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How to watch Thursday’s men’s March Madness first-round games: Schedule, odds and storylines

The Madness goes full tilt from the jump, with Thursday’s 16-game tourney slate starting around noon Eastern and running past midnight. Sensory overload? Perhaps. Sheer elation? Most definitely.

We begin the day with resilient Louisville tangling with Ryan Kalkbrenner’s Creighton. Purdue and Wisconsin get to show out for the Big Ten, while top-seeds Auburn and Houston tip off their respective title campaigns.

Later on, we can see Tennessee’s belligerent defense, and the decorated senior core of Kansas faces John Calipari’s Arkansas. The night run includes St. John’s (partying like it’s 1985), Michigan (feeling itself as conference tournament champ) and Texas Tech (getting buckets, so many buckets). Two of the five AP First Team All-Americans take the floor on Thursday — Braden Smith, Purdue’s dogged initiator, and Johni Broome, Auburn’s centrifugal force down low.

This first day back into tourney time can be particularly disorienting. Godspeed in the “quad box” broadcast set up, and good luck in all bracket endeavors.

How to watch every men’s NCAA Tournament Day 1 game

Matchup	Reg.	Time (ET)	TV	Stream
No. 8 Louisville No. 9 Creighton	S	12:15 p.m.	CBS
No. 4 Purdue No. 13 High Point	M	12:40 p.m.	truTV	Max
No. 3 Wisconsin No. 14 Montana	E	1:30 p.m.	TNT	Max
No. 1 Houston No. 16 SIU Edwardsville	M	2 p.m.	TBS	Max
No. 1 Auburn No. 16 Alabama State	S	2:50 p.m.	CBS
No. 5 Clemson No. 12 McNeese	M	3:15 p.m.	truTV	Max
No. 6 BYU No. 11 VCU	E	4:05 p.m.	TNT	Max
No. 8 Gonzaga No. 9 Georgia	M	4:35 p.m.	TBS	Max
No. 2 Tennessee No. 15 Wofford	M	6:50 p.m.	TNT	Max
No. 7 Kansas No. 10 Arkansas	W	7:10 p.m.	CBS
No. 4 Texas A&M No. 13 Yale	S	7:25 p.m.	TBS	Max
No. 6 Missouri No. 11 Drake	W	7:35 p.m.	truTV	Max
No. 7 UCLA No. 10 Utah State	M	9:25 p.m.	TNT	Max
No. 2 St. John’s No. 15 Omaha	W	9:45 p.m.	CBS
No. 5 Michigan No. 12 UC San Diego	S	10 p.m.	TBS	Max
No. 3 Texas Tech No. 14 UNC Wilmington	W	10:10 p.m.	truTV	Max

Games on CBS can also be streamed on Paramount+.

NCAA Tournament odds

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(Photo of Johni Broome: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

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