NCAA Bracket: Teams announced; here is the schedule

The teams for March Madness have been announced and you have a limited time to get your bracket filled out.

ESPN reported that the First Four will play on Tuesday, with the first round beginning Thursday.

For those who only follow the NCAA in March, the league said the First Four marks the official start of the tournament, with four games played before the first round begins in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The First Four started in 2011 “to trim the number of teams from 68 to 64 for the first round,” according to the NCAA. It was added to the Women’s NCAA Tournament in 2021.

The teams are the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams, with automatic qualifying teams facing off with automatically qualifying teams and at-large teams taking on at-large teams.

This year, the First Four will be Howard vs. Wagner, Colorado State vs. Virginia, Grambling vs. Montana State and Colorado vs. Boise State.

As for the top seeds, this year, the honors go to the UConn Huskies, the Houston Cougars, the Purdue Boilermakers and the North Carolina Tar Heels, ESPN reported.

Here’s the schedule for men’s March Madness 2024:

First Four - March 19, 20.
First Round - March 21, 22.
Second Round - March 23, 24.
Sweet 16 - March 28, 29.
Elite Eight - March 30, 31.
Final Four - April 6.
NCAA Championship - April 8.

2024 March Madness by National Content Desk on Scribd

For the women’s tournament, the First Four will consist of Sacred Heart vs. Presbyterian, Holy Cross vs. UT Marin, Auburn vs. Arizona and Vanderbilt vs. Columbia.

The top seeds for the women’s division include South Carolina, Iowa, USC and Texas, The Athletic reported.

Here’s the complete schedule:

First Four - March 20, 21.
First Round - March, 22, 23.
Second Round - March 24, 25.
Sweet 16 - March 29, 30.
Elite Eight - March 31, April 1.
Final Four - April 5.
NCAA Championship - April 7.

2024 March Madness Women's by National Content Desk on Scribd

Don't forget, you can catch March Madness on CBS47. Our noon and evening newscasts will be impacted by the games on Thursday and Friday. Here are the games that will be on our air:

Thursday, March 21
(9) Michigan State vs. (8) Mississippi State, 12:15 p.m.

(16) Wagner/Howard vs. (1) North Carolina, 2:45 p.m.

(14) Oakland vs. (3) Kentucky, 7:10 p.m.

(11) NC State vs. (6) Texas Tech, 9:40 p.m.

Friday, March 22
(9) Northwestern vs. (8) FAU, 12:15 p.m.

(16) Stetson vs. (1) UConn, 2:45 p.m.

(13) Vermont vs. (4) Duke, 7:10 p.m.

(12) James Madison vs. (5) Wisconsin, 9:40 p.m.