Graphics are by me. Team logos are from Chris Creamer’s SportsLogos.net or College Sports Logos on Twitter. Matchup history from Sports Reference.
Chronological Schedule
First Round Friday Evening ET
Tip Time (p.m. ET) Region Site Matchup TV/MM Live Link
6:50 South Memphis (9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Nebraska TNT
7:10 South Brooklyn (13) Vermont vs. (4) Duke CBS
7:25 Midwest Indianapolis (16) Grambling vs. (1) Purdue TBS
7:35 West Spokane (13) Charleston vs. (4) Alabama TruTV
9:20* South Memphis (16) Longwood vs. (1) Houston TNT
9:40* South Brooklyn (12) James Madison vs. (5) Wisconsin CBS
9:55* Midwest Indianapolis (9) TCU vs. (8) Utah State TBS
10:05* West Spokane (12) Grand Canyon vs. (5) Saint Mary's TruTV
South Region in Memphis (TNT)
Commentators: Spero Dedes (play-by-play)/Jim Spanarkel (analyst)/Jon Rothstein (reporter)
(9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Nebraska, 6:50 p.m.
Aggies (20-14, Big 12 at-large) vs. Cornhuskers (23-10, Big Ten at-large)
Last meeting: Cornhuskers 57-48 at home on 01/29/2011 (Big 12 play)
These two have not met since Nebraska departed for the Big Ten after the 2010-11 season—with the Huskers having a 9-7 advantage in their meetings as conference foes. Nebraska is, infamously, the lone power-conference team without an NCAA win, while the Aggies have three Sweet 16 appearances since 2006 alone. The last of those came in 2018, with Buzz Williams looking for his first tourney win at A&M following a First Round loss last March.
(16) Longwood vs. (1) Houston, 9:20 p.m.*
Lancers (21-13, Big South auto bid) vs. Cougars (30-4, Big 12 at-large)
First meeting
Houston is making its seventh NCAA appearance in a row, though the last three have seen diminishing returns (Final Four in 2021, followed by an Elite 8 in 2022, and last season’s Sweet 16). I would expect that trend to reverse this season. First, the Cougars will need to take on a Longwood squad that trucked 2023 Big South champ UNC Asheville to earn its second-ever bid. Griff Aldrich’s first Lancer team to reach the field was a 14 in 2022 that lost to Tennessee in Round 1.
South Region in Brooklyn (CBS)
Commentators: Ian Eagle (play-by-play)/Bill Raftery and Grant Hill (analysts)/Tracy Wolfson (reporter)
(13) Vermont vs. (4) Duke, 7:10 p.m.
Catamounts (28-6, America East auto bid) vs. Blue Devils (24-8, ACC at-large)
Last meeting: Duke 91-90 at home on 11/24/2013
Duke is making its third straight NCAA appearance—its second under Jon Scheyer. The Blue Devils will look to improve upon 2023’s Second Round exit, the relative heights of which Vermont has only reached once—in 2005. (The less said about that game the better.) Since then, the Catamounts have made six trips (five under John Becker) and only won 2012’s First Four game against Lamar.
(12) James Madison vs. (5) Wisconsin, 9:40 p.m.*
Dukes (31-3, Sun Belt auto bid) vs. Badgers (22-13, Big Ten at-large)
First meeting
On January 26th, Wisconsin was 16-4 and 8-1 in the Big Ten—looking like a threat to Purdue in the conference race and for a No. 1 seed. The Badgers proceeded to drop 8 of their last 11 regular season games before winning three in Minneapolis to reach the Big Ten final. So, they are a trendy upset pick, particularly as they haven’t advanced out of the first weekend since a pair of consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in Greg Gard’s first two seasons. And you can’t blame analysts or the public when you consider Wisconsin faces a 31-win JMU team that currently owns the nation’s longest winning streak—13 games and already opened the season by beating Michigan State at the Breslin Center. The Dukes last made the field in 2013, when a Matt Brady-coached team defeated LIU in the First Four before losing to another Big Ten team, Indiana. James Madison’s last win in the main draw? The Dukes won three consecutive First Round games in 1981, 1982, and 1983 before losing to either a No. 1 or 2 seed in the Second Round.
Midwest Region in Indianapolis (TBS)
Commentators: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play)/Dan Bonner and Stan Van Gundy (analysts)/Andy Katz (reporter)
(16) Grambling vs. (1) Purdue, 7:25 p.m.
Tigers (21-14, SWAC auto bid, First Four winner) vs. Boilermakers (29-4, Big Ten at-large)
Lone meeting: Purdue 80-32 at home on 11/20/2014
With a win in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game on Wednesday night, Grambling now has the best winning percentage in the history of the event. I wouldn’t expect that to last, as it would be the upset of the millennium if Purdue gets 16-over-1ed for a second March in a row. Note that since dropping consecutive Round of 64 games in 2015 and 2016, the Boilermakers have made it to the second weekend on the four occasions they’ve gotten out of Round One, something they failed to do in both 2021 and 2023.
(9) TCU vs. (8) Utah State, 9:55 p.m.
Horned Frogs (21-12, Big 12 at-large) vs. Aggies (27-6, Mountain West at-large)
Last meeting: Utah State 84-59 at home on 12/29/1982
A 77-70 win over fellow bubble team Oklahoma last Wednesday in Kansas City likely sealed the postseason fates of both TCU and the Sooners. So, OU is sitting at home after declining an NIT bid and the Horned Frogs are in Indianapolis aiming to win a Round of 64 game for the third straight season. As for Utah State, the Aggies have been a regular march fixture—this is their second straight appearance and fourth in five tournaments. However, the Aggies have lost nine straight in the NCAAs since topping Ohio State in 2001’s First Round.
West Region in Spokane (TNT)
Commentators: Lisa Byington (play-by-play)/Robbie Hummel and Steve Smith (analysts)/Lauren Shehadi (reporter)
(13) Charleston vs. (4) Alabama, 7:35 p.m.
Cougars (27-7, CAA auto bid) vs. Crimson Tide (21-11, SEC at-large)
Lone meeting: Charleston 80-62 at home on 12/29/1993
Charleston has the nation’s second-longest win streak—12 games—which includes a three-game run through the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament, capped by an OT win over Stony Brook. While this is the Cougars’ second straight NCAA bid, their lone NCAA victory came in 1997, a 75-66 12-over-5 upset of Maryland. That marked the beginning of a three-year bid streak under John Kresse. Curiously, a big reason why Kresse’s 1993-94 team earned an at-large bid is because of that December win over a Tide team that eventually earned a 9 seed.
Even crazier than that—that Charleston team did something that would be impossible given today’s reclassification requirements, it earned an at-large bid while still ineligible for the TAAC (ASUN) Tournament due to the rules in place at the time.
As for Alabama, it’s sandwiched Sweet 16s between 2022’s First Round 11-over-6 upset loss to Notre Dame, so it will hope to avoid starting an alternating pattern. Note that the Crimson Tide last made it to a Regional Final in 2004 under Mark Gottfried—but that round is a long way off from here.
(12) Grand Canyon vs. (5) Saint Mary’s, 10:05 p.m.*
Lopes (29-4, WAC auto bid) vs. Gaels (26-7, WCC auto bid)
Lone meeting: Saint Mary’s 73-64 at home on 03/01/2016
Finally, it’s a matchup of two teams that you figured would probably have more of a history given their location and mid-major status. This will be Grand Canyon’s third-ever NCAA game in their third-ever appearance (2021 and 2023) with improving seeds each time (15 to 14 to 12). Saint Mary’s, meanwhile, is making its third straight appearance as a 5 seed, going 1-1 in each of the last two tourneys. The Gaels’ lone second weekend appearance was back in 2010.