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  • March Madness 2025: NCAA Tournament First Round schedule, time, how to watch

    Today is a holiday for many sports fans. The two days of March Madness are arguably the best time on the sports calendar. From lunch to dinner, it’s nonstop basketball action. 16 matchups will be played on Thursday and Friday, totaling 32 games. Thanks to the partnership between CBS Sports and TNT Sports, every game will be available to watch on television.

    With 16 games each day, it can be hard to keep up. Thankfully, we created this guide that features the entire first-round schedule with times, channels, and live streams. Enjoy the madness!

    March Madness 2025: NCAA Tournament First Round schedule,

    No. 8 Louisville vs. 9 Creighton start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 High Point start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Montana start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 SIU Edwardsville start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 VCU start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Georgia start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Arkansas start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Yale start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Drake start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 2 St. John’s vs. No. 15 Omaha start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington start time, channel, and live stream

    • Date: March 20
    • Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
    • Channel: truTV
    • Announcers: Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jon Rothstein
    • Stream: Sling TV, Max, March Madness Live

    No. 8 Mississippi State vs. 9 Baylor start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 7 St. Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 North Carolina start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 6 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 7 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma start time, channel, and live stream

    No.6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Xavier start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant start time, channel, and live stream

    No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty start time, channel, and live stream

    • Date: March 21
    • Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
    • Channel: truTV
    • Announcers: Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jon Rothstein
    • Stream: Sling TV, Max, March Madness Live

    Stream March Madness on Sling

    Sling TV.
    Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

    Stream the NCAA Tournament on Sling TV. Only the games on TNT, TBS, and truTV are available with Sling. CBS games cannot be streamed with Sling. Still, Sling is an affordable option for those without cable. Sling’s paid plans: Orange at $46 per month, Blue at $51, and Orange + Blue for $66 per month. New customers will earn $10 off their purchase for the first month.

    Sign up for Sling TV

    How to watch March Madness from abroad with a VPN

    NordVPN company name and logo, blue mountain peaks against a white circle on a blue background.
    NordVPN

    If you’re out of the country during the NCAA Tournament, make sure to download NordVPN, one of the best VPNs on the market. NordVPN will add more security and protection to your connection. Plus, VPNs will work to combat broadcast restrictions in your area. If you’re unhappy with the product, request a 30-day money-back guarantee.

    Buy at NordVPN

  • March Madness 2025: How to fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket

    Welcome to March Madness. For the next month, college basketball will dominate the sports world as the 2025 NCAA tournament takes center stage. 68 teams will compete for a chance to etch their names into history by winning the national championship. If this is your first time watching the tournament, get ready to hear this word repeated constantly: bracket.

    Filling out a bracket is becoming a yearly tradition for many Americans. In a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about one-quarter of Americans fill out a men’s bracket “every year” or “some years.” A portion of these Americans may not know anything about college basketball. That’s OK. You can watch all the college basketball in the world, and it might not matter because ultimately, the bracket is a game of chance.

    Below are some beginner tips and tricks to follow when filling out your brackets.

    How to read the bracket

    Bracket for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
    NCAA

    The above picture is the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship bracket. Right now, there are 68 teams listed on the bracket. After the First Four ends on Wednesday night, the bracket will have 64 teams. The goal is to pick the winner of each game.

    There are four quadrants, or regions. Each region has schools ranked from No. 1 to No. 16. The goal for each school is to win their region and get to the Final Four. The region winners on the left and right will play each other, with the winners moving to the championship. The winner of that game will be the national champion.

    Let’s look at the West Region’s first game (bottom left on the bracket): No. 1 Florida (30-4) vs. No. 16 Norfolk State (24-10). “No. 1” is the seed, and “30-4” is the team’s record. No. 1 is the higher seed, so that’s Florida. You can pick either Florida or Norfolk State to win. However, No. 1 seeds rarely lose to No. 16 seeds. No. 1 seeds are 154-2 all-time against No. 16. The most recent upset victory came in 2023 when No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson defeated No. 1 Purdue.

    You’ll notice in some regions that there are two teams listed in a matchup. No. 6. Ole Miss will play No. 11 San Diego St./No. 11 North Carolina in the South Region. San Diego St. and North Carolina will play in the First Four. The winner of that game will face No. 6 Ole Miss. You do not have to pick the winner of San Diego State and North Carolina. However, you can pick that winner to beat Ole Miss if that’s your decision.

    Where can I complete my bracket?

    NCAA.com has a printable and interactive bracket. There are various tournament challenges you can enter for free. The NCAA Men’s Bracket Challenge, ESPN Tournament Challenge, and CBS Sports Bracket Challenge are some of the more popular internet contests. The grand prizes range from prize money to future trips to the Final Four. The submission deadline for most pools is before the first game at 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 20.

    Tips for filling out a bracket

    The objective for every pool or contest you enter is virtually the same: pick the winners for every game. However, the scoring can vary for each contest, so please read the rules before signing up. Generally speaking, players accumulate points in every round for each winner. However, more points are usually awarded for picking winners in later rounds. In other words, the closer a game is to the national championship, the more points available to win. Knowing this, picking the correct champion and having as many teams as possible in the later rounds can be the difference between winning and losing.

    What makes March Madness unique from other tournaments are the upsets, especially in the first two rounds. An upset occurs when a higher seed defeats a lower seed. For example, a popular upset pick will be a No. 11 seed over a No. 6 seed. Per the NCAA, a No. 11 seed has defeated a No. 6 seed 61 times (39.1%) since 1985. Therefore, picking at least one No. 11 seed to defeat a No. 6 seed is a good move. Most upsets occur in the first round — 8.5 per tournament since 1985.

    Don’t get addicted to picking upsets. The favorites are favored for a reason. The lowest seed to ever make it to the Final Four is No. 11. No. 12-No. 16 have never made it to the Final Four, so while it would be cool to have the bracket with a No. 13 in the championship, it’s never happened.

    How to watch the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

    Here are the dates for every round of the NCAA Tournament:

    • First Four: March 18-19
    • First round: March 20-21
    • Second round: March 22-23
    • Sweet 16: March 27-28
    • Elite Eight: March 29-30
    • Final Four: April 5
    • NCAA championship game: April 7

    Men’s March Madness coverage can be found on CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV. Every game can be streamed in the March Madness Live app using a TV provider. TNT, TBS, and truTV games can be streamed with Max, while CBS games can be found on Paramount+.

  • How to watch 2025 Selection Sunday: Date, time, live stream

    Let the games begin. After a hectic conference tournament week, it’s time to find out who will play in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. In other words, it’s time for March Madness. Before the first basket is scored, the bracket must be finalized at the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship selection show. Welcome to Selection Sunday.

    68 teams will participate in the greatest basketball tournament in the world. 31 teams have automatically qualified by winning their conference tournament. The Selection committee will determine the other 37 teams or at-large selections. Strength of schedule, quality wins, and bad losses are some of the criteria the committee uses to determine the at-large bids. Once the bracket is set, sit back, relax, and watch some hoops.

    Find out how to watch 2025 Selection Sunday.

    Watch 2025 Selection Sunday: Date and time

    Selection Sunday will air at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 16, 2025. The broadcast will air live on CBS. Download the CBS app or stream CBS.com on your mobile device or desktop. You will need to sign in with a TV provider for full access.

    Watch CBS

    Can you stream 2025 Selection Sunday?

    Paramount Plus logo.
    Phil Nickinson / .Digital Trends

    Yes, you can! Selection Sunday will be available to stream on Paramount+. There is a catch. Only Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers can stream Selection Sunday when it airs on Sunday night. Paramount+ with Showtime costs $13 per month or $120 per year.

    Paramount+ has no ads unless it’s live television. Subscribers can also enjoy the NFL on CBS, UEFA Champions League, Showtime programming, and Paramount+ originals.

    Buy at Paramount Plus

    2025 NCAA Tournament Dates

    Danny Hurley holds his arms out and smiles.
    Liam Enea / Flickr

    The 2025 NCAA Tournament begins with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. Four games — two on Tuesday and two on Wednesday — will be played, with the winners advancing to the round of 64. Then, the first round will be played on March 20 and 21, with the second round happening on March 22 and 23. This tournament is single elimination. Win and advance, or lose and go home. The final four teams will play in San Antonio the first weekend in April. View the tournament dates below.

    NCAA Tournament Dates

    • Selection Sunday: March 16
    • First Four: March 18-19
    • First round: March 20-21
    • Second round: March 22-23
    • Sweet 16: March 27-28
    • Elite Eight: March 29-30
    • Final Four: April 5
    • NCAA Championship: April 7