The first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament kicks off Thursday with 16 games at four different sites across the country. Games begin as early as 12:15 p.m. ET, when No. 5 Notre Dame faces No. 12 Princeton, with the 9:57 p.m. ET matchup between No. 5 Iowa and No. 12 Nevada closing out the opening day.
The American Gaming Association estimates around 40 million people fill out more than 70 million March Madness brackets every year, and that employers lose as much as $1.3 billion to employees who are distracted by the games, Fox Business reports. The first round often offers some of the best opportunities for surprise victors: Watch out for an upset when No. 4 Butler faces off against No. 12 Winthrop at 1:30 p.m. ET, or when No. 12 Middle Tennessee takes on No. 5 Minnesota beginning at 4 p.m. ET. (You can read more about what to watch, and where the potential upsets could be, at Yahoo Sports).
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