The men's tournament will begin with the second round, while the women's tournament will continue with the first round on Saturday.
The afternoon wave of games primarily includes women's games, while the evening games skew toward men's games. Either way, this will be a day filled with NCAA Tournament action from start to finish.
Here's your complete guide for a long day of basketball watching.
saturday afternoon
Men's schedule:
2nd place Arizona 78, 7th place Dayton 68
5th place Gonzaga 89, 4th place Kansas 68
Women's schedule:
6th Tennessee 92, 11th Green Bay 63
3rd place University College 86, 14th place Jackson State University 64
4th Indiana 89, 13th Fairfield 56
8th Kansas State 81, 9th Michigan State 72
2nd place Notre Dame 81, 15th place Kent State 67
3rd place: North Carolina State University 64, 14th place: University of Chattanooga 45
1st place Iowa 91, 16th place Holy Cross 65
6th Syracuse 74, 11th Arizona 69
5th Oklahoma State 73, 12th Florida Gulf Coast 70
No. 1 USC 87, No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 55
7th place Ole Miss 67, 10th place Marquette 55
saturday night
men's schedule (always eastern)
1st place: North Carolina 85, 9th place: Michigan State University 69
2nd place Iowa State 67, 7th place Washington State 56
11th North Carolina State University 79, 14th Oakland University 73
9:30 p.m. — No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 15 California Baptist (ESPN2)
10 p.m. — No. 5 Utah vs. No. 12 South Dakota State (ESPNU)
live135 updates
This is not good news for non-No. 1 favorite UCLA. 1 seed to advance to the final four. The Bruins went 2-2 in early February when Betts missed four games for personal reasons. Even if she misses more time, that could be good news for Iowa, the No. 1 seed in Albany's 2nd District. Betts, a 6-7 sophomore center, gave UCLA an advantage with a critical mismatch in the post.
Lauren Betts will miss UCLA's game today against California Baptist after making adjustments at practice earlier this week, according to a team spokesperson. She is every day.
The Illini entered halftime with complete control. They led 50-26 with three Illinois players scoring 10 or more points at the break.
For Gonzaga, it feels like a revenge win in the first round. The Zags come into this tournament off the back of a single-possession loss in the WCC Championship Game to Portland, a team they crushed by 50 points a few weeks ago. Maybe this will finally serve as a wake-up call.
Gonzaga shot nearly 50 percent from the field, but the most memorable moment was his 12 steals in this win over UC Irvine. This is tied for the second most in a season. He had 14 points against Santa Clara.
Final: Gonzaga 75, UC Irvine 56
The Zags struggled in the early going, but definitely defeated the Anteaters in the end. Yvonne Ejim had 25 points and 14 rebounds for Gonzaga.
Finals: No. 11 North Carolina State University 79, No. 14 Oakland University 73
It was a tough battle between No. 14 seed Oakland and folk hero Jack Goelke, but No. 11 seed North Carolina State won in overtime to advance to the Sweet 16. DJ Barnes led the Wolfpack with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wolfpack heads to the FT line, 77-70, with 17 seconds left. We're almost done here.
Jayden Taylor's three points gave North Carolina State a 75-70 lead. The Wolfpack can get a taste of the Sweet 16. Play time is 31 seconds.
It was a back-and-forth game in OT, but DJ Burns had a few buckets to give NC State a 70-69 lead.
Play time is less than 2 minutes.
Halftime: Tennessee 28, Texas 19
No player on either team scored more than 5 points. It's been a struggle so far, but Vol has the upper hand.
Oakland State University in North Carolina goes to OT!
NC State nearly took a shot at the buzzer from outside halfcourt. But he can play basketball for five more minutes in Pittsburgh.
Oakland came back without making a shot. NC State ball at 1.3 seconds. Still 66-66.
North Carolina misses. Oakland Ball, tie game, 12 seconds left!
Jack Gokle made two free throws to tie the game at 66-66. 36 seconds.
Michael O'Connell made a clutch layup on an and-1 to put NC State back up 66-64.
41 seconds left
Final: Creighton 87, UNLV 73
The Blue Jays won this game easily, taking a seven point lead in the first quarter and never looking back. Lauren Jensen and Emma Ronsiek led Creighton with 25 and 23 points, respectively.
Illini vs. Duquesne hot start
Here's the green light given by Townsend:
Jack Goelke's trey brought them within one, then Trey Townsend's AND-1 gave Oakland their first lead of the night, 63-61!
Jack Goelke hit his fifth three of the game and an AND-1 to cut North Carolina State's lead to 56-54.
In the battle for the orange jersey, Tobe Awaka and the Vols have an early advantage against Texas.
