Men's NCAA Tournament: Here's when, who and where UNC, Duke and NC State will play
Posted March 17, 2024 6:34 p.m. EDT
Updated March 18, 2024 6:57 p.m. EDT
Raleigh, N.C. — The NCAA Tournament is here and Tobacco Road has several teams dancing again.
The NCAA selection committee announced first-round matchups for the men's tournament on Sunday night.
Here's where, when and who Triangle teams will be playing as tournament play begins. The games will be played on CBS, truTV, TNT and TBS.
UNC heads to Charlotte Thursday
North Carolina earned a No. 1 seed in the West region after winning the ACC regular season title and earning the No. 1 seed at the ACC Tournament. UNC held a top 10 ranking for much of the season and will be able to stay close to home for the first two games.
The Tar Heels (27-7) will take on the winner of the play-in game between Howard and Wagner on Thursday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte at 2:45 p.m. on CBS. Should the Tar Heels win that game, they will then play the winner of Mississippi State and Michigan State in the 8/9 matchup Saturday.
It's the first time UNC has been a No. 1 seed since 2019.
The No. 2 seed in the West is Arizona, where former UNC guard Caleb Love has averaged a career-high 18.1 points per game and was picked Pac-12 Player of the Year.
NC State back in the Steel City Thursday
The Wolfpack (22-14) find themselves at the center of attention after a memorable run of five wins in five days through the ACC Tournament, becoming the first double-digit seed to win the tournament.
NC State earned an 11 seed in the South region and will face sixth-seeded Texas Tech (23-10) in Pittsburgh on Thursday, March 21, at 9:40 p.m at PPG Paints Arena on CBS. The winner of that game will face the winner of (3) Kentucky and (14) Oakland on Saturday.
State traveled to Pittsburgh for the 2015 NCAA Tournament, where the Wolfpack beat LSU 66-65 on a buzzer-beater and shocked top-seeded Villanova 71-68 in the round of 32.
Duke goes to Brooklyn Friday
Duke (24-8) earned a No. 4 seed in the South region and will face No. 13 seed Vermont (28-6) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday, March 22 at 7:10 p.m. on CBS. Vermont won the America East Conference. If Duke wins, the Blue Devils will play the winner of (5) Wisconsin and (12) James Madison on Sunday.
The Blue Devils are coming off a loss to NC State in the ACC quarterfinal. Duke earned the No. 2 seed and a double bye for the ACC Tournament.
It's the first trip to the Barclays Center for Duke since the 2022 ACC Tournament, where the Blue Devils fell to Virginia Tech 82-67 in the final. Duke won the 2017 ACC Tournament at Barclays Center.
UConn, Houston, UNC and Purdue are all No. 1 seeds. The ACC had five teams reach the tournament, with Virginia and Clemson also earning bids. The Big 12 and SEC each had eight teams selected and Big Ten and Mountain West conferences finished with six selections each.
You can check out the women's tournament matchups here.
