Duke, UConn highlight round one, day two of the NCAA Tournament
USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza highlights Friday’s top two round one NCAA Tournament games.
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The March Madness debut of the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA draft and a slew of popular upset picks highlight the first-round action as the 2025 NCAA Tournament rolls on throughout the country on Friday.
There are another 16 games on the schedule and the East region matchup between No. 1 seed Duke and No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s will garner a lot of the attention early now that Cooper Flagg is expected to play after suffering an ankle injury in the ACC Tournament. But that’s just the start.
Two-time defending national champion UConn is also in action, this time as a No. 8 seed facing No. 9 seed Oklahoma. No. 6 seed Illinois will face No. 11 seed Xavier in an intriguing matchup between the Big Ten and Big East in the Midwest region bracket and No. 12 Colorado State is favored over No. 5 seed Memphis in their South Region first-round game. Popular Final Four and national championship picks like No. 1 seed Florida, No. 2 seed Alabama, No. 2 seed Michigan State also begin their NCAA Tournament journeys during this second full day of March Madness.
USA TODAY Sports is keeping track of all the games from the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket taking place at sites around the country on Friday with live updates, upset alerts, highlights and more. Follow along.
The No. 9 seeded Baylor Bears and No. 8 Mississippi State faced off early in the first quarter to kick off the Friday March Madness action. The Bulldogs led 16-14 with 11:16 left in the first half.
The Friday first-round games at the men’s 2025 NCAA Tournament are officially underway with No. 9 seed Baylor facing No. 8 seed Mississippi State the first to tip off from Raleigh, North Carolina.
USA TODAY experts set their picks ahead of the NCAA Tournament. Here is who they picked.
Jordan Mendoza
Full bracket
- Final Four: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
- Final: Florida vs. Houston
- National champion: Houston
NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool: Join USA Today’s Survivor Pool sweepstakes for a shot at $1 million prize
Paul Myerberg
Full bracket
- Final Four: Auburn, St. John’s, Duke, Tennessee
- Final: Auburn vs. Duke
- National champion: Duke
Eddie Timanus
Full bracket
- Final Four: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston
- Final: Florida vs. Duke
- National champion: Florida
Dan Wolken
Full bracket
- Final Four: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
- Final: Florida vs. Duke
- National champion: Duke
Bracket Predictions: March Madness expert picks: Bracket predictions for 2025 NCAA Tournament
2025 Men’s March Madness Printable Bracket
Here is your printable March Madness bracket.
Cooper Flagg, the projected top pick in this year’s NBA draft and one of the favorites to win national player of the year, will be available to play for No. 1-ranked Duke on Friday in the first round of the Men’s NCAA Tournament after spraining his ankle a week ago in the ACC quarterfinals. — Dan Wolken
Cooper Flagg news: Cooper Flagg injury status: Is Duke star playing in March Madness opener?
All times Eastern
Tuesday, March 18
First Four games
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Wednesday, March 19
First Four games
FIRST FOUR PREVIEW: Breaking down the opening games of March Madness 2025
Thursday, March 20
Round of 64 games
- South region: No. 9 Creighton def. No. 8 Louisville, 89-75
- Midwest region: No. 4 Purdue def. No. 13 High Point, 75-63
- East region: No. 3 Wisconsin def. No. 14 Montana, 86-66
- Midwest region: No. 1 Houston def. No. 16 SIU-Edwardsville, 78-40
- South region: No. 1 Auburn def. No. 16 Alabama State, 83-63
- Midwest region: No. 12 McNeese State def. No. 5 Clemson, 69-67
- East region: No. 6 BYU def. No. 11 VCU, 80-71
- Midwest region: No. 8 Gonzaga def. No. 9 Georgia, 89-68
- Midwest region: No. 2 Tennessee def. No. 15 Wofford, 77-62
- West region: No. 10 Arkansas def. No. 7 Kansas, 79-72
- South region: No. 4 Texas A&M def. No. 13 Yale, 80-71
- West region: No. 11 Drake def. No. 6 Missouri, 67-57
- Midwest region: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State, 9:25 p.m. on TNT
- West region: No. 2 St. John’s vs. No. 15 Omaha, 9:45 p.m. on CBS
- South region: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego, 10 p.m. on TBS
- West region: No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC-Wilmington, 10:10 p.m. on truTV
WHO HAS THE BEST SHOT? Power ranking all 68 men’s March Madness teams by odds to win NCAA Tournament
Friday March 21
Round of 64 games
- East region: No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor, 12:15 p.m. on CBS
- East region: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m. on truTV
- South region: No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m. on TNT
- West region: No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State, 2 p.m. on TBS
- East region: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 American/Mount St. Mary’s, 2:50 p.m. on CBS
- East region: No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m. on truTV
- South region: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 North Carolina/San Diego State, 4:05 p.m. on TNT
- West region: No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m. on TBS
- West region: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m. on TNT
- Midwest region: No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy, 7:10 p.m. on CBS
- South region: No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. on TBS
- East region: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron, 7:35 p.m. on truTV
- West region: No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m. on TNT
- Midwest region: No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Texas/Xavier, 9:45 p.m. on CBS
- South region: No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant, 10 p.m. on TBS
- East region: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty, 10:10 p.m. on truTV
Watch 2025 NCAA Tournament games with Sling TV
Saturday, March 22
Sunday, March 23
- Round of 32 games, Time and TV channel TBD
Thursday, March 27
- East and West region Sweet 16 games, Time and TV channel TBD
Friday, March 28
- Midwest and South region Sweet 16 games, Time and TV channel TBD
Saturday, March 29
- East and West region finals, Time and TV channel TBD
Sunday, March 30
- Midwest and South region finals, Time and TV channel TBD
Saturday, April 5
Final Four
- Game 1: 6:09 p.m. on CBS
- Game 2: 8:49 p.m. on CBS
Monday, April 7
- National championship game: 8:50 p.m. on CBS
What time are March Madness games today?
March Madness continues Friday with another 16 games slated throughout the day. The action kicks off with No. 9 Baylor taking on No. 8 Mississippi State at 12:15 p.m. ET. The first round concludes with No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Oregon at 10:10 p.m. ET.
How to watch March Madness Friday: TV, streaming coverage
- TV channels: Coverage across CBS, TNT, TBS, TruTV
- Live stream: Max and Sling for games carried on TNT, TBS, TruTV; CBS games available on Fubo
Watch March Madness with Sling
What channel is March Madness on?
Coverage for Friday’s Day 2 action will be broadcast across CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV channels. You can also watch the conclusion of the first round via streaming options: Max and Sling for games carried on TNT, TBS, TruTV. Games carried on CBS are available on Fubo, which offers a free trial subscription to new users.
March Madness odds
March Madness First Four odds, according to BetMGM. Odds as of Thursday, March 20.
Here’s a full look at the favorites to win the men’s tournament, everyone who sits at better odds than +2500.
- T1. Duke (+325)
- T1. Florida (+325)
- 3. Auburn (+400)
- 4. Houston (+600)
- 5. Tennessee (+1800)
- 6. Alabama (+2000)
- T7. Michigan State (+2500)
- T7. St. John’s (+2500)
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