March Madness live stream, TV schedule: Round of 64, Day 1 GameThread

THIS. IS. MARCH.

Folks, we made it. For the next four days, Twitter will be a wasteland of trash talk and failed brackets, and then— if your bracket holds up— that trend will continue for you through the first weekend of April. Tip-off for the tournament begins Thursday, March 15 at noon ET, and every game is available via livestream.

Ohio State (No. 5 seed) will take the court at 4 p.m. ET on TNT, where they’ll face the Summit League champions, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (No. 12 seed), in what some are already expecting to be one of the upsets of the tournament. However, considering the Buckeyes weren’t even expected to make it the Big Dance this season, playing even one game in the NCAA Tournament is a significant accomplishment for new head coach Chris Holtmann and his surprisingly feisty squad, who hopefully has used the last two weeks to get their bodies— and gameplan— ready for tournament time!

One early, interesting game to watch will be the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 7 Rhode Island Rams. OU was a bubble team throughout the latter part of the season, and it could be argued (ok, I’m arguing it), that they only got in because of their other-worldly freshman guard Trae Young. So, while the Sooners are certainly the more well-known name in this matchup, they aren’t the favorite; and even if Young goes for 60 (which he is absolutely capable of doing), that doesn’t necessarily mean that Oklahoma is going to win.

Also, all Buckeye fans should keep an eye on the 1:30 p.m. ET tip between the West Region’s No. 4 Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 13 UNC Greensboro Spartans. Should OSU get by the Jackrabbits, they will face the winner of that game. Of course, Ohio State fell to the Zags in November by a score of 86-59. However, that was a long time ago, and before Holtmann and crew developed the mojo that carried them through most of the season.

One more early game to get you ready for the Buckeye’s Round of 64 contest is the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. the No. 16 Penn Quakers. No, there has never been a 16 vs. 1 upset in men’s tournament history, BUT, there might never have been a 16-seed as good as this Penn team.

Check out the rest of today’s games as well, and look out for No. 12 Davidson vs. No. 5 Kentucky at 7:10 p.m. ET. Assuming the Buckeyes survive the dreaded Jackrabbits, that could be your annual 12 vs. 5 upset.

Click HERE for your printable SBNation PDF of the 2018 bracket.

Who do you think will win this year? How far will the Buckeyes make it? Sound off in the comment section and COME FAN WITH US!