The lineup of TV sports events for the first weekend of March starts on the college basketball court as several conference tournaments kick off leading up to the March Madness tournament.
Tournaments from conferences such as the Big South, Sun Belt, Southern Conference, Big South, Missouri Valley, CAA, Atlantic Sun, Northeast, Missouri Valley, Summit League, Ohio Valley, Patriot League and West Coast will take place on Saturday and Sunday to determine which teams will qualify for automatic bids to the Big Dance.
Saturday games featuring top-ranked teams in action on TV include third-ranked Baylor-Iowa State (ESPN2), fourth-ranked Duke-North Carolina (ESPN), fifth-ranked Auburn-South Carolina (SEC Network), sixth-ranked Kansas-Texas (ESPN) seventh-ranked Kentucky-Florida (CBS), and eight-ranked Purdue-Indiana (ESPN). On Sunday, tenth-ranked Wisconsin battles Nebraska on the Big Ten Network.
On Sunday, several conference finals in women’s college basketball will take place, including the ACC final (ESPN), the Atlantic 10, Big Ten and SEC finals (ESPN2).
On the NBA front, ABC on Saturday will air a primetime matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. On Sunday afternoon, the network will air an NBA doubleheader lineup featuring the Brooklyn Nets against the Boston Celtics, and the Phoenix Suns battling the Milwaukee Bucks. Two more NBA games will air on ESPN Sunday night, including the Toronto Raptors-Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks-LA. Clippers.
ABC will also air a Saturday afternoon Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers NHL telecast, while on Sunday TNT will air the afternoon Dallas Stars-Minnesota Wild contest.
On the links, NBC and the Golf Channel will offer final round weekend coverage of the PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament, while FS1 will take to the lanes to televise the Pro Bowlers Association's Roth/Holman Doubles tournament.
NBC and USA Network will offer weekend coverage of the Paralympics from China.
On the soccer field, NBC on Saturday will air the West Ham-Liverpool Premier League contest, while USA Network on Saturday and Sunday will offer live Premier League doubleheader action. On Sunday, ESPN and FS1 will air live MLS games.
FS1 on Saturday will air the Xfinity Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas auto race.
In the octagon, ESPN PPV will distribute the UFC 272 fight card featuring a main event bout between welterweights Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.
