1) Basketball tournament begins, 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS. The NCAA tourney begins with Maryland (shown here) and West Virginia. That’s followed quickly by games at 12:40 p.m. on TruTV, 1:40 on TNT and 2 on TBS. Each channel has four games today and Friday, wiping out other shows. For CBS stations, that means soap operas lose their spots for a couple days; so do some afternoon talk shows and such.
2) More basketball. In the first round, the worst games often have a region’s No. 1 seed against a No. 16; the best are 8-9 match-ups. Today’s 8-9 games are that 12:15 game on CBS, plus ones at 4:30 ET on TBS (Arkansas-Illinois) and 6:50 on TNT (Iowa-Auburn). Also, 7-10 match-ups are 1:40 p.m. on TNT (Missouri-Utah State), 7:35 p.m. on TruTV (Northwestern-Boise State) and 9:55 p.m. on TBS (Texas A&M-Penn State).
3) “Animal Control” and “Call Me Kat,” 9 and 9:30 p.m., Fox. With basketball bumping CBS shows, we can turn to Fox for “Next Level Chef” at 8 and these comedies. First, there’s a displaced cow is in (of course) a fraternity house; also, Patel learns Victoria’s R-rated life has a wholesome detail. Then Max hosts a singer, hoping she’ll do his songs; she’s played by Margie Mays, who was ousted during Hollywood Week of “American Idol” in 2019 and 2020.
4) “Good Trouble” season-opener, 10 p.m., Freeform. This starts with a rare burst of melodrama: Mariana, Evan and Joaquin flee the cult-like farm, as a gunman takes aim. Then there’s lust (Davia and Dennis), indecision (Isabella and her baby) and humor (Alice’s bizarre new job), with a closing emotional kick. Overall, it’s a good – and richly varied – hour.
5) ALSO: Displaced CBS viewers could also try are NBC (the three “Law & Order” shows) and ABC (“Station19,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Alaska Daily”). At 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies has the restored epic “Spartacus” (1960); at 9, CW reruns the “Superman & Lois” season-opener.