It's officially March Madness time. After the first four games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the first full day of the NCAA tournament stretches 12 hours with 16 men's games on Thursday.
Here's how Jupiter's chart will unfold:
Thursday afternoon
No. 9 Michigan State 69, no. 8 Mississippi State 51
No. 11 Duquesne 71, no. 6 BYU 67
No. 3 Creighton 77, no. 14 Akron 60
No. 2 Arizona 85, no. 15 Long Beach State 65
No. 1 North Carolina 90, no. 16 Wagner 62
No. 3 Illinois 85, no. 14 Morehead State 69
4 PM – No. 6 South Carolina vs. no. 11 Oregon (TNT)
4:30 PM – No. 7 Dayton v. No. 10 Nevada (TBS)
Thursday evening
6:50 PM – No. 7 Texas vs. no. 10 Colorado State (TNT)
7:10 pm – no. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oakland (CBS)
7:25 pm — No. 5 Gonzaga vs. no. 12 McNeese (TBS)
7:35 pm — No. 2 Iowa State vs. no. 15 South Dakota State (TruTV)
9:20 PM – No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 St. Peter's (TNT)
9:40 pm – no. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 NC State (CBS)
9:55 pm – no. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Samford (TBS)
10:05 PM — No. 7 State of Washington v. No. 10 Drake (TruTV)
live52 updates
Ducks are in control with 10 minutes left in the game.
Final: Illinois 85, Morehead State 69
Marcus Domask recorded the 10th triple-double in NCAA Tournament history with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Terrence Shannon Jr. led the way with 26 points.
Illinois is in control. Can it prevent regret?
Oregon leads, but South Carolina blows the first half!
Meanwhile in Memphis…
The Keisei Tominaga show hits your phones and TV screens on Friday.
Do you think Terrence Shannon should win today? What a buzz from the Illinois Star!
Final: UNC 90, Wagner 62
The Tar Heels rolled in their opening game. RJ Davis led the way with 22 points, while Armando Bagot added 20 and 15 boards.
No surprise that 11th-seeded Oregon will give 6th-seeded South Carolina their all. Dana Altman is the head coach of the Ducks, who are 7-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That includes a 12th ranking in 2013 and 2019.
Altman's Oregon teams were known for going strong in a season despite starting in non-league play. This year the team lived up to that reputation, winning the Pac-12 tournament as a bid steal to secure its spot in the NCAA tournament.
The Tar Heels are gone. Armando Bagot led the way with 18 points and 14 boards.
If it were up to Dan Monson, Long Beach State's 85-65 loss to Arizona wouldn't be his final game as a head coach. Monson, 62, told me earlier this week that he hopes to be coaching somewhere next season and isn't ready to sit on the couch without a team to lead.
“I really like coaching,” he said. “It has rejuvenated me.”
Final: Arizona 85, Long Beach State 65
The Wildcats shook off a sluggish start and cruised to an easy win in the first round. Don Monson's time at the beach is over.
Morehead is 5 of 9 from 3-point range so far, a big reason why 14th-seeded No. 3 Illinois has an early lead:
Oh, hello Morehead State 👀
Early on the Big Ten Tournament champion Illini
North Carolina, the No. 1 seed playing today, is well into the half.
Arizona looks good against Long Beach State. The dream may be over for Don Monson and the beach.
Final: Creighton 77, Akron 60
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points to lead No. 3 Creighton to an easy first-round victory over No. 14 Akron.
“I guess they don't want me to retire! I'm trying to get to the promised land, and they're putting me in as a coach!”
