(Getty)
March Madness 2015 kicks off Tuesday, March 17 with the First Four games, which determine the four teams joining the others to compete in the round of 64. And the first game tipping off on Tuesday is Manhattan vs. Hampton.
After winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship, Manhattan College is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year. The Jaspers defeated rival Iona College, the MAAC regular season champions, 79-69 in the championship game to earn an automatic bid to the dance.
Last season Jaspers Head Coach Steve Masiello faced off against his former coach and mentor, Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino. It was a close game, but the Jaspers fell to the Cardinals in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Manhattan is heading into the tournament with an overall record of 19-13 and 13-7 in the MAAC. They will be competing against Hampton University at the University of Dayton arena.
Hampton University, which might be the biggest underdog of this year’s field of 68, earned an automatic bid after winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as a No. 6 seed.
The Pirates are heading into March Madness posting a 16-17 overall and 8-8 MEAC record – making them just the ninth team with a losing record to advance to the NCAA Tournament since 2000. It will be HU’s first time dancing since 2011.
The game starts at 6:40 p.m. Eastern and will be covered by truTV. The announcers for the game will be Brian Anderson, Steve Smith and Lewis Johnson.
The winner between Manhattan and Hampton will receive the No. 16 in the Midwest bracket and go up against No. 1 seed Kentucky – the only team standing with a perfect record of 34-0. That game will take place on Thursday, March 19 at 9:40 p.m. Eastern.
But before that happens, here’s how to watch Manhattan vs. Hampton online and on mobile:
Watch Manhattan-Hampton Online
Watch Manhattan-Hampton on Mobile
Head coach Steve Masiello of the Manhattan Jaspers talks with Michael Alvarado #31 against the Louisville Cardinals during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 20, 2014 in Orlando, Florida. (Getty)