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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Dan Lyons

March Madness 2026: Game Times, TV Channels and Full NCAA Tournament Schedule

NCAA Tournament (Organization) NCAA truTV March madness (Topic) CBS TBS TNT SC (Geopolitical Entity) AJ Ross Allie LaForce

Buckle up, March Madness is here.

The 68-team men’s NCAA tournament field was officially revealed on Sunday, and with it, a full schedule for the upcoming tournament. Basketball action tips off on Tuesday night with the First Four, which continues on Wednesday, as Miami (Ohio), SMU, NC State and Texas are among the teams that will play to earn their way into the main 64-team bracket. From there, Thursday and Friday bring us non-stop action from noon until past midnight each night.

No. 1 overall seed Duke enters the tournament as one of the favorites to win it all, after cruising through the ACC tournament. The Blue Devils captured both the regular season and conference tournament championships for the second year in a row, and are riding high led by Cameron Boozer, who is enjoying one of the greatest freshman seasons in college basketball.

Forde Minutes: Everything You Need to Know About Men’s March Madness

Duke is joined by Michigan, Florida and Arizona on the top-seed line—four programs that have dominated the sport for much of the season and have earned these coveted top seeds. Purdue earned a No. 2 seed after beating the Wolverines for the Big Ten championship, while Houston—another team in the mix for a top seed—has the chance to play in its home city if it can reach the second weekend of the tournament, with the Gators serving as the No. 1 team in their quarter of the bracket.

Get your multi-screen setups ready. Here is the full schedule, starting with the first round.

Full 2026 March Madness broadcast schedule

First Four (Tuesday, March 17)

No. 16 UMBC vs. No. 16 Howard, 6:40 p.m. ET | truTV (Jordan Kent, Jim Spanarkel, Jenny Dell)

Dayton, Ohio. (UD Arena)

No. 11 Texas vs. No. 11 NC State, ~9:15 p.m. ET | truTV (Brian Anderson, Charles Barkley, Dick Vitale, Jenny Dell) | Dayton

First Four (Wednesday, March 18)—UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)

No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 16 Lehigh, 6:40 p.m. ET | truTV (Kent, Spanarkel, Dell) | Dayton
No. 11 Miami (Ohio) vs. No. 11 SMU, ~9:15 p.m. ET | truTV (Kent, Spanarkel, Dell) | Dayton

First round (Thursday, March 19)

No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 TCU, 12:15 p.m. ET | CBS (Ian Eagle, Bill Reaftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson) | Greenville, S.C. (Bon Secours Wellness Arena)
No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Troy, 12:40 p.m. ET | truTV (Brandon Gaudin, Chris Webber, Andy Katz) | Oklahoma City (Paycom Center)
No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 South Florida, 1:30 p.m. ET | TNT (Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce) | Buffalo (KeyBank Center)
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 High Point, 1:50 p.m. ET | TBS (Brad Nessler, Wally Szczerbiak, Jared Greenberg) | Portland (Moda Center)
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Siena, ~2:50 p.m. ET | CBS (Eagle, Raftery, Hill, Wolfson) | Greenville
No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 McNeese, ~3:15 p.m. ET | truTV (Gaudin, Webber, Katz) | Oklahoma City
No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 14 North Dakota State, ~4:05 p.m. ET | TNT (Anderson, Jackson, LaForce) | Buffalo
No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Hawai’i, ~4:25 p.m. ET | TBS (Nessler, Szczerbiak, Greenberg) | Portland
No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 11 VCU, 6:50 p.m. ET | TNT (Eagle, Raftery, Hill, Wolfson) | Greenville
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 16 UMBC/Howard, 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS (Anderson, Jackson, LaForce) | Buffalo
No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Texas/NC State, 7:25 p.m. ET | TBS (Nessler, Szczerbiak, Greenberg) | Portland
No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Texas A&M, 7:35 p.m. ET | truTV (Gaudin, Webber, Katz) | Oklahoma City
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 14 Penn, ~9:25 p.m. ET | TNT (Eagle, Raftery, Hill, Wolfson) | Greenville
No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Saint Louis, ~9:45 p.m. ET | CBS (Anderson, Jackson, LaForce) | Buffalo
No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State, ~10:00 p.m. ET | TBS (Nessler, Szczerbiak, Greenberg) | Portland
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 15 Idaho, ~10:10 p.m. ET | truTV (Gaudin, Webber, Katz) | Oklahoma City

First round (Friday, March 21)

No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara, 12:15 p.m. ET | CBS (Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jon Rothstein) | St. Louis (Enterprise Center)
No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Akron, 12:40 p.m. ET | truTV (Tom McCarthy, Candace Parker, Dan Bonner, AJ Ross) | Tampa (Benchmark International Arena)
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 LIU, 1:35 p.m. ET | TNT (Kevin Harlan, Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy, Lauren Shehadi) | San Diego (Viejas Arena)
No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 Wright State, 1:50 p.m. ET | TBS (Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn) | Philadelphia (Xfinity Mobile Arena)
No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State, ~2:50 p.m. ET | CBS (Dedes, Spanarkel, Rothstein) | St. Louis
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra, ~3:15 p.m. ET | truTV (McCarthy, Parker, Bonner, Ross) | Tampa
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Utah State, ~4:10 p.m. ET | TNT (Harlan, Hummel, Van Gundy, Shehadi)

| San Diego

No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio)/SMU, ~4:25 p.m. ET | TBS (Catalon, Lappas, Washburn) | Philadelphia
No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa, 6:50 p.m. ET | TNT (McCarthy, Parker, Bonner, Ross) | Tampa
No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa, 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS (Harlan, Hummel, Van Gundy, Shehadi) | San Diego
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 UCF, 7:25 p.m. ET | TBS (Catalon, Lappas, Washburn) | Philadelphia
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Queens, 7:35 p.m. ET | truTV (Dedes, Spanarkel, Rothstein) | St. Louis
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Prairie View/Lehigh, ~9:25 p.m. ET | TNT (McCarthy, Parker, Bonner, Ross) | Tampa
No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 California Baptist, ~9:45 p.m. ET | CBS (Harlan, Hummel, Van Gundy, Shehadi) | San Diego
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman, ~10:00 p.m. ET | TBS (Catalon, Lappas, Washburn) | Philadelphia
No. 7 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 10 Missouri, ~10:10 p.m. ET | truTV (

Dedes, Spanarkel, Rothstein) | St. Louis

Future NCAA tournament rounds, locations

Second round: Saturday, March 20; Sunday, March 21. See: First round locations
Sweet 16: Thursday, March 26; Friday, March 27
Elite Eight: Saturday, March 28; Sunday, March 29
◦South region (3/26, 3/28): Toyota Center, Houston
◦West region (3/26, 3/28): SAP Center, San Jose
◦Midwest region (3/27, 3/29): United Center, Chicago
◦East region (3/27, 3/29): Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Final Four: Saturday, April 4
National championship: Monday, April, 6
◦Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis