March Madness 2026 Has 2 Must-Watch Games on Day 1, and Both Feature Potential Upsets
March Madness is officially underway, with all men’s college basketball teams that made the cut finalized and fans having locked in their brackets. As the first day of the tournament starts today, March 19, there are plenty of matchups worth watching, but two in particular are likely to be chalked full of excitement and provide the biggest opportunities to see first-round upsets.
Thankfully, both games are scheduled during the dinner-time hours for millions of Americans, so there won’t be any need to secretly watch the matchups at work. (By the way, if you’re looking for dinner ideas for your watching experience, Wendy’s is offering a special menu, and Applebee’s has $0.50 wings in honor of March Madness.)
The UNC Tar Heels Play the VCU Rams on March 19 at 6:50 PM
Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images
The first game you’ll want to tune in to watch is the one featuring (6) the North Carolina Tar Heels and (11) the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. It’s scheduled to begin at 6:50 pm ET/3:50 pm PT, and will be available to watch on TNT and HBO Max.
Despite UNC traditionally being a powerhouse in men’s college basketball and the team managing to have a solid record this year to earn a sixth-seed, they’re in March Madness without their superstar freshman, Caleb Wilson. The forward fractured his left hand in February before breaking his thumb in March, so he’s sidelined. Considering ESPN reports he averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, that’s a blow for the Tar Heels. However, they’ve managed a 5-3 record without him.
On the flipside of this coin, VCU may be an eleventh-seed, but they’re good. They average a three-point shot percentage of 36.69% on the season, ranking them 37th among all Division I teams. Plus, they have momentum on their side. In their last 17 games, the school is 16-1.
In what is likely to be a nail-biter that goes down to the buzzard, I suspect VCU can edge out UNC.
The BYU Cougars Play the Texas Longhorns on March 19 at 7:25 PM
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Given the start time of the head-to-head between (6) the Brigham Young University Cougars and (11) the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns, basketball fans will have to do a bit of bouncing back and forth if they hope to watch the conclusion of the UNC game. BYU takes on the Texas Longhorns at 7:25 pm ET/4:25 pm PT on TBS and HBO Max.
The Longhorns may have had to play in the First Four games to officially make it into March Madness, but they made it in (even if by the skin of their teeth). Some may rule the team out in a game against BYU. Still, it should be noted that the Longhorns have handed defeats to top teams this year, like UGA and Texas A&M. Additionally, they're a solid offensive squad with four starters averaging double-digits in points. Also, they tend to do well in close-down-the-stretch games (seriously, they made it into the tournament only narrowly beating NC State).
Unfortunately, BYU is another team that is kind of limping into the tournament. BYU point guard Richie Sanders is out due to an ACL injury, and he was averaging 18 points, almost six rebounds, and two assists per game. In even more bad news for BYU, the Cougars are 4-9 without Sanders.
Again, there’s a lot of action today in men’s college basketball, but these two games definitely have my attention.