Looming at the top of this year’s March Madness bracket: Duke and its freshman force of nature, Zion Williamson. The Blue Devils earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, joining Virginia, North Carolina and Gonzaga as No. 1 seeds for the three-week hoops extravaganza that kicks off this week.
Williamson missed five games after wrenching his knee when his Nike sneaker blew out in a regular-season game last month. He’s healthy again, playing well and not concerned about another potential injury that could impact his status as the likely top pick in the NBA draft later this year.
The tournament starts Tuesday with a pair of play-in games, then gets going in full force Thursday. The Final Four is set for April 6-8 in Minneapolis, where Duke is the early 9-4 favorite to win it all.
The three teams from the ACC as No. 1 seeds ties a record for one conference. “They earned their right to be there,” said Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir, the chair of the selection committee.
Virginia gets a top seed for the second straight year, hoping to avoid another colossal embarrassment; the Cavaliers will face Gardner-Webb a year after becoming the first top seed to lose to a No. 16 since the bracket went to 64 teams in 1985.
The bracket, as always, included a few surprises and a few more debatable decisions from the selection committee that’s been holed up at a Manhattan hotel this week, crunching the numbers.
Mid-major Belmont made it off the bubble, one of seven teams from non-power conferences to earn at-large bids. That was the highest number since 2015. Other bubble teams were Temple, Arizona and St. John’s. Missing the tournament were Alabama, TCU and Indiana.
Michigan State made a strong bid for a No. 1 seed with its win Sunday over Michigan in the Big Ten title game. Instead, it was put on the “2” line, with a potential Elite Eight matchup against Duke in a tough East region.
Muir said Michigan State leapfrogged another No. 2 seed, Kentucky, by winning the Big Ten but “at the same token, we thought Michigan and Michigan State would both be on the ‘2’ line.”
Printable 2019 NCAA Bracket
Schedule for the 2019 NCAA Tournament
| TIP TIME | GAME | NETWORK | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:40 p.m. | (16) Prairie View A&M vs. (16) Fairleigh Dickinson | truTV | Dayton I |
| After conc. I | (11) Temple vs. (11) Belmont | truTV | Dayton II |
Wednesday, March 20 — First Four
| TIME | GAME | NETWORK | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:40 p.m. | (16) NC Central vs. (16) North Dakota State | truTV | Dayton I |
| After conc. I | (11) St. John’s vs. (11) Arizona State | truTV | Dayton II |
Thursday, March 21 — First round
| TIME | GAME | NETWORK | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:15 p.m. | (10) Minnesota vs. (7) Louisville | WINK | Des Moines |
| 12:40 p.m. | (14) Yale vs. (3) LSU | truTV | Jacksonville I |
| 1:30 p.m. | (12) New Mexico State vs. (5) Auburn | TNT | Salt Lake City I |
| 2 p.m. | (13) Vermont vs. (4) Florida State | TBS | Hartford I |
| After conc. I | (15) Bradley vs. (2) Michigan State | WINK | Des Moines II |
| After conc. I | (11) Temple/Belmont vs. (6) Maryland | truTV | Jacksonville II |
| After conc. I | (13) Northeastern vs. (4) Kansas | TNT | Salt Lake City II |
| After conc. I | (12) Murray State vs. (5) Marquette | TBS | Hartford II |
| 6:50 p.m. | (10) Florida vs. (7) Nevada | TNT | Des Moines III |
| 7:10 p.m. | (15) Abilene Christian vs. (2) Kentucky | WINK | Jacksonville III |
| 7:20 p.m. | (11) Saint Mary’s vs. (6) Villanova | TBS | Hartford III |
| 7:27 p.m. | (16) Prairie View / Fairleigh vs. (1) Gonzaga | truTV | Salt Lake City III |
| After conc. III | (15) Montana vs. (2) Michigan | TNT | Des Moines IV |
| After conc. III | (10) Seton Hall vs. (7) Wofford | WINK | Jacksonville IV |
| After conc. III | (14) Old Dominion vs. (3) Purdue | TBS | Hartford IV |
| After conc. III | (9) Baylor vs. (8) Syracuse | truTV | Salt Lake City IV |
Friday, March 22 — First round
| TIME | GAME | NETWORK | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:15 p.m. | (10) Iowa vs. (7) Cincinnati | WINK | Columbus I |
| 12:40 p.m. | (9) Oklahoma vs. (8) Ole Miss | truTV | Columbia I |
| 1:30 p.m. | (14) Northern Kentucky vs. (3) Texas Tech | TNT | Tulsa I |
| 2 p.m. | (13) UC Irvine vs. (4) Kansas State | TBS | San Jose I |
| After conc. I | (15) Colgate vs. (2) Tennessee | WINK | Columbus II |
| After conc. I | (16) Gardner-Webb vs. (1) Virginia | truTV | Columbia II |
| After conc. I | (11) St. John’s / Arizona State vs. (6) Buffalo | TNT | Tulsa II |
| After conc. I | (12) Oregon vs. (5) Wisconsin | TBS | San Jose II |
| 6:50 p.m. | (9) Washington vs. (8) Utah State | TNT | Columbus III |
| 7:10 p.m. | (16) NC Central / North Dakota St. vs. (1) Duke | WINK | Columbia III |
| 7:20 p.m. | (14) Georgia State vs. (3) Houston | TBS | Tulsa III |
| 7:27 p.m. | (12) Liberty vs. (5) Mississippi State | truTV | San Jose III |
| After conc. III | (16) Iona vs. (1) North Carolina | TNT | Columbus IV |
| After conc. III | (9) UCF vs. (8) VCU | WINK | Columbia IV |
| After conc. III | (11) Ohio State vs. (6) Iowa State | TBS | Tulsa IV |
| After conc. III | (13) Saint Louis vs. (4) Virginia Tech | truTV | San Jose IV |
Saturday, March 23
Second round: Hartford, Salt Lake City, Des Moines, Jacksonville
Sunday, March 24
Second round: Tulsa, Columbus, Columbia, San Jose
Thursday, March 28
Sweet 16: Louisville, Anaheim
Friday, March 29
Sweet 16: Washington, D,C., Kansas City
Saturday, March 30
Elite Eight: Louisville, Anaheim
Sunday, March 31
Elite Eight: Washington, D.C., Kansas City
Saturday, April 6
Final Four: Minneapolis
WINK — Jim Nantz / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson
Monday, April 8
National Championship Game: Minneapolis
WINK — Jim Nantz / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson