NCAA "First Four" site announced

The newly minted first round of the NCAA basketball tournament -- a/k/a the "First Four" -- will take place at the University of Dayton, the NCAA announced Thursday. Following Selection Sunday on March 13, the first-round games will be played the following Tuesday and Wednesday, March 15-16.

Two games match teams seeded 65-68 in the 68-team tournament as they battle for two 16th seeds in the main 64-team draw. The other two games match the last four at-large teams selected for the field. The two winners are likely to receive a 10th or 11th seed in the 64-team main bracket.

All first-round games will be televised in prime time on Turner Broadcasting's truTV as part of the NCAA's new 14-year broadcast rights agreement with Turner and CBS.

First-round winners will face a quick turnaround in terms of travel time and game preparation as they advance to one of the sites for second- and third-round games, which will be held at Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Tampa, Tucson, Tulsa and Washington D.C. Regional hosts are the Prudential Center in Newark in the East, Anaheim in the West, New Orleans in the South and San Antonio in the Midwest. The Final Four is scheduled in Houston on April 2 and April 4.

The first official practice date for the 2010-11 season is Oct. 15 for the 334 out of 345 Division I teams eligible for the tournament, and the first official day for competition is Nov. 12.