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March Madness will officially begin with a pair of First Four games on Tuesday night.
UMBC and Howard will meet in the first matchup of the evening and battle for the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region. The winner will face No. 1 Michigan on Thursday.
The second game of the doubleheader will feature Texas and NC State. Either the Longhorns or Wolfpack will become the No. 11 seed in the West Region and attempt to pull off an upset against No. 6 BYU.
Here is everything you need to know about today's schedule, including tipoff times and TV and streaming options for First Four games.
March Madness schedule today
First Four
Tuesday, March 17
| No. 16 UMBC vs. No. 16 Howard | 6:40 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 11 Texas vs. No. 11 NC State | 9:15 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
What channel is truTV?
You can find truTV on the channels below if you want to watch First Four games via a traditional cable or satellite provider.
| AT&T U-Verse | 164 (SD)/1164 (HD) |
| DISH | 242 |
| DirecTV | 246 |
| Spectrum | Varies by location (area search) |
| Verizon FIOS | 183 (SD)/683 (HD) |
| Xfinity | Varies by location (area search) |
SN EXPERT BRACKETS: DeCourcy (Arizona) | Bender (Michigan) | Iyer (Arizona) | Gay (UCLA women)
How to watch 2026 March Madness games: TV channels, live streams
- TV channels: CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV
- Live streams: DIRECTV, Fubo, Paramount+
NCAA Tournament games will air on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Viewers can also stream March Madness games on DIRECTV (CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV), Fubo (CBS) and Paramount+ (CBS).
Catch every game — try DIRECTV FREE today! Stream live college basketball, MLB, NHL and more with must-have sports channels like TNT, TBS, truTV, ESPN, FS1 and NFL Network — all included with DIRECTV.
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| Round | TV channel | Live stream |
| First Four | truTV | DIRECTV |
| First Round | CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV | DIRECTV, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| Second Round | CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV | DIRECTV, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| Sweet 16 | CBS, TBS, truTV | DIRECTV, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| Elite Eight | CBS, TBS, truTV | DIRECTV, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| Final Four | TBS, truTV | DIRECTV |
| Championship | TBS, truTV | DIRECTV |
How to listen to NCAA Tournament games on the radio
- Radio station: SiriusXM
You can listen to NCAA Tournament games live on SiriusXM. Channels for games are listed on the official SiriusXM website.
New subscribers can listen to SiriusXM for free for four months. Listen to live NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL games, plus NASCAR, college sports and more. Stay updated with all the news and get all the analysis on multiple sport-specific channels.
NCAA Tournament schedule 2026
First Four
Wednesday, March 18
| No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 16 Lehigh | 6:40 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 11 Miami (Ohio) vs. No. 11 SMU | 9:15 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
Round 1
Thursday, March 19
| No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 TCU | 12:15 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Troy | 12:40 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 South Florida | 1:30 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 High Point | 1:50 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Siena | 2:50 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 McNeese | 3:15 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 14 North Dakota State | 4:05 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Hawaii | 4:25 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 11 VCU | 6:50 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 16 UMBC/Howard | 7:10 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Texas/NC State | 7:25 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 Texas A&M | 7:35 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 14 Penn | 9:25 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Saint Louis | 9:45 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State | 10 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 2 Houston vs. No. 15 Idaho | 10:10 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
Friday, March 20
| No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara | 12:15 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Akron | 12:40 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 LIU | 1:35 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 Wright State | 1:50 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State | 2:50 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra | 3:15 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Utah State | 4:10 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio)/SMU | 4:25 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa | 6:50 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa | 7:10 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 UCF | 7:25 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Queens | 7:35 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M/Lehigh | 9:25 p.m. | TNT, DIRECTV |
| No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Cal Baptist | 9:45 p.m. | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman | 10 p.m. | TBS, DIRECTV |
| No. 7 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 10 Missouri | 10:10 p.m. | truTV, DIRECTV |
Round 2
Saturday, March 21
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
Sunday, March 22
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
Sweet 16
Thursday, March 26
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
Friday, March 27
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBD |
Elite Eight
Saturday, March 28
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
Sunday, March 29
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
Final Four
Saturday, April 4
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
National championship
Monday, April 6
| TBD vs. TBD | 8:50 p.m. | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
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