For a more complete listing of today’s games, visit the daily schedule at Matt Sarz’s Sports, adjustable by time zone.

All times are Eastern.

2021 NCAA Tournament Teams In Action

Buffalo at Michigan, 6:30 p.m. (B1G Network)
Lehigh at Rutgers, 7 p.m. (B1G+ ($))
Penn at Florida State, 9 p.m. (ACCN)
San Francisco State (non-D1) at UC Santa Barbara, 10 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))

Michigan came within a whisker of the Final Four last spring, and the Wolverines are a No. 1 seed in my preseason bracket. Juwan Howard’s squad opens with a Buffalo team that’s the MAC representative in that same projection.

Last night, seven of the eight Ivy League teams played their first games in over a year and a half. Five of them recorded wins, though only Cornell defeated a D1 opponent (Binghamton). Dartmouth (Boston College) and Columbia (Fordham) lost road games to local rivals. The last Ivy team to get back on the floor, the Penn Quakers, will face the most difficult task of all—ACC power and perennial top four seed threat Florida State, in Tallahassee.

Other Noteworthy Openers

Fairleigh Dickinson at Seton Hall, 7 p.m. (FS1)
William & Mary at Wake Forest, 7 p.m. (ACCNX/ESPN+ ($))
Robert Morris at UCF, 7 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))
North Alabama at Mississippi State, 8 p.m. (SECN+/ESPN+ ($))
Florida A&M at Kansas State, 8 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))
Youngstown State at Penn State, 8:30 p.m. (B1G Network)
Long Beach State at Idaho, 9 p.m. (SWX/ESPN+ ($))
Florida Atlantic at New Mexico, 9 p.m. (MWN)
Detroit Mercy at Wyoming, 9 p.m. (MWN)
Gardner-Webb at UNLV, 10 p.m. (MWN)
Hawai’i-Hilo (non-D1) at Hawai’i (Rainbow Classic), 12 a.m. (Spectrum Sports Hawai’i/ESPN+ ($))

There are a lot of potential body bag games—or potential upset opportunities—in this group. One of the more intriguing matchups will take place in Moscow, Idaho, where the host Vandals will christen their new arena against Long Beach State. The Beach is coached by Dan Monson, son of legendary Idaho coach Don.

But Eight Teams Are Already On To Game Two

Regent (non-D1) at Howard, 5 p.m. (Howard stream)
Maryland Eastern Shore at Temple, 7 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))
Harris-Stowe (non-D1) at Saint Louis, 8 p.m. (Bally Sports Midwest/ESPN+ ($))
Alabama State at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. (SECN+/ESPN+ ($))
North Florida at Texas A&M, 8 p.m. (SECN+/ESPN+ ($))
Northwestern State at Tulsa, 8 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))
Coppin State at DePaul, 9 p.m. (FS1)
Alcorn State at Seattle, 10 p.m. (ESPN+ ($))

Not surprisingly, five of the eight teams that are playing their second game in as many days are either MEAC or SWAC members, long known for playing difficult slates.

Of the eight teams playing on consecutive nights:

• Howard was the lone winner on Tuesday, as the Bison defeated non-D1 neighbor University of the District of Columbia 87-59.
• Maryland Eastern Shore, who will play its second straight game in Philadelphia against Temple tonight, came close to a win, falling at Saint Joe’s, 69-67.
• Alabama State also gave WKU a fright before falling 79-74 in Bowling Green. The Hornets travel to Vandy tonight.
• Coppin State got blown out by Loyola Chicago in Rogers Park, 103-45. They head down the Red Line to Wintrust Arena to take on DePaul this evening.
• Alcorn State dropped its first game in Washington State’s exempt event that’s not a tournament to the Cougars, 85-67, in the very first game of the season to tip off. The Braves cross the Evergreen State to meet Seattle for their final MTE game of 2021.
• Northwestern State opened with a 77-59 loss at Oklahoma. The Demons will double their Sooner State pleasure/pain by serving as the opponent for Tulsa’s opener tonight.
• North Florida fell at Texas Tech, 89-74. The Ospreys will make the long trip from Lubbock to College Station to play in A&M opener tonight.
• Finally, Saint Louis routed Central Arkansas, 96-61, last night. The Billikens will meet non-D1 Harris-Stowe tonight, Maybe that game will be more competitive!