Getty Keldon Johnson and the Kentucky Wildcats will play the Abilene Christian Wildcats.
The No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats will play the No. 15 seed Abilene Christian Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on CBS. But if you don’t have cable, you can sign up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services that allow you to watch CBS on your computer, phone or streaming device:
Amazon Prime
If you have Amazon Prime or want to start a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, you can watch all CBS content (both live and on-demand) via the CBS All-Access Amazon Channel, which comes with a seven-day free trial.
Once you’re signed up for both Amazon Prime and the CBS channel, you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Amazon website, or you can watch on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or other streaming device via the Amazon Video app.
FuboTV
FuboTV
CBS (live in select markets) is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports. Also included are TNT, TBS and TruTV, allowing you to watch every NCAA tournament game.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include CBS (live in select markets). Also included are TNT, TBS and TruTV, allowing you to watch every March Madness game.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
Hulu
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including CBS (live in select markets). Also included are TNT, TBS and TruTV, meaning you can watch every other NCAA tournament game.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Kentucky vs Abilene Christian Preview
Kentucky went 15-3 in SEC play, the second-best record behind the LSU Tigers. They reached the conference tournament semifinals, where they fell to the Tennessee Volunteers 82-78.
“How did we lose that? Couple things happen out of your control,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. “Couple things happen in our control (late turnovers, failure to secure rebounds). Then all of a sudden, you drop a game. What a great lesson.
“I feel good going in. Let’s play the game. Not even mad we play Thursday (in the first round) because we didn’t play this afternoon.”
In what’s become an annual tradition, Calipari took time after the bracket’s unveiling to carp about his team’s placement. His gripe this year: that the Wildcats won’t be playing in nearby Louisville, Kentucky.
“It’s fine,” Calipari said, per the Herald-Leader. “I mean, I thought there’d be a chance to play in Louisville. But I thought it wasn’t slim. It was none.”
He recalled when his 2007 Memphis Tigers, a No. 2 seed, played No. 3 Texas A&M in San Antonio, and when, a year later, his No. 1 seed Tigers played No. 2 Texas in Houston. This year, his Wildcats could play No. 4 Kansas in Kansas City, Missouri.
“So it happens,” he told reporters, adding, “against me.”
After going 14-4 in conference play, Abilene Christian won the Southland Conference Tournament to earn the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth in just its second year of eligibility.
“This is what we planned for,” senior guard Jaylen Franklin said after beating the New Orleans Privateers in the tournament finals, according to the Abilene Reporter-News. “We wanted to be one of the first teams at Abilene Christian to go the NCAA Tournament. This is what we worked for. It’s a big surprise, but we stuck to it and trusted each other.”
Franklin leads Abilene Christian in assists (4.9) and steals (1.8) per game. Fellow senior Jaren Lewis, a forward, is the team leader in points (13.7) and rebounds (6.2) per game, adding 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.
They’re one of the most accurate 3-point shooting squads in the nation, ranking 18th out of 353 Division I teams at 38.6 percent from deep.
“This is a testament to a lot of hard work and a lot of struggles we went through, especially our early years,” Lewis said, per the Reporter-News. “We took a lot of losses and we learned a lot of lessons. It was nice to see that culminate with today.”