When is March Madness? 2025 NCAA Tournament dates, TV schedule, locations, odds
- When does March Madness start? See the full 2025 NCAA Tournament schedule heading into Selection Sunday.
- The NCAA bracket will be unveiled during Sunday's selection show on CBS, including First Four games and first-round pairings and matchups.
Though a ball won't be tipped for a few more days, March Madness is finally here.
A tournament that takes over the entire country has its full bracket following the Selection Sunday release show.
In the hours that follow the unveiling of the men's NCAA Tournament bracket, college basketball fans around the country — die-hard and first-time viewers alike — will begin analyzing the field and making their picks on who will cut down the nets in San Antonio. The SEC and Big Ten look well positioned to have a successful March this year.
Can your picks survive March Madness? Join our Survivor Pool to find out
Last year's tournament brought out unsung heroes, such as Oakland's Jack Gohlke and NC State's DJ Burns. It also created a storyline that had not been seen in nearly two decades: UConn became the first team since Florida in 2006-07 to repeat as national champions.
So what will be the storylines this year? Everything is on the line, and that's the beauty of this unpredictable tournament.
Here's what you need to know for the 2025 NCAA Tournament from TV schedules, results, streaming options, game site information, national championship betting odds and much more:
March Madness Bracket 2025
The full field of 68 was released on Sunday, March 16 during the NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday Show on CBS. The 2025 NCAA Tournament consists of 31 automatic qualifiers (conference champions) and 37 at-large teams picked by the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
Here's a full rundown of the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket and schedule:
All times Eastern. This section will be updated as the NCAA Tournament progresses
First Four
Tuesday, March 18
- Game 1: No. 16 Alabama State vs. No. 16 Saint Francis | 6:40 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 2: No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 11 San Diego State | 9:10 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
Wednesday, March 19
- Game 3: No. 16 Mount St. Mary's vs. No. 16 American | 6:40 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 4: No. 11 Xavier vs. No. 11 Texas | 9:10 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
Round 1
Thursday, March 20
- Game 5: No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton | 12:15 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
- Game 6: No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 High Point | 12:40 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 7: No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Montana | 1:30 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 8: No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 SIU Edwardsville | 2 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 9: No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Saint Francis (PA)/Alabama State | 2:50 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
- Game 10: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese | 3:15 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 11: No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 VCU | 4:05 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 12: No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Georgia | 4:35 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 13: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford | 6:50 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 14: No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Arkansas | 7:10 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
- Game 15: No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Yale | 7:25 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 16: No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Drake | 7:35 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 17: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State | 9:25 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 18: No. 2 St. John's vs. No. 15 Omaha | 9:45 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
- Game 19: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego | 10 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 20: No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington | 10:10 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
Friday, March 21
- Game 21: No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor | 12:15 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
- Game 22: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris | 12:40 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 23: No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb | 1:30 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 24: No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State | 2 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 25: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary's/American | 2:50 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
- Game 26: No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt | 3:15 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 27: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 North Carolina/San Diego State | 4:05 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 28: No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon | 4:35 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 29: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State | 6:50 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 30: No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy | 7:10 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
- Game 31: No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico | 7:25 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 32: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron | 7:35 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
- Game 33: No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma | 9:25 p.m. | TNT (Sling TV)
- Game 34: No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Xavier/Texas | 9:45 p.m. | CBS (Sling TV)
- Game 35: No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant | 10 p.m. | TBS (Sling TV)
- Game 36: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty | 10:10 p.m. | truTV (Sling TV)
Round 2
This section will be updated
Sweet 16
This section will be updated
Elite Eight
This section will be updated
Final Four
This section will be updated
2025 NCAA Tournament championship
- TBD vs. TBD | 8:50 p.m. | CBS (Fubo)
This section will be updated
When is March Madness? Full 2025 NCAA Tournament schedule
- Start date: Tuesday, March 18 (First Four)
- End date: Monday, April 7 (national championship)
The 2025 men's NCAA Tournament gets going on Tuesday, March 18 in Dayton, Ohio, at UD Arena with the First Four. First-round games begin two days later on Thursday, March 20.
Here is the full schedule breakdown for the 2025 NCAA Tournament:
- First Four: Tuesday, March 18 through Wednesday, March 19
- First round: Thursday, March 20 through Friday, March 21
- Second round: Saturday, March 22 through Sunday, March 23
- Sweet 16: Thursday, March 27 through Friday, March 28
- Elite Eight: Saturday, March 29 through Sunday, March 30
- Final Four: Saturday, April 5
- National Championship: Monday, April 7
When is the First Four?
The First Four will once again take place in Dayton, Ohio, at UD Arena on the campus of the University of Dayton. The first set of First Four games will take place on Tuesday, March 18, while the second set of games will take place on Wednesday, March 19.
Here's a breakdown of dates and tip-off times for the First Four:
* - All times ET
Tuesday, March 18
- Game 1: 6:40 p.m. (No. 16 Alabama State vs. No. 16 Saint Francis) | Game 2: 9:10 p.m. (No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 11 San Diego State)
- TV channel: truTV
- Live stream: March Madness Live app, Sling TV
Wednesday, March 19
- Game 1: 6:40 p.m. (No. 16 Mount St. Mary's vs. No. 16 American) | Game 2: 9:10 p.m. (No. 11 Xavier vs. No. 11 Texas)
- TV channel: truTV
- Live stream: March Madness Live app, Sling TV
When is the Final Four?
The Final Four this year will take place at the historic Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday, April 5. It is the first time that the Final Four is returning to San Antonio since Villanova defeated Michigan in 2018.
This year's Final Four is the last time it will take place in the south until 2030, when it heads to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Final Four will travel to the following cities over the next few years: Indianapolis (2026), Detroit (2027), Las Vegas (2028), Indianapolis (2029) and Arlington, Texas (2030).
Here's a breakdown of dates and tip-off times for the Final Four and the national championship game:
Final Four
- Date: Saturday, April 5
- Time: Game 1: 6 p.m. ET | Game 2: 8:49 p.m. ET
- TV channel: CBS
- Live stream: March Madness Live app | Fubo (free trial)
NCAA Tournament national championship
- Date: Monday, April 7
- Time: 8:50 p.m. ET
- TV channel: CBS
- Live stream: March Madness Live app | Fubo (free trial)
How to watch March Madness games in 2025? TV channels, streaming
- TV channels: CBS | TBS | TNT | truTV
- Streaming options: NCAA March Madness Live app | Sling TV | Fubo (free trial)
The 2025 NCAA Tournament will be carried across an assortment of different networks, including CBS (24 games), TBS (18 games), TNT (12 games) and truTV (21 games).
For games on the Turner Broadcast Network — TBS, TNT and truTV — one streaming option includes Sling TV. Games on CBS can be streamed on Fubo, which carries CBS and offers a free trial to new subscribers, and Paramount+. All March Madness games will be available to be streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live app (with a TV login) as well.
Here are the regional weekend announcer crews:
- Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson
- Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce
- Kevin Harlen, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Lauren Shehadi
- Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn
Here are the other broadcast crews, in alphabetical order:
- Lisa Byington, Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose, Andy Katz
- Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jon Rothstein
- Tom McCarthy, Debbie Antonelli, Steve Smith, AJ Ross
- Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, Dana Jacobson
March Madness 2025 locations
As is the case every March Madness, the NCAA Tournament will take place at 14 different arenas and stadiums around the country.
The four regional sites (i.e. the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight) this year will be the Prudential Center (East Region) in Newark, New Jersey; State Farm Arena (South) in Atlanta; Lucas Oil Stadium (Midwest) in Indianapolis; and the Chase Center (West) in San Francisco.
The Final Four and national championship are returning to San Antonio and the Alamodome for the fourth time. It's the first trip back to San Antonio for the Final Four since 2018.
Here is a full breakdown of which sites and locations will host the NCAA Tournament this year:
- First Four:
- UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
- Rounds 1-2:
- Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky)
- Amica Mutual Pavilion (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)
- Intrust Bank Arena (Wichita, Kansas)
- Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (Cleveland)
- Ball Arena (Denver)
- Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee)
- PNC Arena (Raleigh, North Carolina.)
- Sweet 16, Elite 8:
- East Regional: Prudential Center (Newark, New Jersey)
- South Regional: State Farm Arena (Atlanta)
- Midwest Regional: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
- West Regional: Chase Center (San Francisco)
- Final Four, national championship:
- Alamodome (San Antonio)
March Madness 2025 odds
Per BetMGM, Cooper Flagg and Duke have the best odds entering the NCAA Tournament to win the national championship.
Rounding out the top five for the best odds to win the national championship are Auburn (+350), Florida (+600), Houston (+800) and Alabama (+1200). If any of the trio of Auburn, Florida and Alabama — or any other SEC program — goes on and wins the national championship, it'd be the SEC's first men's basketball national championship since 2012.
Here's a full list of the best odds for teams to win the national championship (as of Saturday, March 15), per BetMGM:
- Auburn (+340)
- Duke (+360)
- Florida (+450)
- Houston (+600)
- Alabama (+1100)
- Tennessee (+1300)
- Michigan State (+2200)
- St. John's (+2200)
- Iowa State (+2500)
- Kentucky (+3500)
NCAA Tournament winners, history
With last year's national championship win over Purdue at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, UConn moved into a two-way tie with North Carolina for the third-most national championships in NCAA history.
Here is a full list of how many teams have won the national championship since 1939, the first NCAA Tournament:
- 1. UCLA: 11 titles
- 2. Kentucky: Eight
- T-3. North Carolina: Six
- T-3. Connecticut: Six
- T-5. Duke: Five
- T-5. Indiana: Five
- 7. Kansas: Four
- 8. Villanova: Three
- T-9. Cincinnati: Two
- T-9. Florida: Two
- T-9. Louisville: Two *
- T-9. Michigan State: Two
- T-9. N.C. State: Two
- T-9. Oklahoma State: Two
- T-9. San Francisco: Two
- T-16. Arizona: One
- T-16. Arkansas: One
- T-16. Baylor: One
- T-16. California: One
- T-16. City College of New York: One
- T-16. Georgetown: One
- T-16. Holy Cross: One
- T-16. La Salle: One
- T-16. Loyola Chicago: One
- T-16. Marquette: One
- T-16. Maryland: One
- T-16. Michigan: One
- T-16. Ohio State: One
- T-16. Oregon: One
- T-16. UNLV: One
- T-16. Stanford: One
- T-16. Syracuse: One
- T-16. UTEP: One
- T-16. Utah: One
- T-16. Virginia: One
- T-16. Wisconsin: One
- T-16. Wyoming: One
* This does not include Louisville's 2013 national championship as it was vacated by the NCAA following an investigation
This story was updated with new information.
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