JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The NCAA basketball tournament field is set.
Florida and Florida State are in, and the teams coming to Jacksonville are finalized.
Abilene Christian, Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, Seton Hall, Wofford, Yale and either Belmont or Temple are headed to town this week at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. First-round games are Thursday and second-round games are Saturday.
The Gators and Seminoles are both in the same region, the West.
Florida State (27-7) earned a No. 4 seed and will open against 13th-seeded Vermont (27-4). Florida (19-15) drew a No. 10 and will face 7-seed Nevada (29-4). Both games are Thursday, the Seminoles at 2 p.m. and the Gators at 6:50 p.m.
In Jacksonville, the games feature a blueblood in Kentucky.
In the East region on Thursday, sixth-seeded Maryland (22-10) will face either Belmont or Temple, who meet in a First Four game. Third-seeded LSU (26-6) will face 14th-seeded Yale (22-7).
On the Midwest region side, No. 7 seed Wofford (29-4) will face No. 10 Seton Hall (20-13), and 2-seeded Kentucky (27-6) faces No. 15-seed Abilene Christian (27-6).
Among area interest, UCF (23-8) drew a No. 9 seed and will face No. 8 VCU on Friday in the East Region in Columbia, SC.
Duke (East), Gonzaga (West), North Carolina (Midwest), Virginia (South) earned No. 1 seeds in their regions.
NCAA in Jacksonville.
All games Thursday
(7) Wofford (29-4) vs. (10) Seton Hall (20-13) , 9:40 p.m.
(2) Kentucky (27-6) vs. (15) Abilene Christian (27-6), 7:10 p.m.
(3) LSU (26-6) vs. (14) Yale (22-7), 12:40 p.m.
(6) Maryland (22-10) vs. (11) Belmont/Temple, 3:10 p.m.
Game times Saturday are still TBA.
LSU will practice at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and Kentucky will practice at 3:25 p.m. Wednesday. The practices are open to the public, free of charge.
Event organizers ask basketball fans for patience.
"It is a real showcase for Jacksonville," said Bill McConnell with SMG. "Two sessions in one day is really epic. Four games in total. We just encourage fans to have patience, particularly for those that are ticketed for both sessions. Have patience. We have to clear the arena in between the first and second session."