By The Associated Press

Millions of brackets are filled with millions of guesses and it's time to find out how they fare.

The crush of March Madness hits Thursday with 16 games in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Reigning champion Villanova is playing and so is Michigan, the runner-up from last year.

Kansas and Michigan State are also in action as two of the more popular picks each March.

Murray State's Ja Morant is going up against Marquette's Markus Howard, giving fans two stars head to head.

The action begins just after noon Eastern with seventh-seeded Louisville playing No. 10 seed Minnesota. Minnesota is coached by Richard Pitino , the son of disgraced Cardinals coach Rick Pitino.

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