What to know about men's NCAA Tournament basketball games in Denver

Kevin Lytle, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·2 min read
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Julian Strawther (0) and forward Ben Gregg (33) celebrate against the Saint Mary's Gaels after the game in the finals of the WCC Basketball Championships at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on March 7.
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Julian Strawther (0) and forward Ben Gregg (33) celebrate against the Saint Mary's Gaels after the game in the finals of the WCC Basketball Championships at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on March 7.

Marquee programs and their fan bases will be taking over Denver this week.

Games in the first two rounds of the men's basketball NCAA Tournament will be played at Ball Arena on Friday, March 17 (first round) and Sunday, March 19 (second round).

Here is a look at the matchups, schedule and what to know about the tournament games in Denver.

NCAA Tournament schedule in Denver

South Region (times in Mountain)

  • No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 UC-Santa Barbara, 11:20 a.m. Friday (TNT)

  • No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 N.C. State, 1:50 p.m. Friday (TNT)

West Region

  • No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Grand Canyon, 5:25 p.m. Friday (truTV)

  • No. 6 TCU vs. No. 11 Arizona State, 7:55 p.m. Friday (truTV)

More:Players to watch in NCAA Tournament men's basketball games in Denver

Second-round information

South region

  • No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 3 Baylor, 5:10 p.m. MT (TBS)

West Region

  • No. 6 TCU vs. No. 3 Gonzaga, 7:40 p.m. MT (TBS)

How they got here

  • No. 3 Baylor: 22-10, finished fourth in the Big 12 and earned an at-large bid

  • No. 6 Creighton: 21-12, finished third in the Big East and earned an at-large bid

  • No. 11 N.C. State: 23-10, finished sixth in the ACC and earned an at-large bid

  • No. 14 UC-Santa Barbara: 27-7, won the Big West tournament to earn the automatic bid

  • No. 6 TCU: 21-12, finished sixth in the Big 12 and earned an at-large bid

  • No. 11 Arizona State: 23-12. The Sun Devils beat Nevada 98-73 in Wednesday's "first-four" game in Dayton.

  • No. 3 Gonzaga: 28-5 and won the West Coast Conference's automatic bid

  • No. 14 Grand Canyon: 24-11, won the WAC championship as a No. 5 seed in the conference to earn automatic bid

Tickets

Tickets to games at Ball Arena, with the Mountain West serving as the host, sold out months ago. Any of the schools coming to compete in Denver have a ticket allotment, and if they don't sell all of those, they could be released to the public.

Those would be released on Ticketmaster, and some other tickets are available on Ticketmaster via re-sale.

Tickets are also available on the secondary market.

As of Sunday night, the cheapest tickets on StubHub were more than $300 for all sessions passes. "Session 1" games (UCSB vs. Baylor and Creighton vs. N.C. State) were available for under $100. Prices were similar for the second session.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

CSU hoops:Future of Isaiah Stevens, John Tonje leads questions for CSU men's basketball offseason

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: What to know about March Madness NCAA Tournament in Denver