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MIAMI, March 18 (UPI) -- Dozens of men's and women's college basketball tournament games, the first Formula 1 race of the season and a PGA Tour event lead the weekend sports schedule. NBA, NHL and MLS regular-season games also air this weekend. A trio of NASCAR races in Atlanta and several UFC fights will provide even more entertainment for sports fans from Friday through Sunday.
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But March Madness will be the main sporting event for the next month, as the best men's and women's Division I college basketball teams battle in their respective 68-team tournaments.
The men's tournament, which started Tuesday, runs through April 4 and airs on CBS, TBS, truTV and TNT. The women's tournament, which started Wednesday, runs through April 3 and airs on ESPN networks.
Men's basketball
The first 16 first-round games from the men's tournament air Thursday. The second wave of first-round matchups air Friday.
On Friday, No. 7 seed Ohio State battles No. 10 Loyola Chicago in the first game at 12:15 p.m. on CBS. No. 2 Auburn faces No. 15 Jacksonville State at 12:40 p.m. on truTV.
No. 2 Duke faces No. 15 CSU Fullerton later in the day in what will be the final first-round game in Mike Krzyzewski's Duke tenure. That game tips off at 7:10 p.m. and airs on CBS. No. 1 Arizona faces No. 16 Wright State at 7:27 p.m. on truTV. No. 3 Wisconsin battles No. 14 Colgate at 9:50 p.m. on TBS.
The men's tournament continues with second-round games Saturday and Sunday. Those games start at noon each day and air on the same networks.
Women's basketball
A total of 32 women's first-round tournament games also air between Friday and Saturday night. No. 8 Miami and No. 9 South Florida start the first round with an 11:30 a.m. EDT matchup Friday on ESPN2. South Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, battles No. 16 Howard at 2 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
No. 1 Louisville faces No. 16 Albany at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. No. 1 Stanford battles No. 16 Montana State at 10 p.m. on the same network.
No. 9 Kansas State and No. 8 Washington State launch Saturday's slate of first-round women's tournament games. That matchup tips off at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2.
No. 2 UConn follows with a game against No. 15 Mercer at 1 p.m. on ABC. No. 1 North Carolina State, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 4 Arizona and No. 3 Indiana will be among the other top women's teams in action Saturday night.
The second round of the women's tournaments starts Sunday afternoon and airs on the same networks.
F1 debut
The 2022 Formula 1 season starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain. The event airs at 10:55 a.m. EDT on ESPN.
Max Verstappen, the 2021 Formula 1 world champion, is the favorite in the event. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is once again expected to be his top challenger. The race features 57 laps on the 3.3-mile track, with drivers circling for a total of 191.5 miles.
Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and George Russell are among the other favorites in the event. Practices take place Friday and Saturday in Bahrain. Qualifying also is scheduled for Saturday.
Hamilton edged Verstappen to win last year in Bahrain. That win gave Hamilton five titles from the event, including three-consecutive victories.
Weekend schedule (all times EDT)
Friday
College basketball
Men's
Loyola vs. Ohio State at 12:15 p.m. on CBS
Jacksonville State vs. Auburn at 12:40 p.m. on truTV
Montana State vs. Texas Tech at 1:45 p.m. on TNT
Yale vs. Purdue at 2 p.m. on TBS
Delaware vs. Villanova at 2:45 p.m. on CBS
Miami vs. USC at 3:10 p.m. on truTV
Notre Dame vs. Alabama at 4:15 p.m. on TNT
Virginian Tech vs. Texas at 4:30 p.m. on TBS
Chattanooga vs. Illinois at 6:50 p.m. on TNT
CSU Fullerton vs. Duke at 7:10 p.m. on CBS
Iowa State vs. LSU at 7:20 p.m. on TBS
Wright State vs. Arizona at 7:27 p.m. on truTV
UAB vs. Houston at 9:20 p.m. on TNT
Davidson vs. Michigan State at 9:40 p.m. on CBS
Colgate at Wisconsin at 9:50 p.m. on TBS
TCU vs. Seton Hall at 9:57 p.m. on truTV
Women's
South Florida vs. Miami at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2
South Dakota vs. Ole Miss at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Creighton vs. Colorado at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN News
Howard vs. South Carolina at 2 p.m. on ESPN
Florida Gulf Coast vs. Virginia Tech at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Gonzaga vs. Nebraska at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN News
Hawaii vs. Baylor at 4 p.m. on ESPN2
Illinois State vs. Iowa at 4 p.m. on ESPN
Delaware vs. Maryland at 5 p.m. on ESPNU
Arkansas vs. Utah at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN News
Albany vs. Louisville at 6 p.m. on ESPN2
Georgia Tech vs. Kansas at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Dayton vs. Georgia at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN News
Fairfield vs. Texas at 8 p.m. on ESPN2
Montana State vs. Stanford at 10 p.m. on ESPN2
UT Arlington vs. Iowa State at 10 p.m. on ESPNU
Golf
Valspar Championship: Second round from 2 to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Soccer
Premier League: Leeds United vs. Wolves at 3:30 p.m. on USA Network
NHL
Flyers at Senators at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Capitals at Hurricanes at 7 p.m. on NHL Network
Bruins at Jets at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
Sabres at Flames at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
Panthers at Ducks at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Avalanche at Sharks at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+
NBA
Grizzlies at Hawks at 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
Bulls at Suns at 10 p.m. on NBA TV
Saturday
Soccer
Premier League: Arsenal at Aston Villa at 7:30 a.m. on USA Network
MLS: Miami at Cincinnati at 1 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Philadelphia at NYCFC at 1 p.m. on ESPN+
Serie A: Fiorentina at Inter Milan at 1 p.m. on beIN Sports
FA Cup: Chelsea vs. Middlesbrough at 1:15 p.m. on ESPN+
Bundesliga: FC Union Berlin at Bayern Munich at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: DC United at Toronto at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Orlando at Los Angeles Galaxy at 3:30 p.m. on TUDN/Twitter
La Liga: Atletico Madrid at Rayo Vallecano at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Montreal at Atlanta at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Kansas City at Chicago at 6 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: New England at Charlotte at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: San Jose at Minnesota at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Portland at Dallas at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Colorado at Houston at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Nashville at Salt Lake at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN+
College basketball
Men's
Second round games start at noon
Women's
Kansas State vs. Washington State at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2
Mercer vs. UConn at 1 p.m. on ABC
Villanova vs. BYU at 1 p.m. on ESPN News
Charlotte vs. Indiana at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2
TBD vs. NC State at 2 p.m. on ESPN
TBD vs. Ohio State at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Buffalo vs. Tennessee at 3 p.m. on ABC
American vs. Michigan at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Florida vs. UCF at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN News
Princeton vs. Kentucky at 4 p.m. on ESPN
Jackson State vs. LSU at 5 p.m. on ESPNU
Belmont vs. Oregon at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Stephen F. Austin vs. North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN News
UMass vs. Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
UNLV vs. Arizona at 10 p.m. on ESPN2
IUPUI vs. Oklahoma at 10 p.m. on ESPNU
Golf
Valspar Championship: Third round from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel; from 3 to 6 p.m. on NBC
NHL
Stars at Islanders at 2 p.m. on ESPN+
Blackhawks at Wild at 2 p.m. on NHL Network
Devils at Oilers at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
Kings at Golden Knights at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
Blues at Blue Jackets at 5 p.m. on ESPN+
Penguins at Coyotes at 5 p.m. on ESPN+
Senators at Canadiens at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Maple Leafs at Predators at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Rangers at Lightning at 8 p.m. on ABC
Flames at Canucks at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Red Wings at Kraken at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
NASCAR
Truck Series Fr8 208 at 2:30 p.m. on FS1
Xfinity Series Nalley Cars 250 at 5 p.m. on FS1
UFC Fight Night on ESPN+
Jai Herbert vs. Ilia Topuria at 4 p.m.
Molly McCann vs. Luana Carolina after first fight
Gunnar Nelson vs. Takashi Sato after second fight
Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas after third fight
Arnold Allen vs. Dan Hooker after fourth fight
Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall after fifth fight
NBA
Mavericks at Hornets at 7 p.m. on NBA TV
Sunday
Soccer
Ligue 1: PSG at Monaco at 8 a.m. on beIN Sports
Premier League: Brentford at Leicester City at 9 a.m. on USA Network
Serie A: Salernitana at Juventus at 10 a.m. on beIN Sports
FA Cup: Manchester City at Southampton at 11 a.m. on ESPN+
Premier League: West Ham at Tottenham Hotspur at 12:30 p.m. on USA Network
FA Cup: Liverpool at Nottingham Forest at 2 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Columbus at New York Red Bulls at 2 p.m. on ESPN+
Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund at FC Cologne at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+
La Liga: Barcelona at Real Madrid at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Seattle at Austin at 4:30 p.m. on FS1
MLS: Vancouver at LAFC at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Formula 1
Bahrain Grand Prix at 10:55 a.m. on ESPN
College basketball
Men's
Second round games start at noon
Women's
Second round games air on ESPN networks
Golf
Valspar Championship: Final round from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel; from 3 to 6 p.m. on NBC
NHL
Islanders at Flyers at 2 p.m. on TNT
Stars at Capitals at 5 p.m. on ESPN+
Rangers at Hurricanes at 6 p.m. on ESPN+
Jets at Blackhawks at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Coyotes at Sharks at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Sabres at Canucks at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
NASCAR
Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at 3 p.m. on Fox
