Finally, March Madness is here. The NCAA Tournament First Round tips off in Des Moines as #7 Louisville takes on #10 Minnesota in a battle between Rick Pitino’s former school and his son’s current one. While that is stealing the pre-game storylines, this game is nearly a toss-up after each team’s recent performance – good from Minnesota, and fading from Louisville.
How to Watch the NCAA Tournament Day 1:
Minnesota vs Louisville
Date: Thursday, March 21
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Des Moines, IA
TV Channel: CBS
Live Stream: fuboTV – start your 7-day free trial to watch every NCAA Tournament game
#10 Minnesota
The Big Ten is often one of the most watched conferences in the NCAA, and Minnesota will hope a home audience can spur them into contention as an underdog. The Golden Gophers will make their second NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Richard Pitino after finishing with a 21-13 record (9-11 in Big Ten), their second-highest win total in the last five seasons. They impressed in the Big Ten Tournament, beating Penn State (77-72) and Purdue (75-73) before bowing out to Michigan in the semi-finals via a 76-49 collapse.
Senior forward Jordan Murphy and junior guard Amir Coffey have been crucial in attack for Minnesota, and coach Pitino will rely on that duo if his side is to progress past the last 64 for the first time since 2012-13.
#7 Louisville
Louisville will return to the NCAA tournament against No. 10 Minnesota on Thursday following a year’s absence from the competition’s round of 64. Chris Mack has returned the Cardinals to March Madness in his first season as coach, although the ACC’s seventh-place finishers in the regular season will have been disappointed not to make it past the quarterfinals of their conference tournament. They suffered an 83-70 defeat to third seed North Carolina, who then lost to eventual champions, Duke.
Louisville was 16-5 at the beginning of February but capitulated to finish 19-12 overall, with the 2013 NCAA champions looking to recall some of their former luster in the last 64.
Richard Pitino is trying to make his own mark on March Madness, but Chris Mack is no slouch in the big moments; viewers can expect a dogfight. You can live stream this game – plus every minute of every NCAA Tournament game – with fuboTV. Sign up now for a free trial.
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