March Madness 2026: How to Watch the Second Round

When to watch the First Round

• Saturday, March 21 (women’s)

When to watch the Second Round

• Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22 (men’s)
• Sunday and Monday, March 22 and 23 (women’s)

Where to watch

• The men’s First and Second Round will be broadcast across CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV and streams on HBO Max.
• The women’s First and Second Round will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and streams on ESPN Unlimited.

NCAA March Madness is here! It’s been almost a year since the Florida Gators won the men’s basketball championship and the UConn Huskies earned the women’s title, and both teams have snagged top seeds at the 2026 NCAA tournament, too. The Gators find themselves sharing the No. 1 spot with Duke, Michigan and Arizona, while the women’s Huskies are joined by Texas, South Carolina and UCLA in the top four. At this stage of the tournament, all the top seeds are still in, although a few early upsets have seen teams like BYU and Wisconsin departing the men’s competition in the First Round.

By contrast, there haven’t been any major upsets in the women’s First Round, which continues through Saturday. The women’s Second Round begins Sunday. The women’s First and Second Rounds air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews and stream on ESPN Unlimited. The men’s Second Round takes place Saturday and Sunday and games will be spread across CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV and will stream on HBO Max or Paramount Plus.

Here’s a breakdown of every team that’s playing, how to watch and everything else you need to know.

When is March Madness 2026?

March Madness 2026 began Tuesday, March 17, with the men’s First Four games. The women’s First Four took place Wednesday, March 18, and Thursday, March 19. Games will run through the rest of March and into early April; the women’s championship final is scheduled for April 5, the men’s for April 6.

Watch March Madness without cable

Women’s March Madness games will air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. Every First Four game of the women’s tournament will be broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPN Unlimited. Men’s March Madness games will be split among CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. You can catch every men’s First Four game on TruTV via HBO Max.

Watch March Madness with a live TV streaming service

Don’t want to subscribe to multiple streaming services to watch March Madness? That’s understandable. There are a few live TV streaming services where you can watch most or all of the men’s and women’s tournaments all in one place. Each of them offers a free trial.

The men’s games will be on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV, and women’s games will be carried across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. With a subscription to DirecTV, Hulu Plus Live TV or YouTube TV, you can watch every channel that’s broadcasting the men’s and women’s tournaments.

We’ll note that Fubo offers major sporting events and even includes access to ESPN Unlimited. It doesn’t carry TBS, TNT or TruTV, making it a less ideal option for watching the men’s tournament.

For more, check out our live TV streaming services guide and our recommendations for the best sports streaming services.

March Madness tournament schedule:

Men’s March Madness schedule

• First Four: Tuesday-Wednesday
• First Round: Thursday-Friday
• Second Round: Saturday-Sunday
• Sweet 16: March 26-27
• Elite Eight: March 28-29
• Final Four: April 4
• National Championship: April 6, 8:30 p.m. ET (TBS)

Women’s March Madness schedule

• First Four: Wednesday-Thursday
• First round: Friday-Saturday
• Second round: Sunday-Monday
• Sweet 16: March 27-28
• Elite Eight: March 29-30
• Final Four: April 3 at 7 p.m. ET (Second semifinal starts 30 minutes after the first game ends.)
• NCAA championship game: April 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

March Madness men’s individual game schedule:

All times Eastern. For completed games, the winning team is in bold.

First Four:

Tuesday

• 6:40 p.m.: No. 16 UMBC (83) vs. (86) No. 16 Howard (TruTV)
• 9:10 p.m.: No. 11 Texas (68) vs. (66) No. 11 NC State (TruTV)

Wednesday

• 6:40 p.m.: No. 16 Prairie View A&M (67) vs. (55) No. 16 Lehigh (TruTV)
• 9:10 p.m.: No. 11 Miami (Ohio) (89) vs. (79) No. 11 SMU (TruTV)

First Round:

Thursday

• 12:15 p.m.: No. 8 Ohio State (64) vs. (66) No. 9 TCU (CBS)
• 12:40 p.m.: No. 4 Nebraska (76) vs. (47) No. 13 Troy (TruTV)
• 1:30 p.m.: No. 6 Louisville (83) vs. (79) No. 11 South Florida (TNT)
• 1:50 p.m.: No. 5 Wisconsin (82) vs. (83) No. 12 High Point (TBS)
• 2:50 p.m.: No. 1 Duke (71) vs. (65) No. 16 Siena (CBS)
• 3:15 p.m.: No. 5 Vanderbilt (78) vs. (68) No. 12 McNeese (TruTV)
• 4:05 p.m.: No. 3 Michigan State (92) vs. (67) No. 14 North Dakota State
• 4:25 p.m.: No. 4 Arkansas (97) vs. (78) No. 13 Hawaii (TBS)
• 6:50 p.m.: No. 6 North Carolina (78) vs. (82) No. 11 VCU (TNT)
• 7:10 p.m.: No. 1 Michigan (101) vs. (80) No. 16 Howard (CBS)
• 7:25 p.m.: No. 6 BYU (71) vs. (79) No. 11 Texas (TBS)
• 7:35 p.m.: No. 7 Saint Mary’s (50) vs. (63) No. 10 Texas A&M (TruTV)
• 9:25 p.m.: No. 3 Illinois (105) vs. (70) No. 14 Penn (TNT)
• 9:45 p.m.: No. 8 Georgia (77) vs. (102) No. 9 Saint Louis (CBS)
• 10 p.m.: No. 3 Gonzaga (73) vs. (64) No. 14 Kennesaw State (TBS)
• 10:10 p.m.: No. 2 Houston (78) vs. (47) No. 15 Idaho (TruTV)

Friday

• 12:15 p.m.: No. 7 Kentucky (89) vs. (84) No. 10 Santa Clara (CBS)
• 12:40 p.m.: No. 5 Texas Tech (91) vs. (71) No. 12 Akron (TruTV)
• 1:35 p.m.: No. 1 Arizona (92) vs. (58) No. 16 LIU (TNT)
• 1:50 p.m.: No. 3 Virginia (82) vs. (73) No. 14 Wright State (TBS)
• 2:50 p.m.: No. 2 Iowa State (108) vs. (74) No. 15 Tennessee State (CBS)
• 3:15 p.m.: No. 4 Alabama (90) vs. (70) No. 13 Hofstra (TruTV)
• 4:10 p.m.: No. 8 Villanova (76) vs. (86) No. 9 Utah State (TNT)
• 4:25 p.m.: No. 6 Tennessee (78) vs. (56) No. 11 Miami (Ohio) (TBS)
• 6:50 p.m.: No. 8 Clemson (61) vs. (67) No. 9 Iowa (TNT)
• 7:10 p.m.: No. 5 St. John’s (79) vs. (53) No. 12 Northern Iowa (CBS)
• 7:25 p.m.: No. 7 UCLA (75) vs. (71) No. 10 UCF (TBS)
• 7:35 p.m.: No. 2 Purdue (104) vs. (71) No. 15 Queens (TruTV)
• 9:25 p.m.: No. 16 Prairie View A&M (55) vs. (114) No. 1 Florida (TNT)
• 9:45 p.m.: No. 4 Kansas (68) vs. (60) No. 13 Cal Baptist (CBS)
• 10 p.m.: No. 2 UConn (82) vs. (71) No. 15 Furman (TBS)
• 10:10 p.m.: No. 7 Miami (80) vs. (66) No. 10 Missouri (TruTV)

Second Round:

Saturday

• 12:10 p.m.: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 9 Saint Louis (CBS)
• 2:45 p.m.: No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Louisville (CBS)
• 5:15 p.m.: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 9 TCU (CBS)
• 6:10 p.m.: No. 2 Houston vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (TNT)
• 7:10 p.m.: No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 Texas (TBS)
• 7:50 p.m.: No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 VCU (CBS)
• 8:45 p.m.: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt (TNT)
• 9:45 p.m: N0. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 12 High Point (TBS)

Sunday

• 12:10 p.m.: No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 7 Miami (Fla.) (CBS)
• 2:45 p.m.: No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 7 Kentucky (CBS)
• 5:15 p.m.: No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 5 St. John’s (CBS)
• 6:10 p.m.: No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Tennessee (TNT)
• 7:10 p.m.: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 9 Iowa (TBS)
• 7:50 p.m.: No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 9 Utah State (TruTV)
• 8:45 p.m.: No. 2 UConn vs. No. 7 UCLA (TNT)
• 9:45 p.m.: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 Texas Tech (TBS)

March Madness women’s individual game schedule:

All times Eastern.

First Four:

Wednesday

• 7 p.m.: No. 11 Nebraska (75) vs. (56) No. 11 Richmond (ESPN2)

• 9 p.m.: No. 16 Stephen F. Austin (75) vs. (85) No. 16 Missouri State (ESPN2)

Thursday

• 7 p.m.: No. 16 Samford (53) vs. (65) No. 16 Southern (ESPN2)

• 9 p.m.: No. 10 Virginia (57) vs. (55) No. 10 Arizona State (ESPN2)

First Round:

Friday

• 11:30 a.m.: No. 3 Duke (81) vs. (64) No. 14 Charleston (ESPN2)
• 12 p.m.: No. 3 TCU (86) vs. (40) No. 14 UC San Diego (ESPN)
• 1:30 p.m. ET: No. 8 Oregon (70) vs. (62) No. 9 Virginia Tech (ESPN2)
• 2 p.m.: No. 6 Baylor (67) vs. (62) No. 11 Nebraska/Richmond (ESPN)
• 2:30 p.m.: No. 6 Washington (72) vs. (64) No. 11 South Dakota State (ESPN News)
• 3 p.m.: No. 5 Maryland (99) vs. (67) No. 12 Murray State (ESPNU)
• 3:30 p.m.: No. 5 Ole Miss (81) vs. (66) No. 12 Gonzaga (ESPN2)
• 4 p.m.: No. 1 Texas (87) vs. (45) No. 16 Missouri State (ESPN)
• 5:30 p.m.: No. 2 Michigan (83) vs. (48) No. 15 Holy Cross (ESPN2)
• 5:30 p.m.: No. 4 North Carolina (82) vs. (51) No. 13 Western Illinois (ESPN News)
• 6 p.m.: No. 2 LSU (116) vs. (58) No. 15 Jacksonville (ESPN)
• 6 p.m.: No. 4 Minnesota (75) vs. (58) No. 13 Green Bay (ESPNU)
• 7:30 p.m.: No. 5 Michigan State (65) vs. (62) No. 12 Colorado State (ESPN News)
• 8 p.m.: No. 7 NC State (10) vs. (61) No. 10 Tennessee (ESPN)
• 8:30 p.m.: No. 7 Texas Tech (57) vs. (52) No. 10 Villanova (ESPNU)
• 10 p.m.: No. 4 Oklahoma (89) vs. (59) No. 13 Idaho (ESPN)

Saturday

• 11:30 p.m.: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 14 Howard (ESPN2)
• 12 p.m.: No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Vermont (ESPN)
• 1 p.m.: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Samford/Southern (ABC)
• 1:30 p.m.: No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Virginia/Arizona State (ESPN2)
• 2 p.m.: No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Fairfield (ESPN)
• 2:30 p.m.: No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 James Madison (ESPNU)
• 2:30 p.m.: No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 11 Rhode Island (ESPN News)
• 3 p.m.: No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 UTSA (ABC)
• 3:30 p.m.: No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 USC (ESPN2)
• 4 p.m.: No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson (ESPN)
• 5 p.m.: No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Miami (Ohio) (ESPNU)
• 5:30 p.m.: No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Syracuse (ESPN2)
• 7 p.m.: No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 15 High Point (ESPN News)
• 7:30 p.m.: No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Princeton (ESPN2)
• 9:30 p.m.: No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado (ESPN2)
• 10 p.m.: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 California Baptist (ESPN)

Second Round:

Sunday

• 12 p.m.: No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Maryland (ESPN)
• 1 p.m.: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 7 NC State (ESPN)
• 2 p.m.: No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Ole Miss (ESPN)
• 3 p.m.: No. 2 LSU vs. No. 7 Texas Tech (ABC)
• 4 p.m.: No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 Baylor (ESPN)
• 6 p.m.: No. 1 Texas vs. Np. 8 Oregon (ESPN)
• 8 p.m.: No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (ESPN)
• 10 p.m.: No. 3 TCU vs. No. 6 Washington (ESPN)