March Madness TV Guide: Where and when to see Thursday’s first-round games

Remember back in the day when the NCAA Tournament was televised on one channel and you’d be subjected to split screens and live look-ins?

Those days are thankfully over.

CBS and Turner have put an end to that. In recent years, the networks have devoted four channels to the early stages of March Madness, ensuring fans can see any game they wish in its entirety, the way the good Lord intended.

That doesn’t mean it’s not a chore to find the games, however. So we’ve put together a handy-dandy list (thought I was gonna say ‘notebook’, didn’t you?) of where to find Thursday’s first-round tournament action, and channel listings depending on what television service you subscribe to.

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CBS

Cox: 5 (standard-definition), 1005 (high-definition)
DirecTV: 5
CenturyLink Prism: 5

9:15 AM – #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. #12 Princeton Tigers – West Region – Buffalo, NY
11:45 AM – #4 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. #13 Bucknell Bison – West Region – Buffalo, NY
4:10 PM – #1 Villanova Wildcats vs. #16 Mount St. Mary’s Mountaneers – East Region – Buffalo, NY
6:40 PM – #8 Wisconsin Badgers vs. #9 Virginia Tech Hokies – East Region – Buffalo, NY

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Tru TV

Cox: 45 (standard-definition), 1045 (high-definition)
DirecTV: 246
CenturyLink Prism: 165

9:40 AM – #5 Virginia Cavaliers vs. #12 UNC Wilmington Seahawks – East Region – Orlando, FL
12:10 PM – #13 East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs. #4 Florida Gators – East Region – Orlando, FL
4:27 PM – #4 Purdue Boilermakers vs. #13 Vermont Catamounts – Midwest Region – Milwaukee, WI
6:57 PM – #5 Iowa State Cyclones vs. #12 Nevada Wolfpack – Midwest Region – Milwaukee, WI

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TNT

Cox: 26 (standard-definition), 1026 (high-definition)
DirecTV: 245
CenturyLink Prism: 109

10:30 AM – #4 Butler Bulldogs vs. #13 Winthrop Eagles – South Region – Milwaukee, WI
1:00 PM – #5 Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. #12 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders – South Region – Milwaukee, WI
3:50 PM – #6 Maryland Terrapins vs. #11 Xavier Musketeers – West Region – Orlando, FL
6:20 PM – #3 Florida State Seminoles vs. #14 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles – West Region – Orlando, FL

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TBS

Cox: 49 (standard-definition), 1049 (high-definition)
DirecTV: 247
CenturyLink Prism: 113

11:00 AM – #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. #16 South Dakota State Jackrabbits – West Region – Salt Lake City, UT
1:30 PM – #8 Northwestern Wildcats vs. #9 Vanderbilt Commodores – West Region – Salt Lake City, UT
4:20 PM – #7 Saint Mary’s Gaels vs. #10 VCU Rams – West Region – Salt Lake City, UT
6:40 PM – #2 Arizona Wildcats vs. #15 North Dakota Fighting Hawks – West Region – Salt Lake City, UT

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