Soon, the madness will ensue. The NCAA men’s college basketball tournament is affectionately labeled March Madness for its unpredictability, and has given us small-school Cinderella runs and bracket-busting buzzer beaters. The 68-team bracket will be revealed this Sunday, and the tournament tips off next Tuesday, March 18.
Here’s everything you need to know to get ready for March Madness, from tuning into Selection Sunday to catching the Final Four and the national championship.
Cooper Flagg has the Duke Blue Devils poised to be a No. 1 seed for March Madness.
When and where is Selection Sunday?
The March Madness bracket and matchups will be revealed this Sunday, March 16. The Selection Sunday show for the men’s tournament begins at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) on CBS. The bracket for the women’s March Madness tournament will be unveiled at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on ESPN.
When does March Madness start?
With 68 teams invited to the Big Dance, the NCAA holds four play-in games to get the field down to 64, after which point the math works out to have four regional tournaments of 16 teams each. The winners of the four regional tournaments then advance to the Final Four, held this year at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
March Madness begins on Tuesday, March 18 with two play-in games followed by two more play-in games the next night. After these First Four games, the field of 64 is set and the tournament begins in earnest on Thursday, March 20 with a full slate of games that will take place all afternoon and into the night, with at least a few moments of madness practically guaranteed.
March Madness tournament schedule
Here are the schedules, round by round, for both the men’s and women’s tournaments:
Men’s March Madness schedule
- First Four: March 18-19
- First round: March 20-21
- Second round: March 22-23
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
- Final Four: Saturday, April 5
- National championship: Monday, April 7
Women’s March Madness schedule
- First Four: March 19-20
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-31
- Final Four: Friday, April 4
- National championship: Sunday, April 6
How to watch March Madness without cable
As in past years, the tournament will be shown across four channels: CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV (that’s right, it’s the time of year to find TruTV again).
You can watch these channels with a cable subscription or a live TV streaming service, but the most affordable option is signing up for a month of two streaming services: Max and Paramount Plus with Showtime.
For $23, you can watch every March Madness game live. With the $10 a month Max streaming service, you can watch the games broadcast on TBS, TNT and TruTV. And with the $13 a month Paramount Plus with Showtime plan, you’ll be able to watch the CBS games, which include both Final Four semifinal games and the national championship game.
You’ll need the $13 a month Paramount Plus with Showtime plan in order to livestream the March Madness games broadcast on CBS. You’ll also be able to watch the CBS broadcast of the Selection Sunday show with Paramount Plus.
The final two rounds of the tournament flip-flop between TBS and CBS each year, and this year’s Final Four and national championship will be shown on CBS.
Read our Paramount Plus review.
The Basic with ads plan for Max costs $10 a month and will show March Madness games on TBS, TNT or TruTV.
Live sports on Max will soon require the $17 a month ad-free Standard plan, but you shouldn’t need to shell out for it to watch this year’s March Madness games. The change goes into effect on March 30, so you might need the pricier ad-free plan to watch two of the four Elite Eight games that day. With the Final Four games and national championship airing on CBS, however, you won’t need any Max plan after the Elite Eight round.
Read our Max review.
Which devices can I use to watch March Madness?
You’ll find an app for the Paramount Plus and Max streaming services on an iPhone or Android phone as well as an iPad, Android tablet or Amazon Fire tablet. Each services is also available on mainstream streaming platforms including Roku, Apple TV, Android TV/Google TV and Fire TV, as well as smart televisions from major manufacturers LG, Samsung and Vizio. They’re also accessible through Xbox and PlayStation game consoles.
Read more: March Madness TV Deals
For more specifics, check out the full list of supported devices for Paramount Plus and Max.
How to watch March Madness for free
Go to the NCAA’s March Madness Live site or use its March Madness Live app and you’ll be able to watch games for free. You can watch March Madness Live on iOS and Android devices along with Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Xbox. The app also supports AirPlay and Chromecast.
As with most things that are free, there’s a catch. Without proving you’re a pay TV subscriber, you get only a three-hour preview, after which point you’ll need to log in to continue watching.
How to watch March Madness with a live TV streaming service
You can also use a live TV streaming service to watch March Madness. Three of the five live TV streaming services offer the four channels needed to watch every tournament game, but keep in mind that not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries CBS in your area.
YouTube TV costs $83 a month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see if CBS is available in your area. Right now, the first six months are discounted to $70 a month, and there is a free, 21-day trial.
YouTube TV is our pick for March Madness. Not only is it the cheapest live TV streaming service (with the current discount for the first six months) that offers all four channels for the tournament, but it’s also the only service that offers multiview so you can watch four games at once. And if there’s one sporting event that cries out for multiview, it’s March Madness, especially the first two rounds when so many games are happening all at once.
Read our YouTube TV review.
Hulu with Live TV costs $83 a month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. There’s a free trial but it lasts only three days. On its live news page, you can enter your ZIP code under the “Can I watch local news in my area?” question at the bottom of the page to see which local channels you get.
Read our Hulu with Live TV review.
The live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide and our recommendations for the best sports streaming services.
How to watch March Madness with a VPN
If no convenient opportunities exist to watch the games where you live, then using a VPN with US-based server should provide access to the tournament. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, are very easy to use.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, as long as you’ve got a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Who won March Madness last year?
The UConn Huskies defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 to repeat as the champions of college basketball. It was the first time a school won back-to-back March Madness titles since the Florida Gators in 2006/07.
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