Are you ready for some upsets? 

If the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament had a tagline, that should be it. 

There’s more parity in women’s college hoops than ever before — and more eyeballs on the game, too — which means we’re in for some major madness this month. 

The thinnest of margins separate four, five and six seeds this year, which matters because in the women’s tournament, the first two rounds are still played at home sites. Don’t be surprised if we see home teams falter — and even if it’s not two No. 1 teams being upset, as happened last year, it’ll still be plenty of fun. 

A quick reminder that like in 2023, the women’s tournament will have two “super” regionals, meaning there will be four Sweet 16 and two Elite Eight games at each site. This change was made in an effort to draw more fans, and worked well last year. Given the star power in the game this season — Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers — you can expect more of the same. 

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Women’s First Four games tip off Wednesday and Thursday, with the winners advancing to First Round games on Friday and Saturday (First Four games are played at school sites, so winning teams don’t have to travel again for their First Round game). The Final Four will be played in Cleveland, with the national semis tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, April 5. The second semi will tip roughly 30 minutes after the first game ends. The championship game will be played Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. ET and be broadcast on ABC. This is the second year in a row that the championship game will be on network television. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament, including a breakdown of each region, the best first-round games, players to watch and tournament snubs. For a printable bracket, click here.

Albany 1 Region

No. 1 South Carolina (32-0) vs. No. 16 Sacred Heart/Presbyterian, Friday, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
No. 8 North Carolina (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan St. (22-8), Friday, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
No. 5 Oklahoma (22-9) vs. No. 12 FGCU (29-4), Saturday, 4 p.m. (ESPNews) 
No. 4 Indiana (24-5) vs. No. 13 Fairfield (31-1), Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 6 Nebraska (22-11) vs. No. 11 Texas A&M (19-12), Friday, 10:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 3 Oregon St. (24-7) vs. No. 14 Eastern Wash. (29-5), Friday, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 7 Ole Miss (23-8) vs. No. 10 Marquette (23-8), Saturday, 4:45 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 2 Notre Dame (26-6) vs. No. 15 Kent St. (21-10), Saturday, 2:15 p.m. (ESPN) 

Is South Carolina finally going to get the storybook ending it’s been searching for? The Gamecocks have been on a warpath this season after being upset in the national semifinals last year, falling to Caitlin Clark and Iowa. Many believed they’d take a step back this year after losing three first-round picks in the 2023 WNBA Draft. Instead they added one of the best shooters in the country, Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao, and have become significantly better on offense. Don’t be surprised if they mostly breeze through the bracket until the Elite Eight, where a potential rematch with second-seeded Notre Dame could await. Are the Irish a better team now? Could Oregon State play spoiler and meet up with the Gamecocks for a spot in the Final Four? Bottom line: South Carolina is nearly everyone’s pick to win the title, and when you see how balanced the Gamecocks are, it’s understandable why. 

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME: No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Michigan State: Don’t be fooled by the seeds here. Either of these teams could make life difficult for top-ranked South Carolina — once they get past each other. 

Albany 2 Region

No. 1 Iowa (29-4) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross/UT Martin, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (ABC) 
No. 8 West Virginia (24-7) vs. No. 9 Princeton (25-4), Saturday, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2) 
No. 5 Colorado (22-9) vs. No. 12 Drake (29-5), Friday, 7 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 4 Kansas St. (25-7) vs. No. 13 Portland (21-12), Friday, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 6 Louisville (24-9) vs. No. 11 Middle Tenn. (29-4), Friday, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 3 LSU (28-5) vs. No. 14 Rice (19-14), Friday, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 7 Creighton (25-5) vs. No. 10 UNLV (30-2), Saturday, 7 p.m. (ESPNews) 
No. 2 UCLA (25-6) vs. No. 15 California Baptist (28-3), Saturday, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) 

Can Caitlin Clark take Iowa back to college basketball’s promised land? Midway through the season it looked like a definite no, as the Hawkeyes dropped road games to teams they should have beat. But Clark is in postseason mode, and after cruising to the Big Ten tournament championship, Iowa earned a 1 seed. If the Hawkeyes’ bracket goes chalk they’ll meet up with UCLA, which looked like a Final Four team early in nonconference play but has a history of underachieving. But there’s also the possibility of a rematch with LSU. And Kansas State already has proven it can beat Iowa. Given the strength of this bracket’s 1-4 seeds, don’t be surprised if something wacky happens with this region. 

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME: No. 7 Creighton vs. No. 10 UNLV: The Blue Jays, who love to shoot 3s, played spoiler a couple years ago, knocking Clark out of the tourney as a sophomore. UNLV is looking for its first NCAA Tournament win since 1991. 

Portland 3 Region

No. 1 Southern California (26-5) vs. No. 16 A&M-Corpus Christi (23-8), Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) 
No. 8 Kansas (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan (20-13), Saturday, 2 p.m. (ESPNews) 
No. 5 Baylor (24-7) vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt/Columbia, Friday, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 4 Virginia Tech (24-7) vs. No. 13 Marshall (26-6), Friday, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 6 Syracuse (23-7) vs. No. 11 Auburn/Arizona, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2) 
No. 3 UConn (29-5) vs. No. 14 Jackson St. (26-6), Saturday, 1 p.m. (ABC) 
No. 7 Duke (20-11) vs. No. 10 Richmond (29-5), Friday, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 2 Ohio St. (25-5) vs. No. 15 Maine (24-9), Friday, 12 p.m. (ESPN)

Who would have guessed at the beginning of the season, when Southern California was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12, that the Trojans would earn a 1 seed? In its last year of existence, the Pac-12 was the best conference in the country all year, with numerous teams ranked in the top 10. But it’s a hard league to follow, because so few people have access to the Pac-12 Network. After freshman phenom JuJu Watkins dropped 51 points at Stanford on Feb. 2 though, people started paying attention. Now, can they get to a Final Four? Ohio State’s vaunted press could cause problems on the way there. And you better believe Paige Bueckers & Co. are hungry to put UConn in a position to win its first title since 2016, an unimaginable drought for the Huskies. In the meantime, will fourth-seeded Virginia Tech, which made the Final Four last year, have the services of three-time ACC player of the year Liz Kitley after she injured her knee in their regular-season finale? No one seems to know for sure. 

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME: No. 6 Syracuse vs. winner of No. 11Auburn/Arizona: Whoever gets past the First Four game will be tasked with slowing Syracuse super scorer Dyaisha Fair, who averages 22 points per game and is, as the kids like to say, a walking bucket. 

Portland 4 region

No. 1 Texas (30-4) vs. No. 16 Drexel (19-14), Friday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
No. 8 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 9 Florida St. (23-10), Friday, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 5 Utah (22-10) vs. No. 12 South Dakota St. (27-5), Saturday, 10 p.m. (ESPNU) 
No. 4 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 13 UC Irvine (23-8), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) 
No. 6 Tennessee (19-12) vs. No. 11 Green Bay (27-6), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 3 NC State (27-6) vs. No. 14 Chattanooga (28-4), Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 7 Iowa St. (20-11) vs. No. 10 Maryland (19-13), Friday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 2 Stanford (28-5) vs. No. 15 Norfolk St. (27-5), Friday, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)

Well now, who saw that coming? Texas, winners of nine of its past 10 games, earned a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004, edging Pac-12 regular-season champ Stanford. What the Longhorns have done this season after losing All-American guard Rori Harmon to a torn ACL, is remarkable. Freshman guard Madison Booker, the co-Big 12 player of the year, is a big part of why UT is still one of the toughest teams in the country to beat. But if everything goes chalk, Texas will have to match up with Stanford and twin towers Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, which will be lots of fun for everyone watching, and probably stressful for everyone sitting on the bench. N.C. State is still smarting from its loss two years ago to UConn in the regional final, when N.C. State was a 1 seed and UConn was a 2 playing in front of a (very) friendly crowd. Punching a ticket to Cleveland would be one way to erase that memory. But do not count out Gonzaga, the best mid-major all season, a team led by three veterans who have played together for years. 

BEST FIRST-ROUND GAME: No. 7 Iowa State vs. No 10 Maryland: The Terps were a bubble team not that long ago, and Iowa State has a habit of beating teams it shouldn’t. That means anything is possible for the winner of this game. Another fun storyline: Maryland coach Brenda Frese, a Cedar Rapids native, spent four seasons on Bill Fennelly’s staff from 1995-99.

LEFT OUT

It’s hard to argue with what the committee did this year. Selection chair Lisa Peterson said the first four out, in alphabetical order, were Miami, Penn State, Villanova and Washington State. She said Mississippi State, St. Joseph’s, Toledo and Washington also got consideration. 

The committee put two Ivy League teams in for the first time (it’s Columbia’s first NCAA Tournament), and Power Five schools left behind probably aren’t thrilled about that. But no one left out has a NET ranking of higher than 27 (Penn State) and Washington State, which has a NET of 29, lost its best player a couple of weeks ago to a season-ending injury. Miami might be a bit of a surprise just because of what the Hurricanes did last March, upsetting No. 1 Indiana on the Hoosiers’ home floor, but its NET was 51. 

WOMEN’S MARCH MADNESS SCHEDULE

First Four: March 20-21 

Sacred Heart (24-9) vs. Presbyterian (20-14), Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Vanderbilt (22-9) vs. Columbia (23-6), Wednesday, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
Auburn (20-11) vs. Arizona (17-15), Thursday, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Holy Cross (20-12) vs. UT-Martin (16-16), Thursday, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

First round: March 22-23 
Second round: March 24-25 
Sweet 16: March 29-30 
Elite Eight: March 31-April 1 
Final Four: Friday, April 5, 7:30 and 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)  
NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 7, 3 p.m. ET (ABC) 

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

It’s time for brackets, office pools and bragging rights once again.

The brackets for the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament were released Sunday and 64 teams found out their road to the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.

The UCONN Huskies are the consensus favorite to cut down the nets in the desert, with CBS Sports’ college basketball analyst Jay Wright saying, ‘I just can’t see anybody beating UConn in this tournament,’ on the annual Selection Sunday show.

While some teams are prepping for the dance, others are grousing about being left out as a chaotic championship weekend left once top-10 teams on the outside looking in.

Around the country folks are making their annual guesses in bracket competitions and the clock is ticking to the start of another month of madness.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Here is a printable bracket so you can get in on the madness.

Printable March Madness bracket

Here is a printable PDF of the men’s bracket

With a great bracket comes great possibilities!

How to watch NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness 2024

All games will be broadcast on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Here are additional streaming options to watch all the action on your devices.

Stream through Paramount+
Stream through HULU with Live TV
NCAA March Madness Live app
Stream through DirecTV Stream

NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness 2024 Schedule

First Four

First and Second Round

Sweet 16 and Elite Eight

Final Four

NCAA championship game

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Here’s a fun fact about the NCAA men’s basketball tournament: South Carolina has been to the Final Four more recently than Kentucky. 

How about another? Texas Tech has played for a national championship more recently than Arizona.

OK, one more: Baylor has cut down the nets more recently than North Carolina and Duke. 

There’s never been a time in the history of college basketball where being a blue blood has meant less in terms of March Madness success. 

To put a finer point on it, six of the last 16 Final Four participants made their first trip to college basketball’s promised land, including programs like Florida Atlantic, Auburn and South Carolina that had almost no track record of success. Meanwhile, a large number of schools that take basketball quite seriously are in the middle of relatively long droughts or hoping to break through for the very first time. 

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This year, it seems likely that at least one or more of those historically prominent programs will quench their thirst and find a way to Phoenix. Here are the eight schools most likely to break their Final Four-less streaks, ranked by the amount of heartbreak they’ve endured in pursuit of it. 

1. Purdue

Last Final Four: 1980

Total Final Four appearances: 2

Notable close call: In 2019, the Boilermakers suffered one of the most brutal Elite Eight losses in tournament history. Leading Virginia 70-68 with just 5.9 seconds left, the Cavaliers tapped a missed free throw all the way back nearly to the opposite 3-point line. By the time Virginia guard Kihei Clark could track down the ball, the clock was almost expired. But he had just enough time to whip a long pass to Mamadi Diakite, whose leaning 12-footer just beat the buzzer and sent the game to overtime. Virginia advanced to the Final Four and ultimately took home the national championship. 

Why now: Remarkably, Purdue has only missed the NCAA Tournament 11 times in the last 44 years. That’s an astounding amount of good basketball with no Final Fours to show for it. Purdue may never have a better chance than now, with national player of the year Zach Edey coming back to avenge last year’s brutal first-round loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

2. Kentucky

Last Final Four: 2015

Total Final Four appearances: 17

Notable close call: The 2017 Elite Eight matching Kentucky against North Carolina was probably the de facto national title game that year. And a Wildcats team led by De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo tied it up on a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left only to watch Luke Maye hit a legendary step-back jumper for the win with just fractions remaining on the clock. 

Why now: After reaching four Final Fours in John Calipari’s first six years at Kentucky, this has been a pretty discouraging drought for Big Blue Nation − especially given the talent level he brings in year after year. Kentucky’s season has been uneven, but the Wildcats have a top-five offense and enough firepower from the 3-point line to beat anyone on a good day. Kentucky hasn’t been good on defense at all this season, but this team can get to Phoenix with four good shooting games. That doesn’t seem like too tall a task. 

3. Arizona

Last Final Four: 2001

Total Final Four appearances: 4

Notable close call: Under Sean Miller, Arizona had the misfortune of running into Wisconsin in consecutive Elite Eights, losing 64-63 in overtime in 2014 and a close 85-78 decision the following year. That turned out to be the peak of the Miller era, as he returned to the second weekend of the tournament just once more in his next six seasons. 

Why now: Arizona has been one of the tournament’s biggest underachievers in recent years, losing a 4-13 first-round matchup in 2018 and suffering the dreaded 2-15 upset against Princeton last season. This year’s Wildcats are well-balanced between offense and defense and have focused on building physical toughness that they may have lacked the last few years under Tommy Lloyd. Their X-factor is senior transfer Caleb Love, who caught fire for North Carolina two years ago during their surprising run to the championship game. If he’s on, Arizona can end a remarkable 22-year Final Four drought. 

4. Tennessee

Last Final Four: Never

Total Final Four appearances: 0

Notable close call: The Vols are arguably the most historically successful program to never play on the final weekend, and remarkably they have just one Elite Eight appearance. That came in 2010 when they traded leads down the stretch with Michigan State and had a chance to pull ahead on free throws by Scott Hopson with 11 seconds left. Instead, Hopson made just 1-of-2 and the Vols got caught in transition, forcing them to foul with 1.8 seconds left to prevent a layup. Sparty advanced on the subsequent free throw.

Why now: At some point, isn’t Tennessee just due? After 26 NCAA appearances, at some point luck will surely fall on the Vols’ side. Coming off an SEC regular-season championship, this seems like their best shot in awhile. Tennessee is led by three fifth-year seniors in Dalton Knecht, Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James, and their consistently excellent defense makes it very tough for opponents to score.

5. Iowa State

Last Final Four: 1944

Total Final Four appearances: 1

Notable close call: The 2000 Cyclones, led by Marcus Fizer, Jamaal Tinsley and Michael Nurse, were a Mack truck of a basketball team that rolled to Big 12 regular season and tournament titles. But they had the misfortune of running into Tom Izzo’s only national championship team in a brawl of an Elite Eight game, which finished with Michigan State scoring 23 of the game’s final 28 points to win 75-64. Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy was ejected with a handful of seconds remaining and never came close to the same level of success. 

Why now: In the nation’s most competitive conference top to bottom, Iowa State distinguished itself by finishing second in the regular season with a 13-5 record and then smashing Houston 69-41 in the Big 12 tournament championship game. This is a bit of a star-less bunch − six players average between 8.0 and 13.8 points per game − but they guard as well as anyone in the country and coach T.J. Otzelberger has been as good as anyone finding pieces that fit his system in the transfer portal. 

6. Illinois

Last Final Four: 2005

Total Final Four appearances: 5

Notable close call: There really isn’t one, but the Illini very much looked the part in 2021 and earned a No. 1 seed after winning the Big Ten tournament. Unfortunately, Illinois caught an awful second-round matchup against Loyola Chicago and pretty much got blown out by the Ramblers, who were far too experienced and talented to be a No. 8 seed.

Why now: According to KenPom.com, this is a top-10 team with a lot of size on the perimeter and a wide array of scorers. If Illinois does reach the Final Four, a lot of attention will be on leading scorer Terrence Shannon (22.6 ppg), who was charged with rape in December. Though initially suspended, he was reinstated after a federal judge ruled that the school had violated his civil rights and granted a preliminary injunction.

7. BYU

Last Final Four: Never

Total Final Four appearances: 0

Notable close call: Among the great what-ifs for BYU is the 2011 season when the Cougars and Jimmer Fredette were among the best teams in the country all season, only to see it fall apart the first week of March when starting forward Brandon Davis was dismissed from the team because he admitted to having premarital sex with his girlfriend, violating the school’s honor code. BYU lost in overtime to Florida in the Sweet 16.

Why now: This is BYU’s 31st all-time tournament appearance, but never have the Cougars come into March Madness this battle-tested. BYU more than held its own during its first year in the Big 12 and notched wins over Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. As a team, BYU shoots more threes than anyone in the tournament (32 attempts per game) and connects on 35 percent. That gives them the kind of offensive variance you want to see from a long shot looking to make a deep run.

8. Alabama

Last Final Four: Never

Total Final Four appearances: 0

Notable close call: The 2021 tournament laid out a primrose path for the Crimson Tide, but they couldn’t take advantage of it and lost to No. 11 seed UCLA 88-78 in overtime of the Sweet 16. Painfully for Alabama fans, Herb Jones missed 3-of-4 foul shots in the final minute of regulation.

Why now: Nate Oats has been sniffing around some deep tournament runs, but it’s going to be a real challenge with this group because of its defense. Ranking just 112th in the KenPom efficiency stats, Alabama needs its outside shooting to be elite every time it takes the floor to have a chance against quality teams. It’s not impossible, but it’s hard to do − and Alabama comes into this tournament having lost four of its last six games. 

Yale earned the conference’s automatic bid when the Bulldogs forward Matt Knowling hit a short jumper at the buzzer, sending the Yale bench into a frenzy.

Brown came into the game with a 13-18 record and had a six-point lead with 2:56 left, and also held the same lead with 27 seconds remaining at 60-54.

But as Yale crawled back into the game, Brown missed three free throws down the stretch that could have put the game out of reach.

Yale’s John Poulakidas hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left and fouled Malachi Ndur after the ball was inbounded. Ndur missed both free throws, setting up Yale for the game-winner.

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Yale inbounded the ball in the frontcourt, and Dylan Wolf caught it at the top of the key and then handed it off to Bez Mbeng. Mbeng drove down the lane and spotted Knowling to his left, and he hit the clincher at the buzzer.

Yale, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, will be dancing for the first time since 2020 and denied Brown, which was seeking its first tournament appearance since 1986.

New Michigan football defensive line coach Greg Scruggs has been suspended indefinitely after he was arrested for allegedly operating a vehicle while intoxicated early Saturday morning in Ann Arbor.

Scruggs, 33, was officially hired earlier this month by new head coach Sherrone Moore on March 6 to join a completely revamped defensive coaching staff after spending last year at the University of Wisconsin coaching the same position. Prior to arriving at Wisconsin, Scruggs spent the 2022 season working as the defensive line coach for the New York Jets.

‘I can confirm he was arrested for OWI at approximately 3am,’ Ann Arbor Police Department strategic communications manager Chris Page sent in an email Saturday to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.

In the hours after the arrest became public, the program released a statement on behalf of head coach Sherrone Moore, announcing he was suspended while the matter be investigated further.

‘Greg made an unfortunate mistake and was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated,’ Moore’s statement read. ‘He made no excuses and has taken accountability for his actions. The football program and athletic department have suspended Greg indefinitely while we review details of the incident.’

A copy of the police report and arrest has been requested by the Free Press.

A then-senior on the Louisville football team, Scruggs was dismissed from the team before their postseason game vs. NC State in the Belk Bowl. At the time, Moore was also with Louisville, in his last season as a graduate assistant before he became a tight ends coach.

Scruggs went on to play 18 games in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears across four seasons.

If found guilty, OWI offenses can include punishments of up to three months (93 days) in jail, a $500 fine, community service, or a driver’s license being suspended. The Wolverines are scheduled to open spring practice on Monday.

Cori Close has a challenge for you.

If you bring your kid to one of her pregame clinics at UCLA, don’t get caught up in the idea of her playing basketball there someday. At least not yet. Instead, as she works with the women’s basketball staff and players and soaks in the energy of game day, watch for her smile.

‘This hour-and-a-half clinic is not that important,’ says Close, the Bruins’ head women’s basketball coach. ‘The most important thing is that your daughter leaves having great joy for the game and having a great experience with her friends.’

When some girls get older and stick with the game, the smiles have vanished. Close sees the burden on their shoulders, the pressure to win, to perform, to justify the massive investments their parents have placed on their careers.

‘Everything has been leading towards, ‘Get a scholarship, get to college,’ ‘ Close tells USA TODAY Sports, ‘and then they get to us, and when they should have the most joy and the most freedom and the most good habits, they’re completely burned out.’

To fix them, Close says, it’s like peeling back an “onion of woundedness.” The wounds are deep and emotional, physical and mental. Despite a player’s convictions to play on, they need time to heal.  

Under these layers of every young athlete lies the foundation of his or her athletic outlook. It’s shaped by the forces of parents, coaches and peers in their youth sports experience.

‘I see both sides of it,’ Close says. ‘I see the good, wind-in-your-sails side, the equipping side. And then I see the burdensome, pressurized, performance-oriented side that it’s saddening to see.’

As you watch her eighth-ranked Bruins begin their quest this week for a deep NCAA tournament run, she wants you to remember it won’t be all about the outcome. It will be more about her team’s shared journey.

Oh sure, Close burns to win – ‘It’s taken me several days to get over our semifinal loss to USC,’ she says – but she constantly fights the urge to look at sports as a series of results.

Instead, she operates under a lesson she learned from John Wooden: It’s not about her. The late UCLA men’s basketball coach knew it was about everyone – coaches, players and even parents – collaborating as one unit to create a life-altering experience.

Close shares lessons from her five decades of playing and coaching sports to help you create that experience for your athlete.

Coach Steve: Big Ten coach asks, ‘What are we doing to youth sports?’

1. ‘The real change-makers:’ Know that when you coach kids, John Wooden believes in you

It’s not about you, but it starts with you. Close began her college coaching career in 1994-95 on UCLA’s staff, and in Wooden’s den, listening to the legendary coach’s instruction. The experience changed her life, but it also helped her appreciate there were so many others who did, too.

‘Coach Wooden taught me that, really, some of the best culture-builders, teachers of the game, coaches are at youth levels,’ Close says. ‘We may get interviewed more, but they’re the real change-makers.’

The best role models are sometimes the ones whose names others wouldn’t recognize. There are Steve Cain, the boys basketball coach at Milpitas High, in the San Francisco Bay Area, who lived up the street from Close. He told her to get her elbow underneath the ball, or bounce it harder, when she dribbled by his house.

There was Julie Plank, a future coach in the WNBA but then an assistant coach at Stanford, who pulled her aside at a college camp and told her “you can do this” when others called her too short and too slow.

And there was her father, Don Close, a former small-college football player who believed in the teaching powers of sports. Don Close taught academic subjects at Milpitas and character-building, leadership and self-esteem to its teams and to Cori and her friends.

‘I think he was a girl dad before he really knew what that was,’ she says.

Her UCLA women’s basketball team takes roots in the soccer experience her dad created.

‘When I play up at Stanford every year, several people from my youth soccer team come,’ says Close, 52, ‘and they don’t come because we won a lot of soccer games. They come because my dad had a program and not a team. My dad taught lessons and made them feel loved unconditionally. And, they, to this day, still come back. In fact, two of them spoke at my dad’s memorial service.

‘It was a soccer relationship, not a soccer team.’

2. ‘Get out of the pity pond’: Look at adversity as an opportunity

Like his daughter, Don Close was an intense competitor who wanted to do everything he could to win. But losing was never about why it happened. It was about how she could use it to her advantage.

How can you grow through this?

How can you be a better teammate?

How can you be a better leader?

Those were the kind of questions Close heard from her dad when she was a senior guard at UC Santa Barbara and her team was 0-6 but coming off a 27-5 season.

‘The late (N.C. State women’s basketball) coach (Kay) Yow used to say, ‘You can twinkle your feet in the pity pond, but you can’t swim laps.’ And I think the reality was, I was swimming laps, and my dad was like, ‘Get out of the pity pond and make a difference,’ ‘ she says. ‘ ‘You can’t control some of that other stuff.’ ‘

His words made Close think about of her six freshman teammates.

“Instead of looking at it, like, ‘They’re such a pain in my side,’ ” she says, “I’m like, ‘How can I serve them better? How can I make their jobs easier? How can I make them better?’ And it’s sort of like the shine theory, right? That the more you shine, and help others shine, it actually multiplies your own.”

3. ‘Banners hang in gyms, rings collect dust:’ Create your own story

Close was an associate women’s head coach at UC-Santa Barbara and Florida State before she became UCLA’s head coach in 2011.

When she first arrived in Westwood, she asked 10 men’s and 10 women’s basketball alums what they wished the school had provided for them but didn’t. She heard about financial planning and mental health tools, not basketball.

Another of those former players, John Vallely, sought out Close to tell her about the profound strength of Wooden’s teachings and the love that emanated from them. The coach, he said, was the reason why his marriage had longevity, why he had started a few businesses, conquered cancer multiples times and survived the death of his young daughter.

He didn’t mention to Close he was the starting point guard on two of Wooden’s national championship teams.

‘I just thought, ‘That’s it,’ Close says. ‘How many John Vallely stories can we create? It doesn’t diminish the competitive excellence at all. In fact, maybe it is exactly what led to it and equipped it.’

A few years into Close’s head coaching tenure, Joshua Medcalf, then UCLA’s director of mental conditioning, brought her team into center court of Pauley Pavilion.

‘I hope I’m at that banner-raising ceremony,’ he told her players. ‘I hope your habits lead you to exactly that. But banners hang in gyms.

‘That ring ceremony is going to be sweet because of the character it’s going to take to earn that. But rings just sit in trophy cases and collect dust.

‘The only two things that are gonna to stay with you for the rest of your life, from these four years, is who you become and who you impact.’

When Close told me that story, I thought about how I never won an outright championship in 10 years as a youth sports coach. But I sometimes pull out a note from a parent in my desk drawer. It focused not on our winning season but in my faith in his son.

More Coach Steve: What young athletes can learn from the legendary John Wooden

4. ‘Be a good listener:’ Everybody is important in the journey (especially parents)

As we all know, other parents can be an issue in youth sports. Close watches their behavior in the stands at AAU games and listens carefully to what they say to her in conversations. It’s all part of her recruiting process.

They watch her, too. One UCLA parent who didn’t like something the coach said in a news conference requested a Zoom conversation, which Close obliged the next day.

‘I’m a big believer that performance equals potential minus interferences,’ she says. ‘And sometimes, if the lines of communication are not open, it becomes an interference for the kids, because they are caught in the middle of an unsolvable solution for them.’

About a year ago, Close emulated a habit of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. She established a semi-regular Zoom call with her players’ parents. She tells them about her growth mindset. She tells them they can call her, even about playing time. And she tells them to be prepared for her answers.

‘You have to be ready for the reality and the truth that’s leading to those decisions,’ she says.

Close, like you as a coach of kids, ultimately makes the team decisions. But it’s more important, she says, for everyone to feel heard than for her to be right.

‘It doesn’t mean I have to change the standards,’ she says. ‘But a way that I can serve them is to be a good listener.’

5. ‘It’s not Kumbaya and a sorority:’ Embrace sports for the joy and also the struggle

UCLA will enter its eighth NCAA tournament under Close. The runs include an elite Eight and five Sweet 16 appearances. When the losses come, they are deeply felt.

When her team was upset at home by Washington State on Jan. 28, Close took several moments to compose herself before her opening statement.

‘This one will be measured by everybody else on the outside by the end score,’ she began, her voice shaking. ‘But it won’t be measured that way for me. What Kiki and the rest of her teammates, what they showed from the inside out, you have no idea.’

Her Bruins team, which was dealing with injuries and illness and was missing leading scorer Lauren Betts, almost came back to win after trailing by 20 points.

‘They pre-decided they were gonna give everything, and they were gonna finish empty with and for each other,’ Close said. ‘And there’s no doubt that they did that.’

At one point, when Close couldn’t get her words out, guard Kike Rice, who was sitting next to her, said, “I got it,” and answered the question.

‘As usual, covering for me,’ Close said with a smile.

In our interview, Close recalled a conversation with a coach the day after winning a national championship. It seemed to lack similar emotion.

‘How do you feel?’ Close asked.

‘A little empty,’ the coach replied.

Close was surprised. This was supposed to be the pinnacle.

‘I just think outcome-oriented thinking is really empty,’ she says.

The joy of sports, and the growth you get out of them, she has realized, doesn’t just come in the results. It can come alongside the struggles, too.

‘I’m not talking about just having fun all the time; it’s not Kumbaya and a sorority,’ Close says. ‘It’s healthy to have real struggle when you miss your first four shots, or when the ref makes a bad call, or you don’t agree with the coach, or you’re having trouble conquering a skill. Those are really healthy struggles.

‘But I also want there to be great joy, and joy is not dependent upon your circumstances. Joy is a choice, a skill, a deeper thing.’

And we can find it even when we lose.

Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for a high schooler and middle schooler. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.

It was just four years ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago.

It was the time of the coronavirus pandemic, a period that changed our lives forever. 

We were introduced to Zoom. We discovered that office space was no longer a necessity, but a luxury. We re-examined our priorities. We took time to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors. 

We also were reminded how much sports means to all of us. 

When Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez step into the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday [6 a.m. ET, ESPN] for the first time to broadcast the 2024 season-opener between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the sheer and raw emotions of their 2020 experience could completely overwhelm them. 

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

“I’m sure walking into the stadium, seeing some of the same faces, the cheerleaders at the ballpark,’ Ravech tells USA TODAY Sports, “it’s going to hit us. I think there will be an emotional reaction coming here and remembering just what transpired. 

“It wasn’t an enjoyable time. There were people desperately looking for food, Kleenex, toilet paper. It was tragic. You’re wondering, when does this end. Will the pandemic ever end?’’ 

Says Perez, on a Facetime call from his hotel room in Seoul: “Just being here, remembering what happened then, it’s just so surreal.’

Ravech and Perez were the ones who brought baseball back into our homes beginning May 5, 2020, after being without Major League games in the month April for the first time since 1883. Televising games from the Korean Baseball League was the brainstorm of Phil Orlins, ESPN vice president of production, and MLB producer Andy Jacobson. 

Sure, no one ever heard of the teams from the KBO. No one knew any of the Korean players.  

They weren’t in anyone’s fantasy leagues. 

But hey, the mound was still 60 feet and 6 inches from home plate. The bases were 90 feet apart. And, no matter that it was being played halfway across the world, it was still baseball. 

“It was an amazing time with no live sports out there,’ Orlins said. “So, it literally was like, ‘Let’s figure out a way to bring live sports to a place, ESPN, that is built around live sports.’ And from there, it really became a question of how do we make this reasonably entertaining and how do we approach it from like a talk radio or podcast aspect to it.’

Really, it took Perez and Ravech a while just to wrap their heads around the idea of trying to broadcast games when they’re more than 7,000 miles away from the action. 

“I remember Phil called me and told me and said we’re going to do the KBO,’ Perez says.

“I told him, ‘Phil, there’s a two-week quarantine over here. I’ve got to take my family there. They’ve got to come with me.’

Orlins quickly interjected. He and Ravech aren’t going anywhere. They would install video equipment at their homes. They would watch the KBO on TV screens in their house, and they would broadcast the games as if they were there. 

They were required to get up at 3:30 in the morning, set up the equipment, and then go on the air at 5:30, three days a week. 

Ravech did the entire season from his Bristol, Connecticut, bedroom, with his wife, Christine, who was still asleep, but still got up to make sure Ravech stayed alert with fresh cups of coffee. 

Perez did the games from his Miami garage where he had just built a studio, with his dog, Mickey, by his side. 

“I’ll be honest,’’ Ravech says, “I never thought there would be something like COVID. I never thought we’d be broadcasting baseball games from our houses. I never thought we’d be broadcasting games from Korea. It was crazy.’

Still, they had fun, and were entertaining bringing on special guests from everyone from Perez’s high-school geography teacher to the cheerleaders at the games. And, oh, did they ever learn to improvise. 

It was the first week of games when the original scheduled game was rained out, forcing Ravech and Perez to scramble, knowing they knew nothing about the teams they were about to cover.

“We didn’t know the two teams we were doing let along the two teams we haven’t studied,’ Ravech says. “So, I found the teams on the internet, printed out the rosters walk back from the headphone, and hear Eduardo welcoming KBO from ESPN. 

“I didn’t know if he was rehearing or was live. I missed the welcome. I thought the game started at 5:30, not 5:25. I couldn’t believe it. 

“I mean, you can’t make this stuff up.’ 

The Major League Baseball season, shut down in spring training on March 12, finally started four months later on July 23 with a condensed 60-game schedule. Even with baseball back, Perez and Ravech lobbied to broadcast Korean Series in November, volunteering to travel to Korea to do the games in person. 

The travel proposal was nixed, but when ESPN got the rights to televise 2024’s opening two-game series in South Korea, it was an easy decision on who to send: Ravech and Perez. 

Four years later, here they are broadcasting games again from South Korea, only this time, in person, and major-league games that count in the regular season. 

“It was 100% therapeutic to do those games,’’ Perez says. “We had a purpose in getting up. As hard as COVID was for the entire country, I was blessed to do this, bringing baseball into households. 

“Korea kept me sane, it kept me going.’’ 

Ravech is clinging onto the first home life equipment kit ESPN ever used for the remote telecasts. It remains in his office: HLE kit, 0001. 

“I don’t want to ever give it back,’ Ravech says. “I’m hanging onto it. Maybe one day, it’ll be in someone’s museum.’

Together, Ravech and Perez will reunite with Daniel Kim, ESPN’s KBO analyst, cheerleaders from the KBO games, mascots, and a female disc jockey who wrote songs for their broadcasts. 

“Having Daniel Kim in Korea, he not only gave us instant credibility,’’ Ravech says, “but he introduced us to so many people in South Korea. They were so open to letting us introduce themselves into our own world, and a different side of Seoul.’

It was never about the ratings, Orlins and Jacobson said. It was never about trying to make the KBO players into household names. It was simply a form of entertainment, allowing everyone a momentary reprieve from the cruelty of the pandemic. 

“It was a crazy time, we knew the fan base was craving live sports, just something to follow,’’ Jacobson says. “We attacked those sports shows almost like we’re doing a spring training game. The game is there as a back-drop, and we certainly didn’t expect viewers to all of a sudden know the players and just publicly become consumed by it. 

“The goal was to watch some baseball over a cup of coffee at whatever time in the morning that was, and just enjoy some sense of normalcy again.’

It worked. 

Sure, it wasn’t like you were listening to St. Louis Cardinals announcer Jack Buck on summer evenings on KMOX, or Vin Scully on Dodgers’ games throughout Southern California, but during all of the fear, anxiety and heartbreak of the pandemic, it was soothing. 

“Baseball is not just a sport, baseball is part of the fabric of people’s lives,’’ Ravech says. “It’s such a routine during the summer. Even though you’re not always paying close attention, you want to hear the sound, the voices, night after night. It’s reassuring. 

“All of that was taken away.’

The Korean Baseball games on ESPN at least dulled the pain, brought some enjoyment, and everyone who got up early can say they saw Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim play before becoming a star in San Diego, along with a first look at new San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. 

“We have such immense amount of gratitude to everyone there,’’ Ravech says. “They brought joy into our lives. Now, four years later, we get to thank them in person. 

“It’s going to be special.’’ 

Around the basepaths

The Houston Astros, who exchanged contract proposals this week for two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, now appear to be long-shots to sign him. They have balked at Snell’s asking price of at least a two-year guarantee for $60 million, including an opt-out after the 2024 season. The Astros’ biggest concern is that they will be over another luxury tax threshold if they pay Snell close to $30 million annually.

They have a projected luxury payroll of $256.828 million, according to Cot’s Contracts, and will eclipse the second tax threshold of $277 million (45% surcharge) if they sign Snell to a contract exceeding $20 million a year. 

The San Francisco Giants are now looming as the favorites for Snell, who have been engaged, but were also waiting for the price-tag to drop.

≻ The San Diego Padres and outfielder Tommy Pham are in talks, and could be moving closer to reuniting on a one-year, $3 million to $4 million deal. Pham earned $8 million last season, including incentives, while helping lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to the World Series. He played for the Padres in 2020 and 2021.

The Chicago White Sox also have interest in Pham if his potential deal with the Padres hits a snag.

≻ Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was informed that he’ll be out 10-12 weeks with his sore elbow, and the best-case scenario is that he could rejoin the starting rotation in early June. He’s not expected to pick up a baseball for the next 3-4 weeks and will then be re-examined by doctors.

This will be the first time since 2005 that neither of the defending Cy Young award winners will be pitching opening day with Cole sidelined and Blake Snell still unsigned.

≻ Agent Seth Levinson says that veteran free-agent starter Mike Clevinger is seeking only a one-year contract with opening day less than two weeks away.

≻ Seven-time All-Star and MVP Sammy Sosa, who wants to reconcile with the Chicago Cubs, visited Chicago this past week for the first time in 17 years, did an autograph show in Rosemont, Illinois, and did interviews at philanthropist Stewart McVicar’s Club 400 home in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. 

Sosa may never be invited to Cooperstown, but would love one day to be in the Cubs’ Hall of Fame where he richly belongs. 

“He misses the game,’’ McVicar says, “but he misses the fans more.’’ 

≻ So, what was more impressive? Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani sleeping 11 of the 12 ½ hour flight to South Korea or new Padres pitcher Dylan Cease scrambling to find his passport, packing up all of his belongings at his Phoenix rental condo, shipping his car to San Diego, going to the Padres complex to workout, and then flying to Los Angeles and then to Seoul, South Korea to meet his new teammates? 

≻ The Kansas City Royals finally forgave GM John Schuerholz for leaving the organization for Atlanta, and announced that he will be inducted into their team Hall of Fame this summer with Bo Jackson and former GM Cedric Tallis. 

Schuerholz, 83, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017, led the Royals to the 1985 World Series championship before moving to Atlanta in 1990 and guiding that franchise to 14 consecutive division titles. 

≻ Classy for Jackson to publicly thank legendary scout Art Stewart for making his baseball career possible when they drafted him after winning the Heisman Trophy. 

“Art was the first person that I thought about,’ Jackson said on a zoom call with Kansas City reporters, “because he took a chance on me. When everybody else was saying, ‘No, he’s not going to do this,’ Art knew. Art took a chance on me, and to this day I honor that man. … 

“Without Art Stewart, there wouldn’t be a relationship between myself and the Kansas City Royals. So, thank you, Art Stewart.” 

≻ The Dodgers’ massive appeal with the signings of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is reflected by the fact that the average ticket price to see their home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals is $533, according to StubHub. 

≻ It cost him about $3 million, but third baseman J.D. Davis at least got an everyday job by signing a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Oakland Athletics after being released by San the Francisco Giants. 

Davis, 30, was expendable when the Giants signed third baseman Matt Chapman to a three-year, $54 million contract. Davis was scheduled to receive a $6.9 million salary after winning his arbitration case against the Giants, but instead was left with just $1.112 million in termination pay to go along with his new A’s contract. 

He was a victim of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement that guarantees contracts for arbitration-eligible players, but not for salaries decided by an arbitrator.  

Certainly, it was eye-opening, and a cruel reminder for players who opt to go through the arbitration process next season. 

≻ The Yankees have not re-engaged in talks for Snell, and instead have expressed interest in signing free-agent starter Michael Lorenzen. 

≻ Fabulous gesture by Cubs reliever Hector Neris, who took 70 Latino minor leaguers, along with teammates Adbert Alzolay and Daniel Palencia, to eat at a local Dominican restaurant, paying for the entire tab. 

≻ Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is optimistic now that World Series MVP Corey Seager and third baseman Josh Jung will be ready by opening day, despite not having played any spring-training games. 

Seager, who underwent sports hernia surgery on Jan. 30, will start facing live pitching early this week. Jung, who sustained a calf injury in February, just started facing live pitching. 

≻ Angels outfield prospect Nelson Rada, 18, is opening eyes this spring with several officials believing he could be a perennial All-Star. He’s already a Gold Glove outfielder, and stole 55 bases last season, and now just needs experience. He could be in the big leagues by 2026. 

≻ Dodgers prized outfield prospect Andy Pages, who missed most of the 2023 season with shoulder surgery, has impressed scouts this spring and could join the Dodgers sometime this summer. 

≻ The Angels, who have had a tough history with free-agents, now will open the season without reliever Robert Stephenson, who has had a sore shoulder all spring. Stephenson, who signed a three-year, $33-million contract in January, was expected to be the main setup reliever for closer Carlos Estevez. 

≻ The Mets plan to fully to jump into the free-agent market next winter with the likes of Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Walker Buehler available. Yet, rival teams still believe that All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso won’t be retained, and could be available at the July 30 trade deadline. 

≻ Angels outfielder Jake Marisnick, 32, has had a terrific spring but still is highly unlikely to break camp with the Angels expecting to keep Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak. Marisnick has an opt-out on March 20, which could intrigue teams. 

≻ If the Dodgers get leery about the Mookie Betts’ ability to play shortstop, after not playing the posiiton on an everyday basis since high school, they plan to turn to the Milwaukee Brewers and make a run at shortstop Willy Adames, who’s a free agent after the season. 

≻ The Oakland A’s may not be a .500 team, like manager Mark Kotsay projects, but scouts agree that they’ll be much better than their 50-112 record of a year ago. 

≻ Scouts keep waiting for Cincinnati Reds young starter Hunter Greene to develop consistent off-speed pitchers to become an elite starter and live up to the hype. He still relies too often on his 102-mph fastball, particularly when he gets in trouble. 

≻ Scouts have been enamored by the rising progress of shortstop Jackson Merrill, who has played only 46 games above Class A, none in Triple-A, and now will be the Padres’ opening-day center fielder. He has shown tremendous discipline at the plate, just putting the ball into play. He’ll be just the third center fielder to start on opening day before the age of 21 in baseball history, joining Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (1990) and Andruw Jones (1998). 

≻ Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, on hearing that the Padres acquired Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease: 

“I wish the best players would quit coming to the NL West.’’ 

The D-backs spent $136.5 million in free-agency this season, but they were dwarfed by the Dodgers ($1.087 billion) and the Giants ($261.25 million). 

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale 

It’s the appetizer before the main course as the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments get underway with the First Four games, beginning Tuesday.

The 68-team fields will be set on Selection Sunday and eight men’s and women’s schools have a little housekeeping to do before they get to the more traditional bracket setup.

The madness will begin this year’s quest to reach the Final Four – for the men, it’s in Phoenix; for the women, it’s in Cleveland.

To read more about how Selection Sunday unfolds and where teams land in the brackets, follow along here.

SELECTION SUNDAY LIVE: Read more about how Selection Sunday unfolds and where teams land in the brackets

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize

When is men’s First Four?

The men’s First Four will take place with two games on Tuesday, March 19 and two games on Wednesday, March 20 in Dayton, Ohio.

How to watch men’s First Four

The men’s First Four games are scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Wednesday.

They will be broadcast live on TruTV, with Spero Dedes handling the play-by-play, Jim Spanarkel handling the analysis and Jon Rothstein reporting.

Which teams are in the men’s First Four?

Tuesday, March 19: Colorado State (24-10) vs. Virginia (23-10) for the No. 10 seed in the Midwest. The winner will face No. 7 Texas on Thursday, March 21.
Tuesday, March 19: Wagner (16-15) vs. Howard (18-16) for the No. 16 seed in the West. The winner will face No. 1 North Carolina on Thursday, March 21.
Wednesday, March 20: Colorado (24-10) vs. Boise State (22-10) for the No. 10 seed in the South. The winner will face No. 7 Florida on Friday, March 22.
Wednesday, March 20: Grambling State (20-14) vs. Montana State (17-17) for the No. 16 seed in the Midwest. The winner will face No. 1 Purdue on Friday, March 22.

When is women’s First Four?

The women’s First Four will take place with two games on Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 21. The sites of the women’s First Four games will be held at the home courts of four of the top 16 national seeds.

How to watch the women’s First Four

The women’s First Four games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks. The TV schedule and the announcers have not yet been revealed.

It’s that time of year, when sports fans — even the casuals — familiarize (or re-familiarize) themselves with truTV.

CBS and Turner Sports have the broadcasting rights to the men’s NCAA Tournament, and broadcast games on four channels. Three of them – CBS, TNT and TBS – you may know from broadcasting dozens of other sporting events each year, but the remaining channel, truTV, is one that always eludes basketball fans each year. 

This year, as it has been the pattern over the past several, truTV will broadcast all ‘First Four’ games this week and then will also broadcast several first- and second-round games.

SELECTION SUNDAY LIVE: Read more about how Selection Sunday unfolds and where teams land in the brackets

Here’s everything you need to know about how to find truTV:

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

What channel is truTV?

TruTV can be found on several cable providers, and has the same channel number nationwide on some of the providers. Here are the channels:

AT&T U-Verse: 164/1164
FIOS: 183/683
Cox: Varies by location 
DISH: 242
DirecTV: 246
Spectrum: Varies by location
Xfinity: Varies by location

TruTV is also available to stream on YouTube TV, iOS App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Android TV.

Which March Madness games will be on truTV?

This year, truTV will broadcast 13 exclusive games from the men’s tournament — which is one more than last season — and includes each of the First Four broadcasts. The First Four will take place at the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio and runs two days, starting the night of Tuesday, March 19 and ending Wednesday, March 20.

Here’s what games will be on truTV, as well as tip-off times (all times ET), with participants yet to be determined:

First Four

Tuesday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. | 9 p.m.
Wednesday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. | 9 p.m.

First Round

Thursday, March 21 at 12:30 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 10 p.m.
Friday, March 22 at 12:30 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 10 p.m.

Second Round

Saturday, March 23 at 7 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. (both games also available on TBS)
Sunday, March 24 at 7:45 p.m.

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