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The march to madness officially kicks off in Dayton, Ohio, as the First Four begins with a Tuesday doubleheader. The First Four is comprised of four games between the last four automatic qualifiers and the last four at-large teams. The four winners will advance into the traditional 64-team bracket that will begin Thursday, March 19.

Last year, all of the First Four winners were eliminated in the first round, but at least one at-large First Four team won in 12 of the previous 13 tournaments since the First Four was established in 2011. Two teams from the First Four have advanced to the Final Four — VCU in 2011 and UCLA in 2021. In 2023, 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson advanced from the First Four and defeated top-seeded Purdue in the first round.

All of the First Four games are played at the University of Daytona Arena. On Tuesday, March 17, Texas will face North Carolina State for the opportunity to play sixth-seeded BYU in the West Region. UMBC will play Howard for the No.

16 seed in the Midwest and a first-round game against No. 1 seed Michigan in the Midwest. On Wednesday, March 18, Miami of Ohio will play SMU for the No.