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Selection Sunday has arrived, and months of anticipation are finally about to pay off. The 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket will be unveiled tonight, revealing the full 68-team field for this year’s March Madness.
With conference tournaments concluding and automatic bids still being claimed, Sunday’s selection show will decide which teams are in, which teams are out and how the path to the national championship will take shape. For some programs, it’s a formality. For others, the wait will be far more nerve-racking.
Selection Sunday will bring clarity for the nation’s top contenders and plenty of tension for teams still on the bubble. Programs like Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida will be aiming for No. 1 seeds, while teams including Texas, Indiana, SMU and VCU will wait to see if they’ve done enough to make the field.
Once the bracket is revealed, March Madness is officially underway.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 Selection Sunday show, including how to watch the bracket reveal on TV and via live stream.
When is Selection Sunday 2026? Show date, start time
- Date: Sunday, March 15
- Time: 6 p.m. ET
The one-hour Selection Sunday show will air at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15. The entire March Madness bracket will be revealed throughout the course of the show.
How to watch Selection Sunday show 2026: TV channel, live stream
- TV channel: CBS
- Live stream: DIRECTV, Paramount+, Fubo
Adam Zucker will lead CBS’ Selection Sunday coverage from New York alongside analysts Clark Kellogg, Jay Wright and Seth Davis. Once the bracket is unveiled, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee Chair Bubba Cunningham will join the broadcast to discuss the selections.
Viewers can stream the Selection Sunday show on DIRECTV, Paramount+ or Fubo, which offers a free trial.
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NCAA Tournament 2026 selection format
The 2026 NCAA Tournament once again features a 68-team field. Teams earn a spot in the "Big Dance" by winning conference tournaments or capturing at-large bids. In total, 37 at-large spots are up for grabs, with 31 teams crowned as conference champions.
A 12-member NCAA selection committee is responsible for selecting the at-large participants and ranking the field.
NCAA Tournament schedule 2026
The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins with the First Four on March 18 and March 19, and it concludes with the championship game on April 7.
See below for a complete round-by-round schedule.
| First Four | March 17-18 |
| First Round | March 19-20 |
| Second Round | March 21-22 |
| Sweet 16 | March 26-27 |
| Elite Eight | March 28-29 |
| Final Four | April 4 |
| Championship | April 6 |
NCAA Tournament sites 2026
| Round | City | Venue |
| First Four | Dayton, Ohio | UD Arena |
| First/Second | Buffalo, N.Y. | KeyBank Center |
| First/Second | Greenville, S.C. | Bon Secours Wellness Arena |
| First/Second | Oklahoma City | Paycom Center |
| First/Second | Portland, Ore. | Moda Center |
| First/Second | Tampa, Fla. | Benchmark International Arena |
| First/Second | Philadelphia | Xfinity Mobile Arena |
| First/Second | San Diego | Viejas Arena |
| First/Second | St. Louis | Enterprise Center |
| East Regional | Washington, D.C. | Capital One Arena |
| West Regional | San Jose, Calif. | SAP Center |
| South Regional | Houston | Toyota Center |
| Midwest Regional | Chicago | United Center |
| Final Four | Indianapolis | Lucas Oil Stadium |
English (US)