Getty Phil Booth, Jay Wright, and the rest of the Villanova Wildcats will play the Saint Mary's College Gaels.
Defending national champions Villanova take on Saint Mary’s in a compelling 6 vs. 11 matchup in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament on Thursday.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:20 p.m. ET and will be televised on TBS. 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 TBS on your computer, phone or streaming device:
FuboTV
FuboTV
TBS is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports. Also included are TNT, TruTV and CBS (live in select markets), 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 TBS. Also included are TNT, TruTV and CBS (live in select markets), 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 TBS. Also included are TNT, TruTV and CBS (live in select markets), 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.
Villanova vs. Saint Mary’s Preview
The Gaels went 11-5 in West Coast Conference play. They then upset Gonzaga — the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, who went undefeated in the WCC regular season — in the finals of the conference tournament.
Junior guard Jordan Ford scored a game-high 17 points in the win.
“I don’t always sleep well after games, especially big games, and I was too wired after that one, and I’m still wired,” Ford said, according to The Sacramento Bee. “It was just an amazing feeling. That’s a moment you think about when you’re 4 years old with a ball.
“I threw the ball up in the air (as time ran out against Gonzaga), and I’d always seen players do that. It was a moment that was so … beautiful.”
Ford, the squad’s leader in points (21.3) and assists (2.5) per game, wasn’t the only Gael to have trouble sleeping after the bid-clinching victory.
“It’s been a high, man. It really has,” Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “You can’t sleep (because) you’re so excited.”
He added: “Nobody saw this coming. That’s what we were fighting for, trying to get there, and then all of a sudden, it happens. It happens in a two-hour span, and then you have it for the rest of your life.”
Villanova won the national title a season ago, then lost their top four scorers — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, and Omari Spellman — to the NBA.
Still, the Wildcats claimed the Big East regular season title with a 13-5 mark then won their third consecutive conference tournament championship.
“This one is special, very special,” senior guard Phil Booth said after topping Seton Hall in the finals, according to the Associated Press. “This team has taught me so much. These young dudes are like a fresh breath of air for me, being around them.”
Booth leads the team in points (18.6) and assists (3.8) per game. Fellow senior Eric Paschall, a forward, grabs a team-high 6.2 rebounds per contest and is second on the team in scoring, at 16.5 points per game.
“They really have been like coaches this season,” head coach Jay Wright said of Booth and Paschall, per AP. “We can do so much on the court, but they’ve got to take guys in the locker room and teach them how they prepare for practice, how they prepare for games. They’ve got to teach them how to sleep at night, how to eat the right way. They’ve been like big brothers, fathers almost to these guys.”