March Madness has arrived.
The First Four games on Tuesday and Wednesday were just the appetizer before the two best sports days of the year. The men’s tournament begins in earnest with 16 games on Thursday before the first round continues Friday with another full slate.
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Day 1 has already offered plenty of action, headlined by a near upset of No. 1 Duke by No. 16 Siena. The Blue Devils trailed for the majority of the game before eking out a 71-65 win. No. 12 High Point managed a stunning upset over No. 5 Wisconsin as the first double-digit seed to secure a bid to the second round.
Will we see any other big upsets in the first round? Who will be this year’s Cinderella? Which team will be cutting down the nets in Indianapolis? Here are all of our predictions for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Here’s how to watch every NCAA tournament game — and some best bets for the first round from our experts. See below for a complete schedule of Thursday’s first-round action. (Scroll down for live updates.)
How to find your NCAA tournament bracket on Yahoo Sports Bracket Mayhem
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How to watch men’s March Madness 2026
Dates: March 17 – April 6, 2026
TV channels: CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV
Streaming: Paramount+, DirecTV, March Madness Live app and more
March Madness results, schedule, channel guide for ThursdayLive120 updatesThu, March 19, 2026 at 3:31 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:43 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Rams are on a 9-0 run in the last two minutes as the Tar Heels have hit a bit of a cold streak. It’s a five-point game with four minutes left.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:39 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
We are back for the second half of Michigan-Howard. The Wolverines are going to need to find some defense to put the Bison away. Howard is 10-for-16 shooting from behind the arc so far in this one.
The Bison are pretty excited at the moment:
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:31 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Estonian big man has 23 points and 7 boards. He’s 3-for-6 from behind the arc.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:27 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
AJ Dybantsa has 20 points for BYU. Otherwise? It’s been a rough go for the Cougars, who are struggling to contain Texas.
Matas Vokietaitis leads the Longhorns with 15 points.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:26 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Aggies have forced 11 SMC turnovers. That’s the story of the first half.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:23 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Meanwhile, AJ Dybantsa has 20 points for BYU. The Cougars have got to figure out how to counter Vokietaitis to have a chance at a comeback.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:18 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Michigan kept Howard at arm’s length for the majority of the first half, but the Bison are still in this thing as we head into the break after a 3-pointer from Bryce Harris at the end of the half.
The Wolverines’ size is the reason they’re in front. They’re outrebounding the Bison 17-8 and have 20 points in the point.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:15 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
St. Mary’s has recovered from a slow start to make it a game but A&M’s Rashaun Agee has the highlight of the game so far.
Aggies lead 28-22 late in the 1st half.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:08 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Tar Heels are starting to pull away a bit in their South region tilt with VCU. Henri Veesaar has 17 points and 6 rebounds with 17 minutes left.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:07 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
We may have another upset brewing here. 11th-seeded Texas had to win a First Four game just to get here. Now it’s leading No. 6 BYU 30-25 late in the 1st half.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 5:04 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Welp, sorry about that Cougars fans. BYU has missed its last seven shots and has gone four minutes without a field goal.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:55 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
AJ Dybantsa has 10 points already but Texas is leading 23-21. Can the BYU freshman do it all himself?
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:54 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Michigan isn’t exactly pulling away against No. 16 Howard. It’s a six-point game as the clock ticks down inside the 10-minute mark.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:52 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
AJ Dybantsa has 10 and is 4-of-5 from the field as the Cougars have their first lead.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:46 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Wolverines aren’t taking their opponents lightly like Duke and have come out of the locker room with verve.
They’re up 16-6 in the opening minutes of the game.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:44 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Aggies are swarming the Gaels, who have turned it over 5 times in the opening 5 minutes.
Texas A&M leads 9-2.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:43 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Tar Heels still have that 11-point lead at the break. Henri Veesaar has 13 points and 5 rebounds to lead North Carolina. Terrence Hill Jr. has 11 points for the Rams.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:42 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
These teams have come out firing and the shots are falling.
Texas has the early 15-12 lead through 5 minutes of play, but BYU star AJ Dybantsa has a quick 6 points.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:32 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The top-seeded Wolverines will take on the Bison, who already have a win in the First Four after beating UMBC on Tuesday.
Thu, March 19, 2026 at 4:30 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Tar Heels are putting it all together now and just took a 32-21 lead with just under 4 minutes left in the first half.