Take a breath, college basketball fans. The 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament — March Madness — is here, with games happening right now.

While fans breathlessly figured out how best to fill out their perfect brackets, teams across the country are hoping to advance through the first and second rounds, on to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and, potentially, the Final Four. Who will emerge from the 64-team field as the dominating favorites, lovable Cinderellas and hated bracket-busters?

The group of early March Madness favorites is led by Bruce Pearl and No. 1 overall seed Auburn, which despite losing three of its last four games is favored to advance to its second Final Four and win its first national title. No. 1 seed Duke, a team that beat the Tigers in the regular season, is slated to get back start freshman Cooper Flagg in time for the tournament.

Rick Pitino has led a great revival at St. John’s, with the Red Storm earning a coveted No. 2 seed after winning the Big East Tournament. The venerable Tom Izzo seeks another deep run with Michigan State after winning the Big Ten regular season title before falling short in the conference tournament.

USA TODAY Sports is providing live updates, scores, upset alerts, highlights and more from the first full day of March Madness action. Follow along.

SURVIVE AND WIN: Enter free men’s and women’s basketball tournament Survivor Pool contests for chance to win $2,500.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness bracket predictions: Our experts make their first-round picks

Men’s March Madness games today

Thursday, March 20. All times EST. We will update with final scores as games end.

• (9) Creighton 89, (8) Louisville 75
• (4) Purdue 75, (13) High Point 63
• (3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Montana | 1:30 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
• (1) Houston vs. (16) SIU Edwardsville | 2 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
• (1) Auburn vs. (16) Alabama State | 2:50 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
• (5) Clemson vs. (12) McNeese | 3:15 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
• (6) BYU vs. (11) VCU | 4:05 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
• (8) Gonzaga vs. (9) Georgia | 4:35 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
• (2) Tennessee vs. (15) Wofford | 6:50 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
• (7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas | 7:10 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
• (4) Texas A&M vs. (13) Yale | 7:25 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
• (6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake | 7:35 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
• (7) UCLA vs. (10) Utah State | 9:25 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
• (2) St. John’s vs. (15) Omaha | 9:45 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
• (5) Michigan vs. (12) UC San Diego | 10 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
• (3) Texas Tech vs. (14) UNC Wilmington | 10:10 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)

Wisconsin pulling away from Montana

In the first game of the day from Denver’s Ball Arena Thursday, No. 3 seed Wisconsin is starting to asset itself about midway through the second half against No. 14 seed Montana, the Big Sky champio. After seeing its lead cut to four in the opening minutes of the second half, the Badgers have created a cushion for themselves, with a 72-54 advantage with about eight minutes remaining.

Five Wisconsin players are already in double figures, including newly-minted second-team All-American John Tonje, who has 13 points and has made all seven of his free-throw attempts.

Purdue gets past High Point

It was touch-and-go a bit for Purdue in its first-round game Thursday against High Point, leading by just three with seven minutes remaining.

From there, though, the Boilermakers pulled away, going on a 12-2 run to put away the Panthers 75-63 in Providence, Rhode Island. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively, while Camden Heide came off the bench to add 11 points and 10 rebounds. Coach Matt Painter’s team will take on the winner of No. 5 seed Clemson’s game against No. 12 seed McNeese.

Creighton knocks off Louisville

And there we have our first “upset” of the game. Creighton, the 9 seed, upends 8-seed Louisville and ACC Coach of the Year Pat Kelsey 89-75. The Cardinals will make the short trek back home from Rupp Arena, while the Bluejays will advance to play the winner of Auburn and Alabama State on Saturday.

Pat Kelsey gets technical, fan throws water on court

Tempers are flaring among Louisville faithful in their first-round game vs. Creighton. Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey is called for a technical foul after talking to an official as they made their way up court on a Creighton possession. The game was further delayed after a presumed Louisville basketball fan threw a water bottle onto the court to voice their disapproval on the technical.

Creighton’s Steven Ashworth hit both free throws to extend the Bluejays’ lead to 77-63 with 3:15 to play.

Reyne Smith leaves for Louisville with injury

Reyne Smith has been a critical piece in Louisville’s rapid turnaround under first-year coach Pat Kelsey, leading the ACC in made 3-pointers after following Kelsey over from the College of Charleston.

He entered the NCAA Tournament, however, having missed the Cardinals’ previous four games with an ankle injury. Though he tried giving it a go, he was moving around gingerly and fell down to the floor after appearing to reaggravate his ankle as he rose up for a 3-pointer about midway through the second half. While in obvious pain, he was tended to by team trainers before being helped back to the locker room by two of his teammates, unable to put any weight on the injured ankle.

Purdue up on High Point at halftime

The Boilermakers withstood an early push from High Point to take a 37-27 lead into halftime of their first-round matchup in the Midwest Region in Providence, Rhode Island.

Braden Smith looks every bit of the first-team all-American that he was this season, with 10 points, four assists and two steals for coach Matt Painter’s Boilermakers squad, though he has struggled shooting, making only three of his 11 attempts from the field.

CBS paid tribute to Greg Gumbel

The first day of the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament opened on an understandably somber note.

The CBS studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Clark Kellogg paying tribute to the late CBS broadcaster Greg Gumbel, whose face and voice had become synonymous with March Madness. Gumbel died in December after a battle with cancer. The show began with an archived audio clip of Gumbel, along with a song from the Rolling Stones, Gumbel’s favorite band.

Read more about it here.

Purdue starting to pull away from High Point

High Point was hanging close earlier, but Purdue is starting to show why it’s nine seed lines higher than its opponent.

The Panthers have gone scoreless for the past three minutes as the Boilermakers have extended their advantage to 10, 35-25, with 1:53 remaining in the first half. The run was highlighted by thunderous put-back dunk by Myles Colvin.

High Point hanging with Purdue early

High Point is doing its best so far to make sure making the NCAA Tournament isn’t the, pardon the pun, high point of its season.

The Panthers were a somewhat trendy 13-over-4 pick in brackets and are showing why early, trailing the Boilermakers by just two, 25-23, with about six minutes left in the first half in Providence, Rhode Island. Purdue has been carried by its star tandem of guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who have 10 points apiece.

Creighton up on Louisville by 15 at half

In a matchup of two of the tournament’s most under-seeded teams, Creighton holds a sizable halftime lead over Louisville, with a 49-34 advantage at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Bluejays, customarily one of the best offensive teams in the sport under coach Greg McDermott, have been on fire from beyond the arc, making nine of their 16 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. Sharpshooter Steven Ashworth has been leading the way with a team-high 13 points while making three of his six 3s, but the biggest difference-maker may have been Jamiya Neal, who has 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Chucky Hepburn, the ACC defensive player of the year, has a game-high 18 points for Louisville, accounting for more than half of his team’s points.

Creighton surging ahead of Louisville

In the first game of the most jam-packed day in college basketball, Creighton’s starting to get hot.

After the Bluejays missed their first five 3-pointers, they’ve caught fire, making five of their past nine as part of a 12-0 run to build a 15-point lead over Louisville late in the first half in what’s a pseudo-road game for Creighton in Lexington, Kentucky, about 70 miles from the Cardinals’ campus.

Ryan Kalkbrenner spurring Creighton lead

Creighton’s 7-1 senior forward Ryan Kalkbrenner has seven points on 3-of-3 shooting, helping the Bluejays to a 28-21 lead.

Creighton, Louisville trading blows

The Cardinals and Bluejays are engaged in a back-and-forth battle nearing the 12-minute timeout. Creighton leads 16-15, with both teams shooting 50% from the field.

Louisville, Creighton tip off

And we are underway! No. 8 seed Louisville and No. 9 seed Creighton tip off the action on CBS. The winner will advance to play the winner between No. 1 overall seed Auburn and 16 seed Alabama State.

Watch select March Madness games live with Sling TV Where to watch March Madness 2025

The 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament will be broadcast across multiple TV channels and streaming platforms, including CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Per a joint release from the NCAA and Turner Sports:

• CBS will broadcast 24 games throughout the tournament including the national championship, Final Four semifinals, Elite Eight, Sweet 16 and first and second rounds.
• TBS will televise 18 games, including the Elite Eight, Sweet 16 and first and second round games.
• TruTV will air or simulcast a total of 21 games, including the First Four games, Elite Eight, Sweet 16 and first and second round games.
• TNT will televise 12 games, including First and Second round matchups

March Madness Live will carry all NCAA Tournament games, though fans hoping to use this option must provide a valid cable login. For games that air on the Turner broadcast network (TBS, TNT and truTV), Sling TV is an option. Fubo also carries CBS and offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

March Madness AI picks

AI has picked the entire March Madness bracket for USA TODAY. It has Kanas beating Alabama in the national championship game. Here’s how it got there.

Barack Obama bracket

Former President Barack Obama has released his bracket, picking Duke to beat Florida in the national championship game. For a full breakdown of his bracket, including Final Four picks, upsets and more, click here.

March Madness upset picks

Looking for reasonable upsets to give you a boost in your bracket group? Check out five potential bracket-busters here.

March Madness channels

Four channels will carry March Madness in 2025. For those who need refreshers on where to find TBS and TNT, look no further.

March Madness schedule by round

Here is a full round-by-round look at the schedules and dates for the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament:

• First round: March 20-21
• Second round: March 22-23
• Sweet 16: March 27-28
• Elite Eight: March 29-30
• Final Four: Saturday, April 5
• National championship: Monday, April 7

What time is first men’s NCAA Tournament game?

The first game of the day will pit No. 8 seed Louisville vs. No. 9 seed Creighton at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

TruTV channel

TruTV will broadcast four games in Thursday’s first round, starting with No. 4 seed Purdue vs. No. 13 seed High Point at 12:40 p.m. ET. For a full rundown of where you can find truTV, click here.

March Madness locations

Here’s a full look at the locations for the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament, beginning with the first round:

First, second rounds

• Amica Mutual Pavilion (Providence, R.I.)
• Rupp Arena, (Lexington, Ky.)
• Intrust Bank Arena (Wichita, Kan.)
• Ball Arena (Denver)
• Rocket Arena (Cleveland)
• Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee)
• Lenovo Center (Raleigh, N.C.)
• Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)

How to stream March Madness games for free

There are no true ways to stream March Madness games for free. However, fans do have a few ways to watch the games at no cost to them.

One option is March Madness Live, which will carry every game of the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament for free — but which requires a valid cable login to use. Another option is Fubo, which offers a limited free trial but which only carries games on CBS.

Printable March Madness bracket

Time is running out to fill out a bracket! Need a printable one? USA TODAY Sports has you covered.

March Madness predictions, picks today

Here’s a look at expert picks and predictions for the top seeds in action for Thursday’s March Madness games from the USA TODAY Sports Network. For a full list of the day’s predictions, click here.

Auburn (1) vs. Alabama State (16) prediction

• Mendoza: Auburn
• Myerberg: Auburn
• Smith: Auburn
• Timanus: Auburn
• Wolken: Auburn
• Meyer: Auburn 94, Alabama State 61

Houston (1) vs. SIU Edwardsville (16) prediction

• Mendoza: Houston
• Myerberg: Houston
• Smith: Houston
• Timanus: Houston
• Wolken: Houston
• Meyer: Houston 77, SIU Edwardsville 48

Watch select March Madness games with Fubo (free trial)

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.