March Madness has begun. Yesterday, the first full day of games, saw No. 11 Duquesne defeat No. 6 BYU in the first game of the tournament. First NCAA Tournament win in 50 years. Later in the day, No. 14 Oakland stunned No. 3 Kentucky with a surprise tourney hero. Jack Kolke hit 10 three-pointers, an embarrassment to the tournament record. The action continues with games throughout today and tonight.
The fun started on Friday Northwestern slows FAU in overtimewhen No. 5 San Diego State No. 12 to avoid a loss for UAB. Otherwise, the action features several top seeds, with UConn, Marquette, Baylor and Clemson all posting big, double-digit wins and routing lower-ranked opponents.
Everything you need to know for this year's March Madness, from tonight's first-round games and the weekend's second-round game to the Final Four and the national championship game. To stream every game in the tournament, you only need two apps, which cost $22 a month: Max (with ads) and Paramount Plus with Showtime.
Looking for a repeat championship, Tristan Newton and the UConn Huskies enter the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East Region.
How can I watch or stream March Madness?
As in previous years, the tournament will be shown on four channels: CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Yes, it's time again to find TrueTV on your dial.
You can watch these channels with a cable subscription or live TV streaming service, but a more affordable option is to sign up for a pair of streaming services a month: Max with Showtime and Paramount Plus. If you have the cheaper Paramount Plus Essential plan, you won't be able to watch March Madness until you upgrade to the more expensive option.
For just $22, you can watch every March Madness game live. With the cheap, ad-supported $10 per month Max streaming service, you can watch games broadcast on TBS, TNT and TruTV. With the $12-per-month Paramount Plus with Showtime plan, you can watch CBS games.
Sure, you'll have to juggle multiple apps, but it's a cheap way to capture all the action.
Max costs $10 a month and shows March Madness games on TBS, TNT or TruTV. If you're determined to sign up to just one streaming service to watch the match, Max is the obvious choice. Not only will it show the opening round games across the three Turner-owned networks, but it will also show both the Final Four games and the national championship game, which will be televised on DPS.
Live sports on Max will soon require the $10-a-month B/R Sports add-on, but you won't have to look for it to watch this year's March Madness games. Warner Bros. Discovery delays charging customers for the add-on option until shortly after the competition.
Read our Max review.
You'll need the premium Paramount Plus with Showtime plan to live stream March Madness games on CBS. It costs $12 a month, more than double the price of a non-Showtime plan. For this year's tournament, CBS will show games from the first round through the Elite Eight.
Read our Paramount Plus review.
What devices can I use to watch March Madness?
You can find an app for each service to view on an iPhone or Android phone and an iPad, Android tablet, or Amazon Fire tablet. Max and Paramount Plus are available on major streaming platforms including Roku, Apple TV, Android TV/Google TV and Fire TV, as well as smart TVs from major manufacturers LG, Samsung and Vizio. Both services are accessible through Xbox and PlayStation game consoles.
For more details, see the full list Supported devices for Max And Paramount Plus.
Can I stream March Madness for free?
Go to the NCAA March Madness Live site Or use it March Madness Live App And you can 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 is a catch. Without proving you're a pay TV subscriber, you'll only get a three-hour preview, after which you'll need to log in to continue watching.
What's the March Madness schedule for today?
Check out the remaining schedule for Friday's games and the lineup for Saturday's second round (all times ET).
Friday, March 22
- No. 13 Yale vs. no. 4 Auburn at TNT 4:15 p.m
- No. 10 Colorado vs. no. 7 at Florida, 4:30 p.m. on TBS
- No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Nebraska, 6:50 p.m. on TNT
- No. 13 Vermont v. No. 4 Duke, 7:10 p.m. on CBS
- No. 16 Grambling vs. no. 1 at Purdue, 7:25 p.m. on TBS
- No. 13 Charleston vs. No. 4 Alabama, 7:35 p.m. on TrueTV
- No. 16 Longwood v. No. 1 Houston, 9:20 p.m. on TNT
- No. 12 James Madison v. No. 5 Wisconsin at CBS 9:40 p.m
- No. 9 TCU vs. No. 8 Utah State, 9:55 p.m. on TBS
- No. 12 Grand Canyon vs. no. 5 St. Mary's, 10:05pm on TrueTV
Saturday, March 23
- No. 7 Dayton v. No. 2 Arizona at CBS 12:45 p.m
- No. 5 Gonzaga vs. no. 4 Kansas at CBS, 3:15 p.m
- No. 9 Michigan State vs. no. 1 at North Carolina, 5:30 p.m. on CBS
- No. 7 State of Washington v. No. 2 Iowa State at TNT 6:10 p.m
- No. 14 Oakland vs. No. 11 NC State, 7:10 p.m. on TBS/TruTV
- No. 7 Texas vs. no. 2 Tennessee at CBS, 8 p.m
- No. 11 Duquesne vs. no. 3 at Illinois, 8:40 p.m. on TNT
- No. 11 Oregon vs. no. 3 at Creighton, 9:40 p.m. on TBS/TruTV
What is the March Madness tournament schedule?
Here's the rest of the table, rounded up:
- First round: March 21 to 22
- Second round: March 23 to 24
- Sweet 16: March 28 to 29
- Elite Eight: March 30 to 31
- Final Four: Saturday, April 6
- NCAA Championship Game: Monday, April 8
What does the March Madness bracket look like?
You can see Official bracket Look at all the matchups and try to identify potential upsets and which teams will make it to the Final Four.
What are the best teams in college basketball this year?
Looking for help filling out your bracket? I can't offer that kind of help with a wild and unpredictable single-elimination tournament like March Madness.
What can I say about that online betting site FanDuel is currently listed Defending champion UConn is the favorite, followed by Houston and Purdue. In the next tier are Arizona, North Carolina and Tennessee. Auburn, Creighton, Marquette and Iowa State are the top 10 betting favorites.
What is the best live TV streaming service for March Madness?
Three of the five live TV streaming services offer the four channels you need to watch every competitive game, but keep in mind that not every service carries every local network, so use the links below to make sure CBS carries each in your area.
We recommend YouTube TV for college basketball fans for its relatively low monthly fee and multi-view capability, which lets you watch multiple games at once. It is one of only three services to offer all four channels needed to watch every game. However, at $73 per month, it's more expensive than getting Max and Paramount Plus with Showtime.
Sling TV doesn't have CBS, but it's a good, low-cost option if you don't need to watch every game in the tournament, but want to make sure you can watch the Final Four and the national championship game. At $40 a month, however, it costs more than twice as much as a month's subscription to Max and Paramount Plus with Showtime, which lets you watch every game.
Hulu with Live TV and DirecTV Stream has every channel you need, but both are more expensive than YouTube TV and lack features like multi-view. Fubo offers multi-view but not the Turner networks (DNT, TBS and TruTV), making it a poor choice for March Madness.
YouTube TV costs $73 a month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Insert your zip code in it Welcome page Check to see if CBS is available in your area.
YouTube TV isn't the only cheap live TV streaming service offering all four channels for March Madness, but it's also the only service offering multiple views that allow you to watch all four games at once. And if there's one sporting event that cries out for more viewing, it's March Madness, especially the first two rounds where multiple games are played simultaneously.
Read our YouTube TV review.
Hulu with Live TV costs $70 a month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. on it Live news pageTo see which local channels you receive, you can enter your zip code after clicking the “View Channels in Your Area” link.
Read our Hulu with Live TV review.
Sling TV's $40-a-month Blue plan includes TBS, TNT and TruTV. If you don't need to watch every early-round game, Sling TV is a great choice because it shows games from every round of the tournament, including the Final Four games and the national championship game.
Read our Sling TV review.
All of the above live TV streaming services offer free trials, allow you to cancel at any time and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
