NCAA Tournament

After the field of 68 was set Sunday afternoon, dates, tip times and the TV schedule for the First Four and first round were revealed.

The action begins on Tuesday with two First Four games to decide No. 16 and No. 10 seeds. The final two First Four games take place Wednesday to decide the final No. 16 and No. 10 seeds.

The first round will begin on Thursday with the first tipoff time coming at 12:15 p.m. First-round games will continue on Friday.

All of the First Four games will be played on truTV and first-round games will be aired on truTV, CBS, TBS and TNT.

As always, this year's March Madness should be a fun one. The defending champion UConn earned the top overall seed and is looking to repeat as national champions. The Huskies' journey begins in Brooklyn, New York, where they will take on Stetson at 2:45 p.m. ET on Friday.

Another No. 1 seed, Purdue, is looking to avoid a repeat of last year's disaster when the Boilermakers lost to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. Purdue has a chance at redemption on Friday at 7:25 p.m. ET when it faces either Grambling or Montana State.

No. 1 seed Houston will face Longwood at 9:20 p.m. ET on Friday, and the final No. 1 seed, North Carolina, will play either Wagner or Howard at 2:45 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Now that the bracket is set, there is bound to be no shortage of excitement, upsets and entertainment to kick off March Madness.

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The NCAA Tournament is here and with it comes the chance to be a part of the action by filling out a bracket.

While the most popular option in the digital era is to fill out a bracket online, printing out a bracket and filling it out by hand is still an option. Maybe you want to hang your bracket next to your TV to track your progress while you watch games. Perhaps you want to have a physical copy to shred after your predicted champion gets bounced in the first round.

After the selection committee announced the field of 68 for this year's Big Dance on Sunday, fans can now find a printable bracket here.

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Just like every year, the 2024 NCAA Tournament is bound to provide some bracket-busting upsets and fun Cinderella stories, so it will be nearly impossible to have a perfect bracket. Even picking the correct champion seems like an impossible task.

Some teams do seem more poised for a championship run than others, though. Last year's champion, UConn, comes into the tournament as a No. 1 seed with just three losses. The Huskies picked up signature wins over North Carolina and Marquette, proving themselves as legitimate candidates to win back-to-back national champions.

The Huskies sit in the top 10 in both adjusted offense and adjusted defense in KenPom, meaning they should be able to prevent offensively dominant teams from having their way while also holding their own against the tournament's top defenses should they run into them.

Just as it has the last few seasons, Houston seems poised for a big run. The Cougars were dominant in their first season in the Big 12, and they're looking to win their first national championship in school history after reaching the Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet 16 in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. A somewhat surprising loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 championship might have shaken Houston's confidence heading into the tournament, but it will be looking to bounce back and put together a big run.

After facing a huge upset to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in last year's tournament, Purdue is looking to finally reach the Final Four under head coach Matt Painter this season. Behind star Zach Edey, the Boilermakers have been outstanding this year and seem to have the makings of a national champion, though they're hoping they can snap their reputation of underperforming in the postseason. The Boilermakers faced an early exit in the Big Ten tournament, but they will at least be well-rested heading into the Big Dance.

Another team that has underperformed in the tournament in recent years, Tennessee, seems like it finally has what it needs to make the Final Four for the first time in school history.

The Vols possess one of the best players in college basketball this season in Dalton Knecht, and the Northern Colorado transfer could be what they have been missing in recent years. The SEC Player of the Year can go off for 35 points on any given night, and having that kind of player is valuable in the tournament.

Combine Knecht with veterans like Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi along with SEC Defensive Player of the Year Zakai Zeigler and Tennessee seems poised for a big run. An upset loss to Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament derailed the Vols some, but they'll be looking to turn things around quickly as they begin the tournament.

The NCAA Tournament wouldn't be nearly as exciting if it weren't for sleeper teams, and this year's field is full of them.

Saint Mary's has been in the shadow of Gonzaga for many years, but the Gaels took down the Bulldogs in this year's West Coast Conference championship and are now looking for a big postseason.

While Michigan State hasn't found the same success in recent years that it is used to, the Spartans still have veteran coach Tom Izzo and could be due for a big upset. Michigan State held its own against some of the top teams in the Big Ten this year, and now the Spartans are looking to get hot at the right time to turn some heads this postseason.

Whether one of the top seeds walks away with a championship or a sleeper team wins the whole thing, the 2024 NCAA Tournament is sure to be an exciting one.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James took some time to congratulate the Duquesne men's basketball team for earning a 57-51 victory over VCU to win the Atlantic 10 tournament on Sunday.

Although he skipped college to declare for the NBA draft back in 2003, James shares a special connection with Dukes head coach Keith Dambrot. Dambrot coached the four-time MVP during his teenage days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Duquesne associate head coach Dru Joyce III was also James' high school teammate.

Dambrot previously served as the head coach of Akron, leading the program to a record of 305-139 before he joined the Dukes ahead of the 2017-18 season. After bouncing back from a rough 6-24 record in 2022, Duquesne has surpassed 20 wins in each of the past two seasons.

James has given shoutouts to his former coach in the past, congratulating Dambrot when he reached 500 career wins in Feb. 2023.

"Coach D, my guy, oh my goodness," said James (h/t Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). "Five hundred? Five hundred wins is ridiculous. Man oh man. Never cease to amaze me. I want to congratulate you on an incredible feat and many more wins coming in the near future. Enjoy this moment, you deserve it, love you, and you're the best."

Now, the Dukes will be headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.

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