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2017 NCAA Tournament: Notre Dame and Northwestern Highlight Today’s Games

With a couple of surprises yesterday, the First Round commences and the madness marches on.

NCAA Basketball: Big Ten Conference Tournament-Northwestern vs Wisconsin
Northwestern is making its first March Madness appearance ever this afternoon.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

If you’re anything like me, you woke up just a little bit peeved that Providence just couldn’t hang on against Southern Cal last night. Providence literally had the game until the final few minutes and our sworn enemy pulled off the win, 75-71.

UC Davis won their game in the school’s first tournament appearance, beating NC Central, 67-63. The Aggies had a small lead for most of the game and never really gave NC Central any indication that they’d be going home yesterday.

Today’s games tip off at 9:15am PT with fifth seeded Notre Dame taking on 12th seeded Princeton (CBS). I know my bracket has been busted several times in the past by that 5-12 seed game.

One of the more interesting games today is scheduled to start around 1:30pm PT when Northwestern plays Vanderbilt. It’s the first tournament appearance for the Wildcats and this matchup is one of those 8 vs. 9 toss-up games. Can Northwestern win their first tournament game?

The other 8 vs. 9 matchup today features Wisconsin and Virginia Tech. This game is interesting because the Badgers have had an up-and-down year. They’ve been ranked in the Top Ten, but struggled towards the end of the season.

Here is today’s full schedule:

NCAA First Round, Day 1

Game Date Approx. Tip Time (PT) Network Site Commentators
Game Date Approx. Tip Time (PT) Network Site Commentators
(5) Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. (12) Princeton Tigers March 16 9:15 AM CBS Buffalo Verne Lundquist / Jim Spanarkel / Allie LaForce
(5) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (12) UNC Wilmington Seahawks March 16 9:40 AM truTV Orlando Ian Eagle / Steve Lavin / Evan Washburn
(4) Butler Bulldogs vs. (13) Winthrop Eagles March 16 10:30 AM TNT Milwaukee Carter Blackburn / Mike Gminski / Debbie Antonelli / Lisa Byington
(1) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (16) South Dakota State Jackrabbits March 16 11:00 AM TBS Salt Lake City Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas / Jamie Erdahl
(4) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. (13) Bucknell Bison March 16 11:45 AM CBS Buffalo Verne Lundquist / Jim Spanarkel / Allie LaForce
(4) Florida Gators vs. (13) East Tennessee State Buccaneers March 16 12:00 PM truTV Orlando Ian Eagle / Steve Lavin / Evan Washburn
(5) Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. (12) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders March 16 1:00 PM TNT Milwaukee Carter Blackburn / Mike Gminski / Debbie Antonelli / Lisa Byington
(8) Northwestern Wildcats vs. (9) Vanderbilt Commodores March 16 1:30 PM TBS Salt Lake City Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas / Jamie Erdahl
(6) Maryland Terrapins vs. (11) Xavier Musketeers March 16 3:50 PM TNT Orlando Ian Eagle / Steve Lavin / Evan Washburn
(1) Villanova Wildcats vs. (16) Mt. St. Mary's March 16 4:10 PM CBS Buffalo Verne Lundquist / Jim Spanarkel / Allie LaForce
(7) Saint Mary's Gaels vs. (10) VCU Rams March 16 4:20 PM truTV Salt Lake City Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas / Jamie Erdahl
(4) Purdue Boilermakers vs. (13) Vermont Catamounts March 16 4:27 PM TBS Milwaukee Carter Blackburn / Mike Gminski / Debbie Antonelli / Lisa Byington
(3) Florida State Seminoles vs. (14) Florida Gulf Coast Eagles March 16 6:20 PM TNT Orlando Ian Eagle / Steve Lavin / Evan Washburn
(8) Wisconsin Badgers vs. (9) Virginia Tech Hokies March 16 6:40 PM CBS Buffalo Verne Lundquist / Jim Spanarkel / Allie LaForce
(2) Arizona Wildcats vs. (15) North Dakota Fighting Hawks March 16 6:50 PM TBS Salt Lake City Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas / Jamie Erdahl
(5) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (12) Nevada Wolf Pack March 16 6:57 PM truTV Milwaukee Carter Blackburn / Mike Gminski / Debbie Antonelli / Lisa Byington

Don’t forget our Bruins will resume play tomorrow. This is your Round of 64 game thread.

Go Bruins!