Must-see 1st rd games: Best matchups, upset alerts, Cinderellas in the wings and stats/facts to know before finishing your bracket

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Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander preview Thursday and Friday of the 2026 NCAA Tournament! Which Round 1 matchups are most intriguing? Where are the upsets waiting to happen? All that and more on the doorstep of the madness!

(0:00) Intro + the tournament starts today!

(4:00) Games to watch on Thursday

(4:30) Ohio State vs. TCU

(8:01) North Carolina vs. VCU

(12:45) Georgia vs. Saint Louis

(17:00) Nebraska vs. Troy

(19:00) Duke vs. Siena

(23:15) Arkansas vs. Hawaii

(27:30) Games to watch on Friday

(28:00) Kentucky vs. Santa Clara

(33:30) Texas Tech vs. Akron

(36:00) UConn vs Furman

(38:30) Arizona vs LIU

(44:00) Alabama vs Hofstra

(48:20) Kansas vs. Cal Baptist

(52:45) DraftKings Upset Alert

(59:45) Sling TV Game to Watch: you gotta watch Miami on Wednesday night

(1:08:30) Norlander’s nuggets ahead of the tournament

Theme song: “Timothy Leary,” written, performed and courtesy of Guster

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