NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule: Thursday, March 20

Written By Caleb Tallman | Published at March 17, 2025

The schedule for the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament is set.

Thursday is the first full day of first-round games, with 16 games starting just after noon Eastern time. The 16 teams that win their first-round matchups will advance to the round of 32 and play their second-round matchups on Saturday. Here's the NCAA Tournament schedule and estimated start times for Thursday, March 20.

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Thursday's schedule for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

The first full day of the 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament is Thursday, March 20. Here are the matchups, including scheduled March Madness TV tip times for every game on the first day of opening-round action. Remember, if earlier games go long for whatever reason, scheduled times can get backed up, but they will never start earlier than scheduled. All times are Eastern.

South Region

9 Creighton vs. 8 Louisville, 12:15 p.m., TV: CBS
16 Alabama State/St. Francis (Pennsylvania) vs. 1 Auburn, 2:50 p.m., TV: CBS
13 Yale vs. 4 Texas A&M, 7:25 p.m., TV: TBS
12 UC San Diego vs. 5 Michigan, 10:00 p.m., TV: TBS

West Region

10 Arkansas vs. 7 Kansas, 7:10 p.m., TV: CBS
11 Drake vs. 6 Missouri, 7:35 p.m., TV: truTV
15 Omaha vs. 2 St. John's, 9:45 p.m., TV: CBS
14 UNC Wilmington vs. 3 Texas Tech, 10:10 p.m., TV: truTV

East Region

14 Montana vs. 3 Wisconsin, 1:30 p.m., TV: TNT
11 VCU vs. 6 BYU, 4:05 p.m., TV: TNT

Midwest Region

13 High Point vs. 4 Purdue, 12:40 p.m., TV: truTV
16 SIU Edwardsville vs. 1 Houston, 2:00 p.m., TV: TBS
12 McNeese vs. 5 Clemson, 3:15 p.m., TV: truTV
9 Georgia vs. 8 Gonzaga, 4:35 p.m., TV: TBS
15 Wofford vs. 2 Tennessee, 6:50 p.m., TV: TNT
10 Utah State vs. 7 UCLA, 9:25 p.m., TV: TNT

Venues hosting first-round games on Thursday, March 20:

Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky
Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island
Ball Arena in Denver
INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas

Announcer pairings for the NCAA Tournament

Another NCAA Tournament means another year of the CBS and Turner Sports partnership to cover every game of March Madness. Part of what makes the partnership work is their broadcasting teams at games and in the studio. After taking over for the legendary Jim Nance, Ian Eagle will lead the top broadcasting team with the same partners he had last season. That includes Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, and Tracy Wolfson as their sideline reporter. They will call games each round and be the team for this season's Final Four and national championship.

There are three studio teams for the NCAA Tournament. The New York team will consist of host Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Clark Kellogg. The Atlanta team will be host Adam Lefkoe, Jay Wright, Candace Parker, and Seth Davis. Additional personalities include host Adam Zucker, analyst Wally Szczerbiak, rules analyst Gene Steratore, and Jami Erdahl with game updates.

CBS and Turner Sports 2025 March Madness broadcasting teams have a few changes from last season. Here are the official pairings:

Ian Eagle / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill / Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporter)
Brian Anderson / Jim Jackson / Allie LaForce (sideline reporter)
Kevin Harlan / Dan Bonner / Stan Van Gundy / Lauren Shehadi (sideline reporter)
Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas / Evan Washburn (sideline reporter)
Lisa Byington / Robbie Hummel / Jalen Rose / Andy Katz (sideline reporter)
Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel / Jon Rothstein (sideline reporter)
Tom McCarthy / Steve Smith / Deb Antonelli / AJ Ross (sideline reporter)
Brad Nessler / Brendan Haywood / Dana Jacobson (sideline reporter)

Each of the above teams will cover the first- and second-round games. The top four teams will also go through the Elite Eight, and the top group will cover the Final Four and the national championship.