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How’s your bracket looking after the first two rounds of the tournament? There have been fewer upsets so far this year, and the four No. 1 seeds — Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston — all survived the opening weekend. Only one double-digit seed remains in No. 10 Arkansas after it knocked off No. 2 St. John’s, but it’s hard to view a team coached by John Calipari as a Cinderella story. The lack of upsets has made this edition of March Madness feel less mad than past years, but it also sets up some big matchups for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight over the next four days.
The tournament resumes tonight with four Sweet 16 games. Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream March Madness, all the way up to the Final Four games and national championship in April.
Cooper Flagg and No. 1 Duke face No. 4 Arizona on Friday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
When does March Madness start today?
The Sweet 16 starts this evening with No. 2 Alabama facing No. 6 BYU starting at 7:09 p.m. ET (4:09 p.m. PT) in the East Region before No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Maryland in the West Region tip off 30 minutes later. Later tonight, Cooper Flagg and No. 1 Duke take on. No. 4 Arizona and No. 3 Texas Tech faces No. 10 Arkansas.
Sweet 16 TV schedule
Here’s the TV schedule for tonight and tomorrow (all times ET):
Thursday, March 27
- No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 6 BYU: 7:09 p.m. on CBS
- No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Maryland: 7:39 p.m. on TBS/TruTV
- No. 1 Duke vs. No. 4 Arizona: 9:39 p.m. on CBS
- No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Arkansas: 10:09 p.m. on TBS/TruTV
Friday, March 28
- No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Ole Miss: 7:09 p.m. on CBS
- No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Kentucky: 7:39 p.m. on TBS/TruTV
- No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 5 Michigan: 9:39 p.m. on CBS
- No. 1 Houston vs. No. 4 Purdue: 10:09 p.m. on TBS/TruTV
If you want to look ahead, you can check out the remaining schedule, round by round, for both the men’s and women’s tournaments:
Men’s March Madness schedule
- 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
- 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 to livestream the March Madness games broadcast on CBS. 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 won’t need to shell out for it to watch this year’s March Madness games. The change goes into effect on Sunday, March 30, and the last games broadcast on TBS/TNT/TruTV are the two Elite Eight games on TBS on Saturday, March 29. The Final Four and national championship will air on CBS, so you won’t need Max after the Elite Eight round.
Read our Max review.
What 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 the March Madness tournament 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 is $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) 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 with multiple games happening 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 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 best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN that works on a variety of devices. It costs $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That translates to $6.67 a month. Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Which teams are the top seeds this year?
Despite losing to Tennessee in the SEC tournament semifinals, Auburn entered March Madness as the top overall seed. The three other No. 1 seeds are Duke, Houston and Florida. Tennessee ended up losing to Florida in the SEC tournament final is a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament along with Alabama, Michigan State and St. John’s.
You can see every seed and matchup at the official March Madness bracket.
Which team 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 2007.
