)
National Championship Game: April 7 (Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas)

March Madness' average championship game score

March Madness

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