NCAA Men's Tournament begins in earnest Thursday

Now that the play-in games are out of the way, the NCAA Men’s Tournament begins Thursday morning and early afternoon, as 16 first-round games will be played both Thursday and Friday.

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March Madness begins Thursday morning, and if you’re trying to map out your watching – and betting – schedule, we have you covered.

Here’s the full list for the first round – both Thursday and Friday – and the spreads from Caesars Sportsbook, which is the official odds partner of Bet.NOLA.com (as of very late Wednesday night):

Thursday’s games

(9) West Virginia (-2) vs. (8) Maryland, 11:15 a.m. CBS

(13) Furman (+6) vs. (4) Virginia, 11:40 a.m. truTV

(10) Utah State (-1) vs. (7) Missouri, 12:40 p.m. TNT

(16) Howard (+22) vs. (1) Kansas, 1 p.m. TBS

(16) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (+24) vs. (1) Alabama, 1:45 p.m. CBS

(12) Charleston (+4.5) vs. (5) San Diego State, 2:10 p.m. truTV

(15) Princeton (+14) vs. (2) Arizona, 3:10 p.m. TNT

(9) Illinois (+2) vs. (8) Arkansas, 3:30 p.m. TBS

(9) Auburn (-1) vs. (8) Iowa, 5:50 p.m. TNT

(12) Oral Roberts (+6) vs. (5) Duke, 6:10 p.m. CBS

(15) Colgate (+13.5) vs. (2) Texas, 6:25 p.m. TBS

(10) Boise State (+1.5) vs. (7) Northwestern, 6:35 p.m. truTV

(16) Northern Kentucky (+18) vs. (1) Houston, 8:20 p.m. TNT

(13) UL (+11.5) vs. (4) Tennessee, 8:40 p.m. CBS

(10) Penn State (+3) vs. (7) Texas A&M, 8:55 p.m. TBS

(15) UNC Asheville (+17.5) vs. (2) UCLA, 9:05 p.m. truTV

Friday’s games

(10) Southern Cal (+2) vs. (7) Michigan State, 11:15 a.m. CBS

(14) Kennesaw State (+13) vs. (3) Xavier, 11:40 a.m. truTV

(14) UC Santa Barbara (+10.5) vs. (3) Baylor, 12:30 p.m. TNT

(12) VCU (+4.5) vs. (5) Saint Mary’s, 1 p.m. TBS

(15) Vermont (+10.5) vs. (2) Marquette, 1:45 p.m. CBS

(11) Pittsburgh (+4) vs. (6) Iowa State, 2:10 p.m. truTV

(11) NC State (+5) vs. (6) Creighton, 3 p.m. TNT

(13) Iona (+9) vs. (4) UConn, 3:30 p.m. TBS

(16) Farleigh Dickinson (+23) vs. (1) Purdue, 5:50 p.m. TNT

(11) Providence (+4) vs. (6) Kentucky, 6:10 p.m. CBS

(12) Drake (+2) vs. (5) Miami (Fla.), 6:25 p.m. TBS

(14) Grand Canyon (+15.5) vs. (3) Gonzaga, 6:35 p.m. truTV

(9) Florida Atlantic (+1.5) vs. (8) Memphis, 8:20 p.m. TNT

(14) Montana State (+8.5) vs. (3) Kansas State, 8:40 p.m. CBS

(13) Kent State (+4) vs. (4) Indiana, 8:55 p.m. TBS

(11) Arizona State (NL) vs. (6) TCU, 9:05 p.m. truTV

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Contact Jim Derry at jderry@theadvocate.com.  Follow all our Bet.NOLA sports betting coverage on TikTokInstagram, and Twitter.