It’s time for the madness before March Madness.
The First Four begins as two No. 16 seeds — the UMBC Retrievers and Howard Bison — meet Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio with everything on the line: survive and advance, or go home before the first round officially kicks off.
UMBC enters with a slight edge and a better record, riding a strong, balanced attack, a long win streak and the confidence of a conference title run (where they captured the top spot in the America East), while Howard counters with a defense-first identity and a recent scoring surge that helped them win the MEAC title.
UMBC is a 1.5-point favorite to win tonight and advance into the main bracket.
UMBC vs. Howard: what to know
- When: March 17, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Where: UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
- Channel: truTV
- Streaming: DIRECTV
The winner of tonight’s game will officially become the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region of this year’s bracket. They’ll go on to face No. 1 Michigan on Thursday, March 19.
UMBC vs. Howard start time
Tip off for the UMBC vs. Howard game is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET
How to watch UMBC vs. Howard for free
If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the game for free.
DIRECTV is our top pick for watching college basketball live for free — its five-day free trial includes truTV (plus all of the other channels you’ll need for the rest of March Madness). When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $59.99 for your first month and gain access to over 90 live channels.
If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange + Entertainment Extra 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 weekend and week-long passes for its Orange plan, which offer between three and seven days of access.
The Post has you covered with a printable NCAA bracket featuring the full 68-team March Madness 2026 field.
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.
