March Madness LIVE: watch and stream NCAA basketball, odds as First Four gets underway

Remember, the winning team will go on to face the Auburn Tigers, the No.1 overall seed from the SEC. They did, however, have a very shaky end to the season, suffering three defeats from four.

The First Round begins on Thursday. Check out our dedicated March Madness guide for more details.

Alabama State 32-39 Saint Francis at the break

The midway interval has come at an opportune time for the Hornets, who just started falling away in the last few minutes of the first half.

It's been the Valentino Pinedo Show so far.

With 8 points from 8 minutes on the court, surely D'Ante Bass needs more minutes for 'Bama.

A breathless start

Alabama State and Saint Francis have set a furious pace in the opener at University of Dayton Arena.

It's a physical encounter too, but everyone's dusting themselves off and getting on with it, which we love to see.

Neither team is exactly being shy about trying their luck from range but they're yet to really find their mark.

March Madness 2025 is officially underway!

Have the Aztecs Gwath what it takes?

The San Diego Aztecs haven't exactly torn up trees this season, but one player who's caught the eye is 7ft freshman Magoon Gwath.

The towering forward picked up both the Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards for the Mountain West Conference, and sure enough, it's off the ball that Brian Dutcher's men tend to do their best work.

However, Gwath has been nursing a knee injury of late.

With 3-pointers so intrinsic to their opponents, San Diego State vs North Carolina could be a game of fine margins.

Are the Tar Heels actually bad?

Don't let the controversy blind you. The uproar has more to do with West Virginia's exclusion from the initial 68 than North Carolina's inclusion... and the NCAA committee's (flawed?) selection criteria.

Three of those 12 Quad 1 defeats were by six points or fewer, plus they really hit their stride during the latter stages of the season, winning six of their last seven regular season games — five of those by double-figures.

That's because they're amongst the best in the country at shooting from the field. How's 42% accuracy for you?

Hornets are the bee's knees

The Alabama State Hornets are on a real tear, coming into tonight's clash with the Saint Francis Red Flash off a run of six wins in a row.

This red-hot streak saw Tony Madlock's men romp to victory in the SWAC tournament, holding off the No.2-seeded Jackson State Tigers in the title game.

Rather appropriately, they've forged a reputation for harrying their opponents. To put it another way, they're generating buzz for the way they buzz around the court.

No Flash in the pan

Whether they make it through their First Round clash with the Alabama State Hornets or not, this campaign has been a roaring success for the Saint Francis Red Flash already.

In his 13th season at the helm, not only has Rob Krimmel led them to March Madness for the first time in 34 years, but he's done so against all expectations.

At the start of the season, they were picked to finish last in the Northeast Conference.

The cheapest way of watching March Madness

With tip-off fast-approaching, make sure you check out our breakdown of the cheapest way to watch March Madness 2025 in the U.S..

Both of tonight's games and the entirety of the First Four round are being nationally televised by TruTV, but the rights to March Madness are split between a dizzying array of channels and services, including (but not limited to) CBS, TBS and TNT.

Spoiler alert: you can watch every single game by subscribing to Sling TV and Paramount Plus.

Together, they'd usually cost you $58.98 per month, but for new customers Sling has a half-price deal running for your first month, and Paramount Plus offers a 7-day free trial.

How the First Four teams have historically fared at March Madness

Of the eight teams navigating the First Four round, only the North Carolina Tar Heels have ever been crowned the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament champions. They've won March Madness six times, most recently in 2017.

The San Diego State Aztecs were beaten finalists in 2023, while the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers won the NCAA Division II basketball tournament back in 1962.

Big deals for the Big Dance

March Madness has reached Black Friday and Super Bowl status, with retailers like Best Buy, Amazon and Walmart embracing the spirit of the tournament by slashing the prices of TVs — by hundreds of dollars in some cases.

If you're looking to upgrade your setup but don't know where to start, we've picked out the best of the 2025 March Madness TV sales.

And if you'd like to know more about the features that make certain TVs better for watching sports than others, features like upscaling and advanced motion processing, we've also broken down the best TVs for March Madness 2025.

North Carolina Heels

The North Carolina Tar Heels have been cast as this year's March Madness... heels.

That's because the NCAA selection committee included them in the 68-team field at the expense of West Virginia.

While Hubert Davis' men went 1-12 in Quad 1 fixtures this season, the Mountaineers posted a 6-10 Quad 1 record.

Still, that doesn't warrant the avalanche of hatred that's come North Carolina's way since the Selection Sunday reveal.

And if they weren't already feeling the pressure, their three-hour flight delay on Monday likely didn't help.

Underestimate the First Four at your peril

The First Four might technically be a preliminary round for the teams that weren't deemed good enough for inclusion in the final 64-team bracket, but write them off at your peril.

Since this round's introduction in 2011, two teams have made it from the First Four to the Final Four: the 2011 VCU Rams and the 2021 UCLA Bruins.

To put that into context, over that stretch only three No.5 seeds have made the Final Four.

Hello and welcome to the greatest show on Earth!

The 68-team pool will be whittled down to 66 today, then 64 tomorrow, so if you haven't already, now's as good a time as any to get to work on your bracket.

You can download the lovely full-scale version from the NCAA website. Perfect for printing and displaying proudly above your mantelpiece.