Temple, Villanova Head Into NCAA Tournament: Schedule, Brackets

Once again, the Philadelphia area will be well-represented in the 2019 NCAA men's basketball national tournament, with both Temple and Villanova hoping to dance their way to the final four.

Neither will be favorites after their opening game. Temple is playing one of the "First Four" play-in games between 11th seeds; if they win they'll face 6th seeded Maryland. Villanova, meanwhile, starts as a 6th seed facing off against an 11, St. Mary's out of California.

Villanova, of course, has built a mini-dynasty over the past three years, winning the entire tournmanet in 2016 and 2018. That alone has made the defending champs one of the most successful and storid basketball programs in NCAA history, as there are but a handful of schools that have won more titles than Nova's three.

But 2019 will be quite different for the Wildcats, entering the tournament after an up and down year. This is not the dominating team of years past, but they are fighters: to win this year's Big East title, they fought off Xavier in the semifinals by just four points, before inching out Seton Hall in the final, 74-72. A team that battles back from defecits and wins close games when it counts is a team that can't be counted out in March Madness.

Temple, meanwhile, will be making their first tournament appearance since 2016. The Owls were a mainstay in March a decade ago, earning six straight tourney berths from 2008 to 2013. The team finished 23-9 this year, with huge wins of multiple top-25 ranked teams, including Houston and UCF.

Temple's "First Four" game against Belmont will take place on Tuesday night, March 19, at 9:10 p.m. Should they win, they'll slot into the East bracket as the 11th seed, and face off against Maryland on Thursday afternoon at 3:10 p.m.

Villanova, meanwhile, will play their first game Thursday night against St. Mary's at 7:20 p.m.

The top of the bracket looks much like March Madness of years past: Duke's No. 1 overall. North Carolina's in. Michigan's set.

But NCAA basketball in March is called "madness" for good reason, predictably unpredictable, and nobody gets a bye once the tournament begins Tuesday with the First Four and ends April 8 with the National Championship game. (Only one bet is certain: March Madness tends to signal the end, finally and thank the gods, to the end of winter and the unofficial beginning of spring.)

Here are some tools to help you through the tournament:

• Full bracket of NCAA selected team s for 2019 men's basketball national tournament.
• Printable blank bracket of 2019 NCAA men's basketball national tournament.
• 2019 NCAA men's basketball national tournament schedule, television information.
• 2019 NCAA men's basketball national tournament automatic bids.
• Livestream to Selection Sunday, NCAA men's national basketball tournament.