March Madness is nearly underway with the first two play-in games occurring last night, March 18. The southern region is set and the entire bracket awaits tonight’s two games to see who features the 16-seed in the Eastern region and the 11-seed in the Midwest.

The University of North Carolina lost in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament and had to fight their way into the NCAA Tournament. With the 11-seed in the southern region up for grabs, the Tarheels squared off against San Diego State. North Carolina showed the world why they should be in the tournament with a dominating 95-68 victory. They will get a two-day break before facing 6-seeded Ole Miss on Friday, March 21.

Alabama State will quickly go from favorite to underdog after a nailbiter versus St. Francis in the second play-in game. The Hornets were favored to be St. Francis by 3.5 points and the closely-skilled matchup did not disappoint. After a five-point deficit at halftime, Alabama State rallied back to win 70-68. The Hornets continue their journey as 31.5-point underdogs against the tournament favorites, Auburn, at 2:50 tomorrow, March 20.

After last night’s first two play-in games, tournament-challenge players await the results of the last two games before all 64 teams are set. Tonight, Mount St. Mary’s of Maryland will play American University with one of the last spots of the NCAA Tournament on the line. The winner of this game will play the ACC champion Duke Blue Devils on March 21 at 2:50 p.m.

The last game before the NCAA Tournament starts features two teams very familiar to March Madness. After being a 7-seed last year, Texas finished 19-15 this season requiring them to win an extra game before the madness begins. They will have to storm past Xavier who have played in the national tournament 30 times in their history. The Musketeers fell short of nationally qualifying last season and will be hungry to return to March Madness.

The 64 tournament teams will be official by midnight tonight. The first round will start tomorrow, March 20, at 12:15 p.m.

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