One down, three to go: the First Four round of 2026 March Madness is in full swing.
The Texas Longhorns and NC State Wolfpack meet tonight, March 17, in the First Four, a No. 11 vs. No. 11 battle where the stakes are immediate: win and move onto the West region bracket or lose and the season ends before the first round even begins.
Texas already beat NC State earlier this season in a close, 102-97 shootout, and that adds another layer of tension to a game that oddsmakers see as razor-thin.
Texas vs. NC State: what to know
- When: March 17, 9:15 p.m. ET
- Where: UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
- Channel: truTV
- Streaming: Sling TV
The winner of tonight’s game will officially become the No. 11 seed in the West Region of this year’s bracket. They’ll go on to face No. 6 BYU on Thursday, March 19.
Texas vs. NC State start time
Today’s (March 17) Texas vs. NC State March Madness game is scheduled to tip off at 9:15 p.m. ET.
How to watch Texas vs. NC State
You’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the Texas vs. NC State game for free if you don’t have cable.
If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription and just want to tune into today’s game, you can try a Sling TV Orange + Entertainment Extra 1-Day Pass. Priced at $5.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including truTV. Sling also offers 3-day and week-long passes for its Orange plan with the Entertainment Extra add-on.
You can also stream todays game with a DIRECTV free trial. The Choice plan, which has all of the March Madness channels you’ll need, is currently $35 off your first month.
NCAA Tournament 2026 key dates
- First Round: March 19-20
- Second Round: March 21-22
- Sweet 16: March 26-27
- Elite 8: March 28-29
- Final 4: April 4
- National Championship: April 6
Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
