Two-time defending champion Texas will have to exit the Nittany Lions quarter of the bracket for a three-peat. If either Pitt or Louisville wins, it will be the first title for the ACC. The conference will have better odds than ever, though, before being joined in the ACC by Stanford, a program that won nine national titles, and SMU, which gave Pitt the only spot on its schedule in October.
The first and second rounds, which will be broadcast on ESPN+, will be played at campus sites Thursday through Saturday. Regionals are also Dec. 12-15 at campus sites. The national semifinals and championship match, as we mentioned, will be played in Louisville at the KFC Yum! The center
We broke down the schedule for Thursday and Friday’s games, and will update as the later rounds come into focus.
First round
(Eastern at all times)
Thursday, December 5
No. 5 BYU vs. Loyola Chicago, 3:30 p.m
No. 6 Minnesota vs. Western Kentucky, 4:30 p.m
No. 6 USC vs. UT Arlington, 5 p.m
No. 7 Florida State vs. Ole Miss, 5:30 p.m
No. 7 Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee, 5:30 p.m
No. 5 Dayton vs. South Carolina, 5:30 p.m
No. 7 Missouri vs. Texas State, 6 p.m
No. 4 Purdue vs. Western Michigan, 6:30 p.m
No. 5 Marquette vs. FGCU, 6:30 p.m
No. 3 Kentucky vs. Cleveland State, 7:30 p.m
No. 3 Texas vs. A&M-Corpus Christi, 7:30 p.m
No. 2 SMU vs. Wichita State, 8 p.m
No. 2 Creighton vs. South Dakota, 8 p.m
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. Fairfield, 8 p.m
No. 4 Baylor vs. Wofford, 8 p.m
No. 4 Utah vs. College of Charleston, 9:30 p.m
No. 4 Oregon vs. High Point, 9:30 p.m
Friday, December 6
No. 8 Oklahoma vs. UTEP, 4 p.m
No. 8 UNI vs. Illinois, 4 p.m
No. 6 Florida vs. NC State, 5 p.m
No. 8 North Carolina vs. Yale, 5 p.m
No. 8 Miami (FL) vs. South Dakota State, 5:30 p.m
No. 6 Texas A&M vs. Colorado State, 6:30 p.m
No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. Morehead State, 7 p.m
No. 5 TCU vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m
No. 1 Louisville vs. Chicago State, 7 p.m
No. 1 Penn State vs. Delaware State, 7:30 p.m
No. 7 LMU (CA) vs. Washington, 7:30 p.m
No. 3 Kansas vs. Colgate, 7:30 p.m
No. 1 Nebraska vs. Florida A&M, 8 p.m
No. 3 Arizona State vs. New Hampshire, 8:30 p.m
No. 2 Stanford vs. Sacramento State, 10 p.m
Second round
Saturday, December 6-Sunday, December 7
regional
Thursday, December 12-Sunday, December 15
The semi-finals
Thursday, December 19
Championship
Sunday, December 22