March Madness is here and Auburn is the No. 1 overall seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament.
The beloved annual tradition that is the NCAA Tournament opens this week. Tens of thousands will fill out brackets in hopes of winning the office poll or at least a bit of respect.
Who will win it all? Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston are the top seeds. But anything can happen once the tournament tips off with the First Four on Tuesday and the first round begins on Thursday.
Games to watch
No. 5 seed and Big Ten champion Michigan opened as only a 2.5-point favorite vs. No. 12 seed UC San Diego, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
No. 8 seed Louisville had one of the hottest stretches in the country late in the season in the ACC but drew Big East stalwart Creighton.
No. 8 seed UConn will open its bid for a third consecutive national championship as a 4.5-point favorite vs. 9 seed Oklahoma.
How can I watch?
Every game of the men’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule that will be updated with matchups — either on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms, including Paramount+. CBS will handle the Final Four and national title game this year.
The NCAA will also stream games via its March Madness Live option.
Who are the favorites?
The top betting favorites as the tournament arrives are (in order) Florida, Duke, Auburn and Houston, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Who is playing?
There are 31 automatic bids that were filled via league tournaments and they were combined with 37 at-large picks by the NCAA selection committee. All the surprises were unveiled Sunday in the bracket matchups.
When are the games?
The First Four is in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday and Wednesday and first- and second-round games are Thursday and Friday, stretching from Providence, Rhode Island, to Seattle.
The Sweet 16 weekend will see games March 27-30 in Newark, New Jersey (East Regional), Atlanta (South), Indianapolis (Midwest) and San Francisco (West).
The Final Four is in San Antonio on Saturday, April 5, with the championship game the night of Monday, April 7.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
