The men’s NCAA Tournament tips off Tuesday with an appetizer for the madness to come. The First Four has been around since 2011 and features the last four automatic qualifiers and last four at-large bids playing to whittle the field from 68 to 64.

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 (3/18/25) with the First Four round at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

FILE – March Madness branding is displayed a Wilson EVO NXT basketball before a first-round college basketball game between Kent State and Notre Dame in the women’s NCAA Tournament Saturday March 23, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina, File)