Eight teams coming to Denver for NCAA March Madness

March Madness is coming back to Denver. And with it, some premier programs with impressive resumes.

Ball Arena drew a pair of No. 3 seeds among the eight teams set to play in Friday’s first round, with winners playing in the second round on Sunday.

Baylor is the No. 3 seed in the South Region, while Gonzaga is the No. 3 seed in the West Region.

The Bears won the national title in 2021, beating Gonzaga 86-70 in Indianapolis. That’s one of two runner-up finishes for coach Mark Few’s Bulldogs in the past five tournaments, as Gonzaga also finished second in 2017 to North Carolina.

Baylor will be heavily favored over No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, as will Gonzaga over No. 14 Grand Canyon. UCSB got into the tournament by winning the Big West championship, and Grand Canyon won the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

Also in the South, No. 6 Creighton will take on No. 11-seed North Carolina State.

In the other game, in the West Regional, No. 6 Texas Christian takes on the winner of the play-in game between Arizona State and Nevada. Both first-round games are expected to be competitive.

Baylor and Gonzaga have significant alumni bases in Denver. Tickets to games on Friday and Sunday will be expensive. The games at Ball Arena for the 10th NCAA tournament in Denver sold out months ahead of Selection Sunday but tickets are expected to become available Tuesday if schools don’t sell out their allotment.

The trade will be processed Wednesday, when the 2023 league year officially begins.

Ramsey tweeted his excitement for the trade Sunday, writing: “I prayed for this specifically for about a month & now it’s happening! @Miamidolphins LETSGO!”

Ramsey has three years remaining on that contract. As part of the trade, the Dolphins agreed to guarantee the next two seasons on Ramsey’s deal, a source told ESPN, confirming a report by NFL Network.