The 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket games and pools are about to lock, and the time for picks and predictions has nearly come to a close. Now it's time for sports fans across the country, and beyond, to buckle up for the madness that we celebrate every March. The official beginning of the tournament has already past with the First Four in Dayton, but for many Thursday's wall-to-wall first round action marks the true beginning of the big dance.
The action will get started in Birmingham with No. 8 seed Maryland and No. 9 seed West Virginia, the undercard for the 2023 tournament debut of No. 1 overall seed Alabama, which will take the court in the second game from that site against No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. In total Thursday's action will feature 16 games from four different host sites, delivering non-stop thrills from this unique single-elimination championship for nearly 12 hours.
Thursday's first-round action features three of the four No. 1 seeds in the field and there of the four No. 2 seeds as well. It also marks the NCAA Tournament debut for Duke in post-Mike Krzyzewski era as Jon Scheyer looks to guide the Blue Devils to the same championship heights he reached as a player, and enticing mid-bracket matchups like the meeting of two teams who just just finished as the runner-up to a No. 1 seed in their respective major conference tournaments with No. 7 seed Texas A&M taking on No. 10 seed Penn State.
But there's so much more to dig into on a day where you will definitely need lots of screens, so let's get into the key storylines for Thursday's first round action.
No. 1 overall seed Alabama begins its quest for program glory
Alabama has never reached the Final Four, only making the Elite Eight once (2004) in 23 previous NCAA Tournament appearances dating back to 1975. But here Nate Oats stands, leading a team that went 29-5, hit to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in 20 years and won both the SEC regular season and conference tournament championships. The Crimson Tide landed the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, granting favorable site selections and according to many have one of the most manageable paths to the Final Four of any No. 1 seed. Led by Brandon Miller, a First Team All-American and likely top-five NBA Draft pick, Alabama will remain one of the biggest stories in all of sports every time it takes the floor in this tournament.
Not only is this football powerhouse on the verge of making school history on the hardwood, but the team also will be in the spotlight for its connection to a fatal shooting that resulted in a 23-year old mother dying and an Alabama player, Darius Miller, indicted on capital murder charges. Miller has been one of the shining stars of the sport on the court, but his connection to that tragic night will carry national interest beyond the college basketball or even sports world. Through it all Miller, who only recently at the SEC Tournament was made readily available to the media, has been outstanding on the court. Alabama is one of the biggest stories in the sport because of its excellence, but since mid-January its also been a lightning rod for discussion, debate and concern. When Alabama takes the court against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2:45 p.m. ET on CBS) it is expected to win and win big, kick-starting what could be a lengthy campaign in the tournament. With every additional win the spotlight will grow more intense, bringing more eyeballs to this amazing player, this incredible team chasing program history and at the same time one of the great tragedies connected to the sport in recent years.
Bill Self possible return to the sideline for the reigning champs
Kansas coach Bill self was admitted to the hospital prior to the Big 12 Tournament and underwent a procedure to treat blocked arteries in his heart. The Hall of Fame head coach who has won two national championships with the Jayhawks (2008, 2022) was discharged on Sunday and reportedly planned to rejoin the team for the NCAA Tournament.
Assistant coach Norm Roberts, who served as interim coach for the Jayhawks' Big 12 Tournament runner-up campaign, told reporters that Self attended both Tuesday and Wednesday's practice and has been at all of the team's meetings this week. Self was not, however, part of Kansas' media availability heading into Thursday's game against 16-seed Howard (2 p.m. ET, TNT). All-American Jalen Wilson told reporters Self is "looking great," but his return and status has quickly become a storyline in Kansas' efforts to be the first repeat national champions since Florida in 2006-07.
A pair of high-octane No. 12 seeds go for the tournament's most classic upset
Anyone with any extended experience following the NCAA Tournament or filling out a bracket game knows the lore of the No. 12-over-5 upset. The way the committee seeds the field, the No. 12-seeds often end up being some of the best teams from the mid-major conferences who captured their league's automatic bid. That's absolutely the case again here in 2023, and there are two No. 12-seeds with plenty of buzz heading into their first round matchups on Thursday.
If Oral Roberts rings a bell that's because it's the same team that knocked off Ohio State and made a No. 15 seed in 2021 and made it all the way to the Sweet 16 before a two-point loss to Arkansas. The Golden Eagles are still led by the same coach in Paul Mills and the same star player in Max Abamas. They'll start their tournament with No. 12-over-5 upset dreams on the biggest stage of the day, one of the early games in the primetime window against Duke (7:10 p.m. ET, CBS).
Charleston went 31-3 this season behind a blistering pace a bevy of 3-pointers, and finished the regular season on a six-game tear that saw the Cougars averaging 88.9 points per game. Keeping Charleston at bay will be the task for an experienced San Diego State squad when the two clash in Orlando (3:10 p.m., TruTV), which is trying to shake its own NCAA Tournament woes along with some conference-level weight (more on that below).
Mountain West looks to re-write the tournament narrative
The Mountain West put four teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2022, the most for the league since 2013. Unfortunately every team lost its first game of the tournament, and all lost to a lower-seeded team. It called into question the MW's heavy representation in the field, dimming the shine on what had been a banner year for the conference. Well now the MW has four teams in again, and three of them are playing on Thursday with a chance to flip the narrative. First, No. 10 seed Utah State will clash with No. 7 seed Missouri (1:40 p.m. ET, TNT) then the aforementioned No. 5 seed San Diego State looks to avoid an upset against No. 12 seed Charleston (3:10 p.m. ET, TruTV). Finally it will be No. 10 seed Boise State going up against No. 7 seed Northwestern (7:35 p.m. ET) in what's expected to be a defensive battle. Unlike last year the MWC is not the higher seed in every game but it is either a short favorite or slight underdog in all three. Winning multiple games on Thursday would be a big win for a conference that's provided great regular season ball over the last couple of years but failed to replicate that excellence in the tournament.
Check out the full TV and streaming schedule for Thursday's 2023 NCAA Tournament action below:
First round
Thursday, March 16
| Time (ET) | Game | TV / Stream |
|---|---|---|
| 12:15 p.m. | (9) Maryland 67, (8) West Virginia 65 -- Recap Legacy Arena -- Birmingham | CBS (watch live) |
| 12:40 p.m. | (13) Furman 68, (4) Virginia 67 -- Recap Amway Center -- Orlando | truTV (watch live) |
| 1:40 p.m. | (7) Missouri 76, (10) Utah State 65 -- Recap Golden 1 Center -- Sacramento | TNT (watch live) |
| 2 p.m. | (1) Kansas 96, (16) Howard 68 -- Recap Wells Fargo Arena -- Des Moines | TBS (watch live) |
| 2:45 p.m. | (1) Alabama 96, (16) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 75 -- Recap Legacy Arena -- Birmingham | CBS (watch live) |
| 3:10 p.m. | (5) San Diego State 63, (12) Charleston 57 -- Recap Amway Center -- Orlando | CBS (watch live) |
| 4:10 p.m. | (15) Princeton 59, (2) Arizona 55 -- Recap Golden 1 Center -- Sacramento | TNT (watch live) |
| 4:30 p.m. | (8) Arkansas 73, (9) Illinois 63 -- Recap Wells Fargo Arena -- Des Moines | TBS (watch live) |
| 6:50 p.m. | (9) Auburn vs. (8) Iowa Legacy Arena -- Birmingham | TNT (watch live) |
| 7:10 p.m. | (12) Oral Roberts vs. (5) Duke Amway Center -- Orlando | CBS (watch live) |
| 7:25 p.m. | (15) Colgate vs. (2) Texas Wells Fargo Arena -- Des Moines | TBS (watch live) |
| 7:35 p.m. | (10) Boise State vs. (7) Northwestern Golden 1 Center -- Sacramento | truTV (watch live) |
| 9:20 p.m. | (16) Northern Kentucky vs. (1) Houston Legacy Arena -- Birmingham | TNT (watch live) |
| 9:40 p.m. | (13) Lousiana vs. (4) Tennessee Amway Center -- Orlando | CBS (watch live) |
| 9:55 p.m. | (10) Penn State vs. (7) Texas A&M Wells Fargo Arena -- Des Moines | TBS (watch live) |
| 10:05 p.m. | (15) UNC Asheville vs. (2) UCLA Golden 1 Center -- Sacramento | truTV (watch live) |
