Missouri and Cincinnati will play one of the final games of the March Madness schedule Thursday night as the NCAA Tournament begins in earnest; they've got the 8:45 slot on TNT in the newly complex NCAA TV schedule, which is certainly better than being stuck on truTV. They'll air opposite Michigan State vs. UCLA at 8:15 on TNT; Gonzaga vs. St. Johns at 8:30 on CBS; and Ohio State vs. Kansas State at 8:55 on truTV. The day starts at 11 AM CDT, when Clemson and West Virginia tip off on CBS. Blame that four-game spread on the special hugeness of the NCAA men's basketball bracket.
Friday's schedule is no less complex; the relevant local matchup is Illinois vs. UNLV at 8:15; the Fighting Illini earned a TBS berth, which, at this point, strikes me as exactly as important as the NCAA seeding committee's decisions on the matter. Hated Kansas has its own TBS berth; their game against Boston University begins at 5:45.