NCAA March Madness: Who plays today? March 14
March Madness begins today, March 14, with the First Four as the No. 16 and No. 11 schools face off at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
March Madness officially begins today! Selection Sunday has come and gone and the teams have been selected. The tournament kicks off with the First Four today, Tuesday, March 14 from UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
Who plays in the March Madness First Four today?
SE Missouri State vs Texas A&M CC
The First Four begins at 6:40 p.m. ET when No. 16 Southeast Missouri State will face No. 16 Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The Redhawks are making their second all-time appearance in the NCAA tournament while the Islanders are making their third.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men’s basketball team is headed back to the First Four in Dayton. The No. 16 Islanders face No. 16 SE Missouri State on Tuesday. They were the second team announced. The winner will face No. 1 overall seed Alabama in Birmingham. @CallerSports pic.twitter.com/UaJ8R2Tjx9
— Quinton Martinez (@qmartinez) March 12, 2023
It was a bit of a surprise that SE Missouri State made it to the tournament this year. They got in after two upsets over Morehead State and Tennessee Tech. They come into the game as underdogs against Texas A&M-CC, who won the Southland Conference title as No. 1 seeds and have a 23-10 record. They have won 12 of their last 13 games and enter the contest as favorites to win. The winner of the game will advance to play No. 1 Alabama in the first round on Thursday, March 16.
Pittsburgh vs Mississipi State
The next game of the First Four begins at 9:10 p.m. ET between No. 11 Pittsburgh and No. 11 Mississippi State. Both these teams snuck into the tournament after getting just one win in their conference tournaments. That one win was just enough to make it into the March Madness First Four.
The drought is over. For the first time since 2019, Mississippi State basketball is in the March Madness field as a No. 11 seed in the Midwest region. Mississippi State will face No. 11 seed Pittsburgh in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday.https://t.co/du9joLW7hz pic.twitter.com/O93WNwlj4q
— Clarion Ledger (@clarionledger) March 12, 2023
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The Panthers had a 22-11 overall record and a 14-6 conference record. They were no. 5 in the ACC but fell to no. 4 Duke in the tournament. The Bulldogs are 13-2 in non-conference games and 8-10 in the SEC. Mississippi State are slight favorites to win. The winner will go on to play No. 6 Iowa State in the first round on Friday, March 17.