2016 NCAA Tournament, First Round open thread: Let the madness descend

You can be cynical about the NCAA Tournament. I am, often.

It bugs me that the NCAA makes so much money off of this, and the players whom we're actually tuning in to see make little except compensation in kind. It bugs me that this is the NCAA Tournament — the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, which the NCAA is now marketing heavily as NCAA March Madness, not the literally hundreds of other NCAA Tournaments that the organization puts on for athletes with the money it earns from these three weeks of 65 games of television inventory.

It has bugged me that courts are uniformly designed, though that is blessedly changing this year — not enough, by my sights, but some. It has bugged me that the NCAA decided by fiat that its First Four games were the First Round, though that also changed this year.

It bugs me that the NCAA Selection Committee will seemingly always be beholden to the archaic RPI, and keen to hand berths (and the value of them) to bigger, better-funded schools. It bugs me that the Final Four is seemingly forever bound to take roost in football stadia now, never to return to the basketball arenas that would make for far better viewing experiences than bird's-eye views.

And it bugs me that the Tournament so often coincides with my birthday, though it doesn't do that this year. (My birthday is Monday.) I like having my birthday truly off!

But despite all the annoying things: Nothing tops the NCAA Tournament for sustained and concentrated drama. With 32 games in two days, 48 in four, and 52 in six if we count the First Four, the odds are great that we'll have at least a handful of good finishes and upsets every year. With CBS and Turner putting generally good broadcasters on the air and only one Reggie Miller existing, the games are enjoyable experiences. With the Internet, everything is replayable, immortal, and so much bigger than it was before.

And with 67 teams entering the NCAA Tournament only to lose, the stakes are as high as anyone could want. With bracket pools (join ours!), things are at stake for us, too.

That's why I watch. That's why we watch. We always will, I think.

Here's to another year of madness. And here's your TV schedule for Thursday and Friday's first round games.

Thursday, March 17: First Round Games

TIP (ET)	NETWORK	SITE	REGION	GAME	PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST//REPORTER
12:15 p		Providence	West	(4) Duke Blue Devils vs. (13) NC-Wilmington Seahawks	Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore//Evan Washburn
12:40 p		Raleigh	Midwest	(8) Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. (9) Butler Bulldogs	Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner//Lewis Johnson
1:30 p		Des Moines	South	(8) Colorado Buffaloes vs. (9) Connecticut Huskies	Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery//Tracy Wolfson
2:00 p		Denver	Midwest	(4) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (13) Iona Gaels	Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas//Jamie Erdahl
After conc. I		Providence	West	(5) Baylor Bears vs. (12) Yale Bulldogs	Eagle/ Webber/Elmore//Washburn
After conc. I		Raleigh	Midwest	(1) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (16) Hampton Pirates	Harlan/Miller/Bonner//Johnson
After conc. I		Des Moines	South	(1) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (16) Austin Peay Governors	Nantz/Hill/Raftery//Wolfson
After conc. I		Denver	Midwest	(5) Purdue Boilermakers vs. (12) Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans	Catalon/ Lappas// Erdahl
6:50 p		Providence	South	(3) Miami-Florida Hurricanes vs. (14) Buffalo Bulls	Eagle/ Webber/Elmore//Washburn
7:10 p		Des Moines	East	(5) Indiana Hoosiers vs.(12) Chattanooga Mocs	Nantz/Hill/Raftery//Wolfson
7:20 p		Raleigh	East	(1) North Carolina Tar Heels vs. (16) Florida Gulf Coast Eagles	Harlan/Miller/Bonner//Johnson
7:27 p		Denver	Midwest	(3) Utah Utes vs. (14) Fresno State Bulldogs	Catalon/ Lappas// Erdahl
After conc. III		Providence	South	(6) Arizona Wildcats vs. (11) Wichita State Shockers	Eagle/ Webber/Elmore//Washburn
After conc. III		Des Moines	East	(4) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (13) Stony Brook Seawolves	Nantz/Hill/Raftery//Wolfson
After conc. III		Raleigh	East	(8) USC Trojans vs. (9) Providence Friars	Harlan/Miller/Bonner//Johnson
After conc. III		Denver	Midwest	(6) Seton Hall Pirates vs. (11) Gonzaga Bulldogs	Catalon/ Lappas// Erdahl

Friday, March 18: Round of 64

TIP (ET)	NETWORK	SITE	REGION	GAME	PLAY-BY-PLAY/ANALYST//REPORTER
12:15 p		St. Louis	Midwest	(7) Dayton Flyers vs. (10) Syracuse Orange	Brian Anderson/Steve Smith//Dana Jacobson
12:40 p		Brooklyn	South	(2) Villanova Wildcats vs. (15) UNC-Asheville Bulldogs	Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce
1:30 p		Oklahoma City	West	(7) Oregon State Beavers vs. (10) Virginia Commonwealth Rams	Carter Blackburn/ Mike Gminski//Jaime Maggio
2:00 p		Spokane	South	(4) California Golden Bears vs. (13) Hawaii Rainbow Warriors	Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Ros Gold-Onwude
After conc. I		St. Louis	Midwest	(2) Michigan State Spartans vs. (15) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders	Anderson/Smith//Jacobson
After conc. I		Oklahoma City	West	(2) Oklahoma Sooners vs. (15) CS-Bakersfield Roadrunners	Blackburn/Gminski//Maggio
After conc. I		Brooklyn	South	(7) Iowa Hawkeyes vs. (10) Temple Owls	Lundquist/Spanarkel//LaForce
After conc. I		Spokane	South	(5) Maryland Terrapins vs. (12) South Dakota State Jackrabbits	Dedes/Gottlieb//Gold-Onwude
6:50 p		St. Louis	East	(7) Wisconsin Badgers vs.(10) Pittsburgh Panthers	Anderson/Smith//Jacobson
7:10 p		Brooklyn	East	(3) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. (14) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks	Lundquist/Spanarkel//LaForce
7:20 p		Oklahoma City	West	(3) Texas A&M Aggies vs. (14) Green Bay Phoenix	Blackburn/Gminski//Maggio
7:27 p		Spokane	West	(1) Oregon Ducks vs. (16) Holy Cross Crusaders	Dedes/Gottlieb//Gold-Onwude
After conc. III		St. Louis	East	(2) Xavier Musketeers vs. (15) Weber State Wildcats	Anderson/Smith//Jacobson
After conc. III		Brooklyn	East	(6) Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs.(11) Michigan Wolverines	Lundquist/Spanarkel//LaForce
After conc. III		Oklahoma City	West	(6) Texas Longhorns vs.(11) Northern Iowa Panthers	Blackburn/Gminski//Maggio
After conc. III		Spokane	West	(8) Cincinnati Bearcats vs. (9) Saint Joseph's Hawks	Dedes/Gottlieb//Gold-Onwude