Court's in session

We hope you’ve started flexing those foam fingers, college b-ball fans. The NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments began this week. And you just know Raleigh is all in — especially since we’re hosting women’s tournament games.

That’s right, first and second round contests will be tipping off at Reynolds Coliseum on Sat., March 19 + Mon., March 21, including a home game for NC State (see below). Tickets are already in high demand, so those who want to score some seats may need to consider the NCAA ticket exchange. Otherwise, best to click on that remote.

Besides the Wolfpack, local favorites are well represented in the tourneys, thanks to UNC + Duke in the men’s bracket, and UNC on the women’s side. Truly any team has a shot to win it all, so may the odds be ever in their favor.

We’ll help you sort through all the madness to cheer on those home squads whether it’s on the couch or the bar stool. Oh, and don’t forget to vote on the Raleigh Burger Bracket, which promises to be a real buzzer beater, too.

Game on
The Tar Heels advance. UNC’s men’s squad pulled out the win over No. 9 seed Marquette in its first NCAA Men’s Tournament game, 95-63. Brady Manek led the team with 28 points. Carolina will face the No. 1 seed Baylor on Saturday in the second round.

Coming up (men’s)

Duke (2) vs. CSU Fullerton (15) | Fri, March 18 | 7:10 p.m. | CBS | Like the Blue Devils’ chances? No. 2 seeds make the next round 93.8% of the time.

Coming up (women’s)

NC State (1) vs. Longwood (16) | Sat., March 19 | 2 p.m. | ESPN | While nothing is a sure thing, note that No. 1 seeds make the next round 99.3% of the time.
UNC (5) vs. Stephen F. Austin (12) | Sat., March 19 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNEWS | This could be a tough matchup, but No. 5 seeds make the next round 64.6% of the time.

Tournament updates (Sun., March 20)

Duke's men's team beat CSU Fullerton on Friday, 78-61. They’ll face off No. 7 Michigan State in the second round on Sun., March 20 at 5:15 p.m.
NC State's women's squad beat Longwood on Saturday, 96-68. The Wolfpack will play No. 9 Kansas State on Mon., March 21 at 4 p.m.
UNC's women's team won against SFA on Saturday, 79-66. The Tar Heels will play No. 4 Arizona on Mon., March 21 at 10 p.m.
On Saturday, UNC's men's team advanced to the Sweet 16 after taking down reigning NCAA tournament champs Baylor in overtime, 93-86. The Tar Heels will play No. 4 UCLA on Fri., March 25 at 9:39 p.m..

Tournament updates (Mon., March 20)

The Blue Devils beat Michigan State Sunday night, 85-76, advancing to the Sweet 16. On Thurs., March 24, they'll face Texas Tech (3) at 9:39 p.m.
UNC's women's team beat Arizona, 63-45. The Tar Heels will face South Carolina (1) in the Sweet 16 on Fri., March 25 at 7 p.m.
NC State’s women’s basketball team beat Kansas State (9), 89-57. The Wolfpack has advanced to the Sweet 16 and will play Notre Dame (5) on Sat., March 26 at 11:30 a.m.