The First Four is a Great for Your Program

March 17, 2026

The NCAA Tournament tips off tonight with the First Four. A younger generation of fans has grown up with NCAA Tourney games on Tuesday and Wednesday, but up until 15 years ago the Big Dance didn’t really get rolling until Noon on Thursday. 

It has been a great add-on and, in my opinion, the First Four is the most underrated part of the NCAA Tournament.  Let me be clear… These are not "play-in" games. 

In 2011, the NCAA expanded the field from 64 to 68 games. Having two games with 16 seeds squaring off, and two matchups of 11 seeds created a nice early-week addition to the tournament. Bracketology has become part of the lexicon and the “Last Four In” meet for the right to “advance” in the NCAA Tournament. 

Since its’ inception, five teams from the First Four advanced to the Sweet 16, including VCU (2011), South Florida (2012), LaSalle (2013), Tennessee (2014) and UCLA (2021) and two teams got all the way to the Final Four. 

Shaka Smart and VCU knocked off USC and went on to beat Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas on their magical run in 2011. Ten years later, UCLA beat Michigan State and went on to win the East Regional.  

It’s a quick turnaround for the winners, who must get on plane and play 48 hours later at another venue. But the mood is very good on the flight, and teams take a little momentum into that next game.

As for the other half of the First Four… if you are going to be a 16 seed, you are better off playing on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

For starters, you face an opponent that you have a legitimate chance of beating. In the history of the NCAA Tournament, only two 16-seeds have knocked off a No. 1 seed (UMBC over Virginia in 2018, and FDU over Purdue in 2023). It’s a tough mountain to climb, so the First Four provides four 16 seeds with an opportunity to win and advance and sometimes advance again. That 2023 FDU team began their NCAA Tournament experience with a win in the First Four.

It has been very advantageous for HBCUs, which have won seven games since 2011. Texas Southern has done it three times (2018, 2021, 2022), while Grambling (2024), Hampton (2015), North Carolina A&T (2013) and Norfolk State (2021) each did it once. 

2021 was great experience for our players, our program, our fans and our university. It was an opportunity for us to “showcase” Norfolk State basketball. We knocked off Appalachian State 54-53 to advance to play Gonzaga. Mark Few’s team beat us pretty good. It was not our best performance, but our guys felt good about getting the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament win against App State. 

The First Four provides programs with that opportunity to put an NCAA Tournament win on its’ resume and give the kids a better experience by playing two games in March Madness. 

From a financial standpoint, schools receive two units of compensation. Everybody gets one unit for making the tournament, so doubling that total is huge for mid-major programs. In this new era of NIL, that additional unit is also pretty important to the 11 seeds who will play on Tuesday and Wednesday.

For mid-majors, unless you are a 14 seed or higher, the First Four positives outweigh everything else.

THE OPENING TIP

The tournament officially begins with a matchup between America East and the MEAC. UMBC (24-8) is a very good team, and Jim Ferry is an excellent veteran coach. The Retrievers enter the tournament with 12 straight wins. The top scoring team in America East scores 76.2 points per game. They shoot 47.1% from the field and 36.1% from beyond the arc.  They make their free throw and take care of the basketball.

The best offensive team in America East will be tested by the top defensive team in the MEAC. Howard (23-10) has a lot of toughness, up and down the lineup. As a team, they hold opponents to 41.8% shooting, and they defend the perimeter. Teams shoot less than 30% from deep against the Bison. 

Howard presents also defensive problems because they are undersized, which means there are always five people on the court that can dribble, pass, and/or shoot. Most good offensive teams have four and they add one more to that layer.  Bryce Harris leadership is unmatched! The senior was recently named Player of the Year in the MEAC, and he and Cedric Taylor III were both named finalists for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year. Head coach Kenny Blakeney has done a nice job. 

AROUND THE TOURNAMENT

I will be rooting for Iowa State and TJ Otzelberger. They play a tough brand of defense like no other team in America. That alone gives them a chance to go far in the NCAA tournament. They also play at one speed at both ends of the floor -- Relentless. They play with the same intensity if they are up 2 or up 20. It’s impressive to watch. TJ and I were college teammates for one year at SUNY-New Paltz so I'm always pulling for my guy.

Growing up in South Jamaica Queens in New York, St. John’s was always my dream school. There was nothing quite like the early days of the Big East, with Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown and the Johnnies, so it’s good to see the program return to national prominence with Rick Pitino at the helm. They have a tough bracket but never count out a Pitino-led bunch.

We played Arizona earlier in the year. The game was close… for 18 minutes. Then their size, strength and physicality wears on you. They have excellent guard play, solid inside presence, and a very good Coach in Tommy Lloyd. Those ingredients could be a recipe for a national championship.

No surprise, Arizona is one of my Final Four picks, along with UConn, Houston and Michigan.