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March Madness First Round Schedule & Live Odds: 2025 NCAA Tournament Game Info

Gary Pearson

Last Updated: March 21, 2025 4:03 PM EDT • 2 min 44 sec read.

March Madness First Round Schedule & Opening Odds: NCAA Tournament Round 1 Betting Lines
Pictured: A member of the Creighton Bluejays shoots during NCAA Tournament First Round Practice at Rupp Arena. Photo by Aaron Doster-Imagn Images.

The most exciting three weeks in sports got underway yesterday afternoon, as March Madness has officially entered your living room. Auburn is the No. 1 seed entering the tournament, while Duke is the March Madness odds betting favorite. 

While the March Madness bracket will be front and center for the duration of the tournament, here's the March Madness first-round schedule and opening odds, complete with game times and TV schedule. 

Our C Jackson Cowart asked ChatGPT to fill out a March Madness bracket with a predicted score for every game.

🗓️ March Madness first round schedule

Here is the full March Madness first-round schedule with the NCAA Tournament beginning in full on Thursday. Listed odds are from BetMGM.

DayMatchupTimeHow to watch
Friday No. 9 Baylor (-1.5) vs. No. 8 Mississippi State12:15 p.m. ET CBS
FridayNo. 15 Robert Morris vs. No 2 Alabama (-3.5)12:40 p.m. truTV
FridayNo. 14 Lipscomb vs. No. 3 Iowa State (-13.5)1:30 p.m. ET TNT
FridayNo. 12 Colorado State (-3.5) vs. No. 5 Memphis2 p.m. ET TBS
FridayMount St. Mary's vs. No. 1 Duke 2:50 p.m. ETCBS
FridayNo. 10 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Saint Mary's (-4.5)3:15 p.m. ETtruTV
FridayNo. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Ole Miss4:05 p.m. ETTNT
FridayNo. 13 Grand Canyon vs. No. 4 Maryland4:35 p.m. ETTBS
FridayNo. 16 Norfolk State vs. No. 1 Florida (-27.5)6:50 p.m. ETTNT 
FridayNo. 14 Troy vs. No. 3 Kentucky (-10.5)7:10 p.m. ETCBS
Friday No. 10 New Mexico vs. No. 7 Marquette (-3.5)7:25 p.m. ETTBS
FridayNo. 13 Akron vs. No. 4 Arizona (-14.5)7:35 p.m. ETtruTV
FridayNo. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 UConn (-4.5)9:25 p.m. ETTNT
FridayNo. 11 Xavier vs. No. 6 Illinois9:45 p.m. ETCBS
FridayNo. 15 Bryant vs. No. 2 Michigan State (-19.5)10 p.m. ETTBS
Friday No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Oregon 10:10 p.m. ETtruTV
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👉 See all of the college basketball odds from our best March Madness betting sites.

🏀 March Madness odds & predictions for Friday

Here are Friday's March Madness odds:

No. 16 Norfolk State vs. No. 1 Florida odds, 6:50 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 6:50 p.m. ET
  • Where: Lenovo Center (Raleigh, N.C.)
  • How to watch: TNT

No. 14 Troy vs. No. 3 Kentucky odds, 7:10 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 7:10 p.m. ET
  • Where: Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee)
  • How to watch: CBS

No. 10 New Mexico vs. No. 7 Marquette odds, 7:25 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 7:25 p.m. ET
  • Where: Rocket Arena (Cleveland)
  • How to watch: TBS

No. 13 Akron vs. No. 4 Arizona odds, 7:35 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 7:35 p.m. ET
  • Where: Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)
  • How to watch: truTV

No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 UConn odds, 9:25 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 9:25 p.m. ET
  • Where: Lenovo Center (Raleigh, N.C.)
  • How to watch: TNT

No. 11 Xavier vs. No. 6 Illinois odds, 9:45 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 9:45 p.m. ET
  • Where: Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee)
  • How to watch: CBS

No. 15 Bryant vs. No. 2 Michigan State odds, 10 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 10 p.m. ET
  • Where: Rocket Arena (Cleveland)
  • How to watch: TBS

No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Oregon odds, 10:10 p.m. ET

  • When: Friday, March 21 | 10:10 p.m. ET
  • Where: Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)
  • How to watch: truTV

⏰ When is March Madness Round 1?

The first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament takes place over Thursday and Friday with 16 games each day.

The First Four games will be played Tuesday and Wednesday, with two games each day. The second round of March Madness will begin Saturday with eight games played on each of Saturday and Sunday.

💰 March Madness betting odds pages

March Madness oddsMarch Madness MVP odds
Women's March Madness oddsMarch Madness MVP predictions
Final Four oddsMarch Madness prop bets

👑 Best March Madness betting sites

Ready to place your March Madness bets? Check out the best March Madness betting promos from the best March Madness betting sites, as determined by our expert team at Sportsbook Review.

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Written By:
Gary Pearson
Gary Pearson has written professionally since 2010, focusing on sports betting since 2014. Before entering the sports betting space, he contributed to the Canadian Press, FanSided, the Hockey Writers, the Calgary Herald, and other publications. His work has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report. Gary, who consumes sports like a blue whale devours plankton, has a penchant for writing predictions and analyses across several sports, including hockey, soccer, football, tennis, and more. He bets regularly, preferring single-game picks, props, and live betting. While there isn't a sport he has yet to dabble in, Gary prefers betting on soccer, hockey, and football. He studied at various post-secondary institutions, including the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Griffith University, located in Brisbane, Australia. Gary has a marketing degree and completed his bachelor's degree in journalism at Griffith University. He feels strongly that life experience is as essential as post-secondary education, helping formulate more accurate predictions and analyses. Gary believes that competing at a high level of amateur sports during his formative years helped him better understand an athlete's psyche and the nuances and complexities of a team's dynamic, both on and off the playing surface. He feels that knowledge is immeasurably important when offering his analytical expertise. He has lived on five continents and currently resides in Canada.