The biggest college basketball tournament is here, bringing plenty of excitement and storylines. Will we see Cinderellas pull upsets, or will the bluebloods keep their grip on the tournament? With the power of a reliable connection always important during a successful tournament run, we’re keeping you connected to the can’t-miss headlines and standout moments from every round.

The 2026 NCAA men’s tournament unofficially starts Tuesday night with the first two First Four games. The winners of each game will advance to the first round of the tournament on Thursday.

Here’s what you need to know for both games that will air on TruTV.

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No. 16 Howard (23-10) vs. No. 16 UMBC (24-8)

6:40 p.m. ET | UMBC -1.5 | Total: 140.5 | Winner plays No. 1 Michigan

Howard won both the regular season and tournament titles in the MEAC as it went 11-3 in conference play and took down North Carolina Central 70-63 in the conference championship game.

The Bison enter the First Four on an eight-game win streak and with 11 straight wins against MEAC opponents. Howard’s last loss came on Feb. 9 in overtime to Yale, a team that barely missed the NCAA tournament. 

Guards Bryce Harris and Cedric Taylor each average 17 points and six rebounds per game. Despite the team’s relative lack of size — just one of its top six scorers is taller than 6-5 — the Bison are one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the country and shoot a ton of free throws. Howard averages over 25 free throw attempts per game and shoots 73% as a team from the stripe.

The Retrievers are most known for their 2018 upset of Virginia. Eight years ago, UMBC became the first team in men’s NCAA tournament history to take down a No. 1 seed as a No. 16 seed. That team was coached by Ryan Odom, the man who is now coaching the Cavaliers. 

Jim Ferry took over for Odom after the 2020-21 season and UMBC is making its first tournament appearance since 2018. Like Howard, UMBC won both the regular season and tournament titles in the America East Conference. Opponents average just 67 points per game against the Retrievers as they outscored their opposition by 13 points per game. 

The Retrievers do not turn opponents over but they also don’t turn the ball over themselves. UMBC averages just five steals a game — fewer than 30 teams have less steals per contest — and turns the ball over less than 10 times a game itself. 

No. 11 NC State (20-13) vs. No. 11 Texas

9:15 p.m. ET | Texas -1.5 | Total: 157.5 | Winner plays No. 6 BYU

The Wolfpack stumbled their way into the NCAA tournament. NC State was on track to not have to sweat on Selection Sunday in early February after a win over Virginia Tech extended its win streak to six.

It was rough after that. NC State won just two of its last nine games and lost four straight to end the regular season. The Wolfpack did beat Pitt to open the ACC tournament before losing to Virginia, and that 10-point win might have been what sent NC State to Dayton.

The Wolfpack have four players that average at least 13 points per game and are unafraid to launch 3s. NC State shoots 39% from behind the arc on 27 attempts per game. 

This is Texas’ second straight trip to the First Four as a No. 11 seed. Last year’s team lost to Xavier in what turned out to be Rodney Terry’s last game as Texas’ head coach … and Texas hired Sean Miller, the man who was coaching Xavier that night.

F Dailyn Swain leads the team with 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis averages 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. Can the Longhorns use their size to their advantage against NC State?

Much like the Wolfpack, Texas had a rough end to the season. The Longhorns lost five of their last six games and were one-and-done in the SEC tournament with a 10-point loss to an Ole Miss team that had won just four conference games in the regular season. However, three of those five losses came to teams in the tournament and the lone win, over Texas A&M, also was over a tournament team.