March Madness 2016: Schedule, TV Coverage, Latest Odds for NCAA Tournament

Get ready to call in sick, because the most exciting two days of the sports calendar are finally upon us with the first round of the NCAA tournament.

With 32 games over the course of two days, there is always a high probability of something crazy happening. However, the drama could be even greater this season, with an unusually high number of upsets during the regular season. No one is unbeatable, which could lead to a few Cinderella stories throughout the three-week tournament.

Here is everything you need to know to ensure you don't miss a second of the action.

Thursday, March 17
Friday, March 18
Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Spread
No. 13 UNC Wilmington vs. No. 4 Duke	12:15 p.m.	CBS	DUKE -10.5
No. 9 Butler vs. No. 8 Texas Tech	12:40 p.m.	truTV	BUT -4
No. 9 UConn vs. No. 8 Colorado	1:30 p.m.	TNT	CONN -3.5
No. 13 Iona vs. No. 4 Iowa St.	2 p.m.	TBS	ISU -7.5
No. 12 Yale vs. No. 5 Baylor	2:45 p.m.	CBS	BAY -5.5
No. 16 Hampton vs. No. 1 Virginia	3:10 p.m.	truTV	UVA -24
No. 16 Austin Peay vs. No. 1 Kansas	4 p.m.	TNT	KU -26
No. 12 Little Rock vs. No. 5 Purdue	4:30 p.m.	TBS	PUR -9
No. 14 Buffalo vs. No. 3 Miami (Fla.)	6:50 p.m.	TNT	MIA -14
No. 12 Chattanooga vs. No. 5 Indiana	7:10 p.m.	CBS	IND -12
No. 16 FGCU vs. No. 1 North Carolina	7:20 p.m.	TBS	UNC -22
No. 14 Fresno St. vs. No. 3 Utah	7:27 p.m.	truTV	UTAH -8.5
No. 11 Wichita St. vs. No. 6 Arizona	9:20 p.m.	TNT	ARIZ -1.5
No. 13 Stony Brook vs. No. 4 Kentucky	9:40 p.m.	CBS	UK -14
No. 9 Providence vs. No. 8 USC	9:50 p.m.	TBS	PROV -2
No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 Seton Hall	9:57 p.m.	truTV	GONZ -1
Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Spread
No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 7 Dayton	12:15 p.m.	CBS	DAY -1
No. 15 UNC-Asheville vs. No. 2 Villanova	12:40 p.m.	truTV	NOVA -17.5
No. 10 VCU vs. No. 7 Oregon St.	1:30 p.m.	TNT	VCU -4.5
No. 13 Hawaii vs. No. 4 California	2 p.m.	TBS	CAL -7.5
No. 15 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 2 Michigan St.	2:45 p.m.	CBS	MSU -18
No. 10 Temple vs. No. 7 Iowa	3:10 p.m.	truTV	IOWA -7.5
No. 15 CS-Bakersfield vs. No. 2 Oklahoma	4 p.m.	TNT	OKLA -14.5
No. 12 South Dakota St. vs. No. 5 Maryland	4:30 p.m.	TBS	MARY -9.5
No. 10 Pittsburgh vs. No. 7 Wisconsin	6:50 p.m.	TNT	WISC -2
No. 14 SF Austin vs. No. 3 West Virginia	7:10 p.m.	CBS	WVU -7.5
No. 14 Green Bay vs. No. 3 Texas A&M	7:20 p.m.	TBS	TAMU -13
No. 16 Holy Cross vs. No. 1 Oregon	7:27 p.m.	truTV	N/A
No. 15 Weber St. vs. No. 2 Xavier	9:20 p.m.	TNT	XAV -13.5
No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 6 Notre Dame	9:40 p.m.	CBS	N/A
No. 11 N. Iowa vs. No. 6 Texas	9:50 p.m.	TBS	TEX -4.5
No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 8 Saint Joseph's	9:57 p.m.	truTV	CIN -1.5

Top Storylines

Redemption for Big 12?

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

There is always debate about which conference is the toughest, and the Big 12 certainly has a legitimate argument, with seven of the 10 teams getting a bid to the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. However, ESPN's Myron Medcalf summed it up in an interview with 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City:

The conference had high expectations a year ago with a lot of highly-seeded teams and legitimate Final Four contenders. Unfortunately, it had serious trouble just getting out of the first weekend. Baylor and Iowa State both lost to No. 14 seeds in the round of 64, while Kansas was upset by Wichita State. Oklahoma and West Virginia were the only ones able to reach the Sweet 16.

Although this is a new year with new players, the pressure is on all these teams to perform better this time around. Kansas is the No. 1 overall seed and the favorite to bring home a national championship. West Virginia and Oklahoma are popular picks to go to the Final Four, while Iowa State, Baylor and Texas all have a decent chance of reaching the Sweet 16.

If we see another disappointing showing from the majority of the league, it could have a negative effect going forward.

Mid-Major Bracket-Busters

Gary Rohman/MLS/USA TODAY Sports

Casual fans always root for the underdog, especially the smaller schools that come out of nowhere. Wichita State was this team three years ago, as it made a run to the Final Four, and two players from that run are ready to close out their careers in style.

Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall had high praise for the experienced backcourt of Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker on The Jim Rome Show, per Mighty1090.com:

"

They had opportunities to go and test their wears. They're both graduates of Wichita State, they could have gone pro this past year and they both elected to come back. ... These guys are basketball, college basketball icons, and they deserve the opportunity, one more time, to see if they can make another deep run in the tournament.

"

The No. 11 seed has a chance to produce a similar run after beating Vanderbilt in the First Four on Tuesday.

Gonzaga is another standard mid-major that is no stranger to the NCAA tournament, although as a No. 11 seed, it could still bust a few brackets. Northern Iowa has also shown the ability to knock off top teams this year with wins over North Carolina and Iowa State, which puts Texas at risk in the first round.

Any of these teams and a few others could go from double-digit seeds to the Sweet 16, or possibly further.

First-Round Upsets

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

While many teams in this tournament are playing to win it all, plenty of small schools would be thrilled with just a single victory. Teams from Valparaiso to Lehigh and many others remain in basketball lore mainly thanks to one impressive victory.

Although it's often hard to predict where the upsets will happen, Stephen F. Austin is a team that won a game as a No. 12 seed two years ago and has the talent to do it again as a No. 14 seed this time around. West Virginia certainly isn't going to overlook a team that enters with a 20-game winning streak.

Stony Brook's Jameel Warney and Iona's A.J. English are two small-school players with the talent to carry teams on their own and help pull out victories. Each player would have to be at his best to knock off a No. 4 seed in the first round, but counting out either of these seniors would be a mistake.

We could even see our very first No. 16 seed upset a No. 1 this year, although that still remains unlikely. In any case, this is where the unexpected becomes ordinary, so it's important to keep an open mind and cheer for chaos.

Sign up and play Bleacher Report's Bracket Challenge now for a chance to win the Ultimate Sports Trip to four events of your choice. And click here for B/R's Printable Bracket.

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