Why you need to pay attention to the First Four; Giants sign Blake Snell

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THE MEN’S BASKETBALL NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST FOUR

Your men’s NCAA Tournament brackets aren’t due until Thursday — sign up here — but if you’re not tuned in tonight, you’ll be behind the eight ball.

Why? The First Four begins tonight, and 12 First Four teams have won multiple tournament games since the round started in 2011. Fairleigh Dickinson last year? First Four. And how about VCU in 2011 and UCLA in 2021? Both went from the First Four to the Final Four! I wrote about my top four Fiirst Four teams most likely to make a run, and my second-best candidate plays tonight.

• Pereles: “Colorado State — Isaiah Stevens is already the stuff of legends in Fort Collins as the program’s all-time leading scorer and assister, but he’s never won an NCAA Tournament game. Now’s the time to change that, and he has plenty of help in Colorado transfer Nique Clifford and former Division II player of the year Joel Scott. … Great, experienced guard play often does well in March, and Stevens is both. He’s the only player this season averaging 16 points and six assists while shooting at least 44% from 3. In an early-season blowout of Creighton, he had 20 points and seven assists. Six days later, he dropped 20 points and 11 assists to beat Colorado.”

First Four teams, of course, aren’t the only ones who can bust your bracket. David Cobb has his list of potential Cinderellas, and the coach of one candidate knows plenty about the sneaker industry, not just slippers.

• Cobb: “No. 12 seed McNeese — McNeese beat VCU, UAB…