2024 NCAA Men’s Tournament Viewing Guide: First Round Thursday Afternoon

Graphics are by me. Team logos are from Chris Creamer’s SportsLogos.net or College Sports Logos on Twitter. Donald Duck ©️ Disney. Matchup history from Sports Reference.

Chronological Schedule

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West Region in Charlotte (CBS)

Commentators: Brian Anderson (play-by-play)/Jim Jackson (analyst)/Allie La Force (reporter)

(9) Michigan State vs. (8) Mississippi State, 12:15 p.m.

Spartans (19-14, Big Ten at-large) vs. Bulldogs (21-13, SEC at-large)
Lone meeting: a Michigan State win in 1973

It’s kind of fitting that the first game of 2024 NCAA Thursday is a matchup you’d find in an early January 1st or 2nd bowl game.

An aside: You’ll notice that I used the old Michigan State block S logo here—something that always confused me as a kid, particularly as a Syracuse fan (“Why do they get a block S? You don’t even know which state they are?!”). Well, Mississippi State is apparently doing something similar by using its script State logo as a new primary. Making matters worse, it looks like MSU is copying archrival Ole Miss, well known for its script logo.

Sorry, I just had to get that observation out into the world.

(16) Wagner vs. (1) North Carolina, 2:45 p.m.*

Seahawks (17-15, NEC auto bid, First Four winner) vs. Tar Heels (27-7, ACC at-large)
First meeting

The Seahawks will look to follow in the footsteps of last year’s FDU Knights squad that won in Dayton, then pulled off the second 16-over-1 upset in men’s tournament history.

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East Region in Omaha (TruTV)

Commentators: Tom McCarthy (play-by-play)/Debbie Antonelli and Avery Johnson (analysts)/AJ Ross (reporter)

(11) Duquesne vs. (6) BYU, 12:40 p.m.

Dukes (24-11, Atlantic 10 auto bid) vs. Cougars (24-11, Big 12 at-large)
Lone meeting: a Duquesne win in 1953

Dukes’ coach Keith Dambrot, formerly at Akron and LeBron James’ high school coach at St. Vincent St. Mary’s, will retire when DU’s first NCAA appearance since winning the first Eastern 8/Atlantic 10 Tournament in 1977 ends.

(14) Morehead State vs. (3) Illinois, 3:10 p.m.*

Eagles (26-8, OVC auto bid) vs. Fighting Illini (26-8, Big Ten auto bid)
Lone meeting: an Illinois win in 1993

Morehead State was involved in a three-way tie for the OVC regular-season crown, with tiebreakers dumping them into the quarterfinal round of the conference’s stepladder-formatted tournament. However, the Eagles knocked off both of their fellow co-champs, UT Martin and Little Rock, to earn a first bid since 2021. MSU’s last win came in 2011—led by Kenneth Faried.

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Midwest Region in Pittsburgh (TNT)

Commentators: Andrew Catalon (play-by-play)/Steve Lappas (analyst)/Evan Washburn (reporter)

(14) Akron vs. (3) Creighton, 1:30 p.m.

Zips (24-10, MAC auto bid) vs. Bluejays (23-9, Big East at-large)
Last meeting: Creighton 82, Akron 70 in Omaha on 12/03/2016

While the Bluejays have won three of the four all-time meetings between these schools—with the first being a 71-60 victory in the 2006 NIT First Round, the Zips won a 2011 BracketBuster game, 76-67 at home, back when Creighton was a Missouri Valley member.

(11) Oregon vs. (6) South Carolina, 4:00 p.m.*

Ducks (23-11, Pac-12 auto bid) vs. Gamecocks (26-7, SEC at-large)
First meeting

This is the Gamecocks’ first NCAA appearance since 2017, when they made the Final Four the last time it was in Glendale, Arizona. South Carolina’s previous appearance before that was in 2004—a First Round loss as a 10 seed. The Gamecocks also have the misfortune of being the victim of 15-over-2 and 14-over-3 upsets in consecutive seasons (1997 and 1998) under Eddie Fogler. On the flip side, Oregon has won at least one game in each of its seven tournament appearances under Dana Altman.

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West Region in Salt Lake City (TBS)

Commentators: Brad Nessler (play-by-play)/Brendan Haywood (analyst)/Dana Jacobson (reporter)

(15) Long Beach State vs. (2) Arizona, 2 p.m.

The Beach (21-14, Big West auto bid) vs. Wildcats (25-8, Pac-12 at-large)
Last meeting: Arizona won 104-67 at home in a non-bracketed Wooden Legacy game on 11/24/2019

These two teams have met relatively frequently, but the Wildcats have dominated. Beach head coach Dan Monson was unceremoniously let go on the Monday before the Big West Tournament tipped off. However, his team responded by reeling off three straight wins (after five straight defeats) to make its first NCAA since 2012. Arizona, on the other hand, does not want to lose to a 15 seed for the second tournament in succession.

(10) Nevada vs. (7) Dayton, 4:30 p.m.*

Wolf Pack (26-7, Mountain West at-large) vs. Flyers (24-7, Atlantic 10 at-large)
First meeting

This is the Wolf Pack’s second NCAA in a row; however, Steve Alford’s squad hasn’t won a tournament game since Eric Musselman’s 2017-18 squad reached the Sweet 16. As for the Flyers, they were a likely 1 seed back in 2020—but we all know what happened then. Dayton’s last NCAA triumph came in the 2015 First Round over Providence. The Flyers’ First Four victory over 56-55 Boise State that year marks the last time an NCAA Tournament team won a game in its own arena.

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