When does March Madness start? NCAA basketball start time, first-round fixtures

19th March, 2019

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The Roar

19th March, 2019

The most important 21 days of college basketball will kick off on Wednesday, March 20. All official seeds and first round match-ups of the NCAA March Madness tournament have just been announced, and you can get all the information with The Roar’s complete guide..

The tournament kicks off at 9:40am (AEDT) between the Fairleigh Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, and the Prair View A&M Panthers. All first round games will be played between March 20 and March 23.

This is a single elimination style tournament, so within three days, the 64 teams who qualified for the tournament will be cut in half. By the third round it will consist of the ‘sweet sixteen’. Which will be followed by the ‘Elite eight’, then the ‘final four’ and finally the national championship.

There are seven rounds a team must compete in and ultimately go undefeated through, to gain the title of NCAA national champion. The tournament only lasts 21 days.

The Final Four will go head-to-head on Saturday, April 6, and the championship date is set for Monday, April 8.

The seeds are broken up into four regions, and ranked in comparison with the other teams in their region. The four No.1 seeds are Duke, Virginia, North Carolina and Gonzaga.

The return of the dominant Zion Williamson, since his minor knee sprain, has brought most college basketball fans to pick Duke as the number 1 overall favourite.

How to watch March Madness
The best way to do this is to sign up for Kayo Sports, who should have every game live and allow you to stream all of Foxtel’s sports channels, as well as other selected events, for $25 per month.

In order to watch them on Television, you will need to have a valid Foxtel TV subscription, complete with the sports package. Selected games will be available on ESPN, through Channel 508 and 509. You will need a valid Foxtel TV subscription, complete with the sports package to tune into the action.

First round fixtures (All times in AEDT)

Time	Date	Venue	Home	Away
9:40 AM	Mar 20	UD Arena	Fairleigh Dickinson Knights	Prair View A&M Panthers
12:10 PM	Mar 20	UD Arena	Belmont Bruins	Temple Owls
9:40 AM	Mar 21	UD Arena	North Dakoda State Bison	North Carolina Central Eagles
12:10 PM	Mar 21	UD Arena	Arizona State Sun Devils	St John’s Red Storm
3:15 AM	Mar 22	Wells Fargo Arena	Louisville Cardinals	Minnesota Golden Gophers
3:40 AM	Mar 22	Jacksonville Arena	LSU Tigers	Yale Bulldogs
4:30 AM	Mar 22	Vivint Smart Home Arena	Auburn Bulldogs	New Mexico State Aggies
5:00 AM	Mar 22	XL Center	Florida State Seminoles	Vermont Catamounts
5:45 AM	Mar 22	Wells Fargo Arena	Michigan State Spartans	Bradley Braves
6:10	Mar 22	Jacksonville Arena	Maryland Terrapins	TBD
7:00 AM	Mar 22	Vivint Smart Home Arena	Kansas Jayhawks	Northeastern Huskies
7:30 AM	Mar 22	XL Center	Marquette Golden Eagles	Murray State Racers
9:50 AM	Mar 22	wells Fargo Arena	Nevada Wolf Pack	Florida Gators
10:10 AM	Mar 22	Jacksonville Arena	Kentucky Wildcats	Abilene Christian Wildcats
10:20 AM	Mar 22	XL Center	Villanova Wildcats	Saint Mary’s Gaels
10:27 AM	Mar 22	Vivint Smart Home Arena	Gonzaga Bulldogs	TBD
12:30 AM	Mar 22	Wells Fargo Arena	Michigan Wolverines	Montana Grizzlies
12:40 AM	Mar 22	Jacksonville Arena	Wofford Terriers	Setan Hall Pirates
12:50 AM	Mar 22	XL Center	Purdue Boilermakers	Old Dominion Monarchs
12:57 AM	Mar 22	Vivint Smart Home Arena	Syracuse Orange	Baylor Bears
3:15 AM	Mar 23	Nationwide Arena	Cincinnati Bearcats	Iowa Hawkeyes
3:40 AM	Mar 23	Colonial Life Arena	Ole Miss Rebels	Oklahoma Sooners
4:30 AM	Mar 23	BOK Center	Texas Tech Red Raiders	Northern Kentucky Norse
5:00 AM	Mar 23	SAP Center	Kansas State Wildcats	UC Irvine Anteaters
5:45 AM	Mar 23	Nationwide Arena	Tenessee Volunteers	Colgate Raiders
6:10 AM	Mar 23	Colonial Life Arena	Virginia Cavaliers	Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs
7:00 AM	Mar 23	BOK Center	Buffalo Bills	TBD
7:30	Mar 23	SAP Center	Wisconson Badgers	Oregon Ducks
9:50 AM	Mar 23	Nationwide Arena	Utah State Aggies	Washington Huskies
10:10 AM	Mar 23	Colonial Life Arena	Duke Blue Devils	TBD
10:20	Mar 23	BOK Center	Houston Cougers	Georgia State Panthers
10:27 AM	Mar 23	SAP Center	Mississippi State Bulldogs	Liberty Flames
12:20 PM	Mar 23	Nationwide Arena	North Carolina Tar Heels	Iona Gaels
12:40 PM	Mar 23	Colonial Life Arena	VCU Rams	UCF Knights
12:50 PM	Mar 23	BOK Center	Iowa State Cyclones	Ohio State Buckeyes
12:57 PM	Mar 23	SAP Center	Virginia Tech Hokies	Saint Louis Billikens

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