March Madness: How to watch and stream the First Four games

The NCAA tournament tips off today, and there are eight teams hanging out in the March Madness lobby before getting to join the formal dance activities.

The First Four might be considered by some to be an unnecessary tack-on for an NCAA machine always looking for ways to generate excitement and TV revenue, but the games often feature some of the best basketball of the season. It’s also worth noting that it would be unwise to write off these teams in your bracket — remember how far First Four overtime winner UCLA went last year?

This year’s First Four spectacle tips off Tuesday, with Texas Southern taking on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The winner will play first-seeded Kansas in the first round Thursday. Tuesday’s night cap features Indiana and Wyoming, with the winner playing No. 5 St. Mary’s on Thursday.

Wednesday’s slate starts with Bryant and Wright State battling for the honor of playing Pac-12 champion Arizona on Friday. Notre Dame and Rutgers then meet to determine who will fly to San Diego to play No. 6 Alabama in the first round Friday.

All of the First Four games will be available to stream on the March Madness Live website or the March Madness Live and truTV apps for iOS and Android devices.

For those of you who aren’t so enamored with the demitasse of First Four games, here’s a look at the entire first-round schedule. All games can be seen on March Madness Live or on the March Madness Live app. CBS broadcasts are available on the Paramount+.