Athletic Department 3/15/2026 10:30:00 PM

NCAA Tournament Field Announced, Buffalo to Host Games Thursday and Saturday

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Canisius University and Niagara University will proudly serve as the hosts for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball First and Second Round games on Thursday, March 19, and Saturday, March 21.

With the announcement of the official NCAA Tournament bracket, eight teams will begin their road to the Final Four in Buffalo at KeyBank Center.

The first session of games will start Thursday (March 19) at 1:30 p.m., when the sixth-seed in the East Region, Louisville, takes on No. 11 seed South Florida. At 4:05 p.m., the No. 3 seed in the East Region, Michigan State, will play No. 14 seed North Dakota State. Both the Louisville-South Florida and the Michigan State-North Dakota State games will be broadcast live on CBS.

Thursday's second session of games will begin at 7:10 p.m., when the top-seed in the Midwest Region, Michigan, takes on either No. 16 seed UMBC or Howard. UMBC and Howard will play in the NCAA's First Four game on Tuesday, March 17, in Dayton, Ohio. The final game on Thursday will tip off at 9:45 p.m., when the Midwest Region's No. 8 seed, Georgia, plays the ninth-seed, Saint Louis. Those two games will be broadcast live on TNT.

Tickets for all three sessions are available for purchase online by visiting www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets.

On Wednesday, March 18, all eight teams playing in Buffalo this week will hold an open practice session at KeyBank Center. That is free and open to the public. The schedule for the open practice sessions is listed below:

• 11-11:40 a.m. – No. 11 South Florida
• 11:45 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. – No. 6 Louisville
• 12:30 – 1:10 p.m. – No. 14 North Dakota State
• 1:15-1:55 p.m. – No. 3 Michigan State
• 2-2:40 p.m. – No. 16 UMBC/Howard
• 2:45-3:25 p.m. – No. 1 Michigan
• 3:30-4:10 p.m. – No. 9 Saint Louis
• 4:15-4:55 p.m. – No. 8 Georgia

The 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship First and Second rounds at KeyBank Center will mark the eighth time since 2000 that the city's downtown arena has hosted the NCAA's premier basketball championship tournament. In addition to the 2026 tournament hosting responsibilities, Buffalo has served as a host city for the basketball championship in 2000, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2022. The MAAC, Canisius and Niagara have also hosted the NCAA Men's Hockey Frozen Four on two occasions (2003, 2019).

Tournament Notes
• Michigan will be the fourth No. 1 seed to start its tournament run in Buffalo. Previous No. 1 seeds to play at KeyBank Center include Saint Joseph's (2004), Syracuse (2010), Villanova (2017).
• All nine teams (including both UMBC and Howard) will be playing NCAA Tournament games in Buffalo for the first time.
• On two occasions, the eventual national champion has started its march toward a national title here in Buffalo. UConn played its first and second round games in Buffalo and went on to win the NCAA crown in both 2004 and 2014.
• With Big 10 member schools Michigan and Michigan State both playing in Buffalo this year, this will be the fourth time multiple schools from the same conference have played in Buffalo. The previous occasions were 2004 (Saint Joseph's and Dayton – Atlantic 10), 2014 (Connecticut and Villanova – Big East) and 2017 (Notre Dame and Virginia Tech – ACC).
• This will be the second time Buffalo has hosted a team that advances from the NCAA's First Four. In 2017, No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's defeated New Orleans in Dayton, Ohio, before falling to defending national champion Villanova in the first round.

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