NCAA Tournament 2024: Spokane schedule, game times for 1st round

Get the complete schedule for the 2024 NCAA Tournament games at the Spokane Arena

The NCAA men's college basketball tournament is coming to the city of Spokane for the first time since 2016.

Eight teams will arrive in the Inland Northwest this week ready to play first-round March Madness games at the Spokane Arena on Friday. The teams in the East Region will take the court first, with No. 5 San Diego State and No. 12 UAB tipping off at 10:45 a.m. Friday. 

Here's the full schedule for the first-round games in Spokane on Friday (March 22):

EAST REGION

No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 12 UAB, 10:45 a.m. PT

No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 13 Yale, 1:15 p.m. PT

WEST REGION

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Charleston, 4:35 p.m. PT

No. 5 Saint Mary's vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon, 7:05 p.m. PT

The winners will advance to the second round on Sunday. Game times for Sunday will be announced late Friday night. 

Spokane last hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in 2016. They were picked to host again in 2020, but the tournament was canceled because of COVID. The University of Idaho is the official host for the games. 

Gonzaga was given a No. 5 seed by the Selection Committee and will play No. 12 McNeese in the first round in Salt Lake City. The Zags had an outside chance to play in Spokane, but likely needed to win the WCC Tournament to be given a "home" game.

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