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The 2026 March Madness tournament begins with selections on Sunday, March 15. Games start with the First Four on Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18. The tournament continues through the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4 and 6.
Check out the full March Madness tournament schedule below. You can also print out a bracket here.
2026 NCAA tournament schedule, dates
Here is the schedule:
Selection Sunday: 6 p.m. ET Sunday, March 15 on CBS
First Four: Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18
First round: Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20
Second round: Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22
Sweet 16: Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27
Elite Eight: Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29
Final Four: Saturday, April 4Â at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
NCAA championship game: Monday, April 6Â at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
2026 March Madness tournament locations
2026 PRELIMINARY ROUND SITES
Round
Dates
City
Venue
Host(s)
First Four
March 17 & 18
Dayton, OH
UD Arena
University of Dayton
First/Second
March 19 & 21
Buffalo, NY
KeyBank Center
Metro Atlantic
Athletic Conference
Canisius College
Niagara University
First/Second
March 19 & 21
Greenville, SC
Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Furman
Southern Conference
First/Second
March 19 & 21
Oklahoma City, OK
Paycom Center
Big 12 Conference
First/Second
March 19 & 21
Portland, OR
Moda Center
Oregon State University
First/Second
March 20 & 22
Tampa, FL
Benchmark International Arena
University of South Florida
First/Second
March 20 & 22
Philadelphia, PA
Xfinity Mobile Arena
Saint Joseph’s University
First/Second
March 20 & 22
San Diego, CA
Viejas Arena
San Diego State UniversityÂ
First/Second
March 20 & 22
St. Louis, MO
Enterprise Center
Missouri Valley Conference
South RegionalÂ
March 26 & 28
Houston, TX
Toyota Center
Rice UniversityÂ
West RegionalÂ
March 26 & 28
San Jose, CA
SAP Center
San Jose State University
Midwest Regional
March 27 & 29
Chicago, IL
United CenterÂ
Northwestern University
East Regional
March 27 & 29
Washington, D.C.
Capital One Arena
Georgetown University
Final Four
April 4 & 6
Indianapolis
Lucas Oil Stadium
Horizon League
IU Indianapolis
2025 NCAA men’s tournament bracket
Click or tap here for the interactive bracket
2025 NCAA tournament schedule, scores, highlights
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Tuesday, March 18 (First Four in Dayton, Ohio)
Wednesday, March 19 (First Four in Dayton, Ohio)
Thursday, March 20 (First Round/Round of 64)
(9) Creighton 89, (8) Louisville 75Â | Watch the highlights
(4) Purdue 75, (13) High Point 63 | Watch the highlights
(3) Wisconsin 85, (14) Montana 66 | Watch the highlights
(1) Houston 78, (16) SIU Edwardsville 40 | Watch the highlights
(1) Auburn 83, (16) Alabama State 63 | Watch the highlights
(12) McNeese 69, (5) Clemson 67Â | Watch the highlights
(6) BYU 80, (11) VCU 71 | Watch the highlights
(8) Gonzaga 89, (9) Georgia 68Â | Watch the highlights
(2) Tennessee 77, (15) Wofford 62 | Watch the highlights
(10) Arkansas 79, (7) Kansas 72Â | Watch the highlights
(4) Texas A&M 80, (13) Yale 71 | Watch the highlights
(11) Drake 67, (6) Missouri 57Â | Watch the highlights
(7) UCLA 72, (10) Utah State 47 | Watch the highlights
(2) St. John’s 83, (15) Omaha 53 | Watch the highlights
(5) Michigan 68, (12) UC San Diego 65 | Watch the highlights
(3) Texas Tech 82, (14) UNC Wilmington 72 | Watch the highlights
Friday, March 21 (First Round/Round of 64)
(9) Baylor 75, (8) Mississippi State 72 | Watch the highlights
(2) Alabama 90, (15) Robert Morris 81 | Watch the highlights
(3) Iowa State 82, (14) Lipscomb 55 | Watch the highlights
(12) Colorado State 78, (5) Memphis 70Â | Watch the highlights
(1) Duke 93, (16) Mount St. Mary’s 49 | Watch the highlights
(7) Saint Mary’s 59, (10) Vanderbilt 56 | Watch the highlights
(6) Ole Miss 71, (11) North Carolina 64 | Watch the highlights
(4) Maryland 81, (13) Grand Canyon 49 | Watch the highlights
(1) Florida 95, (16) Norfolk State 69 | Watch the highlights
(3) Kentucky 76, (14) Troy 57 | Watch the highlights
(10) New Mexico 75, (7) Marquette 66Â | Watch the highlights
(4) Arizona 93, (13) Akron 65 | Watch the highlights
(8) UConn 67, (9) Oklahoma 59 | Watch the highlights
(6) Illinois 86, (11) Xavier 73 | Watch the highlights
(2) Michigan State 87, (15) Bryant 62 | Watch the highlights
(5) Oregon 81, (12) Liberty 52 | Watch the highlights
Saturday, March 22 (Second Round/Round of 32)
Sunday, March 23 (Second Round/Round of 32)
Thursday, March 27 (Sweet 16)
Friday, March 28 (Sweet 16)
Saturday, March 29 (Elite Eight)
Sunday, March 30 (Elite Eight)
Saturday, April 5 (Final Four in San Antonio)
Monday, April 7 (National championship game in San Antonio)
March Madness: Future sites, dates
Here are the future sites for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball Final Four:
FINAL FOUR DATES
CITY, REGION
FACILITY
HOST
April 4 and 6, 2026
Indianapolis
Lucas Oil Stadium
Horizon League, IU Indianapolis
April 3 and 5, 2027
Detroit
Ford Field
Michigan State University
April 1 and 3, 2028
Las Vegas
Allegiant Stadium
UNLV
March 31 and April 2, 2029
Indianapolis
Lucas Oil Stadium
Horizon League, IU Indianapolis
April 6 and 8, 2030
North Texas
AT&T Stadium
Big 12 Conference
April 5 and 7, 2031
Atlanta
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Georgia Tech
2026 Selection Sunday: Date, schedule, TV times for March Madness
Selection Sunday for 2026 March Madness will be Sunday, March 15, when the 68-team fields for the men’s and women’s NCAA DI basketball tournaments will be announced.
Vanderbilt stuns No. 4 Florida in SEC tournament semifinals
Vanderbilt took down SEC No. 1 seed Florida 91-74 in the SEC tournament semifinals to advance to the conference championship on Sunday, March 15.
Tracking 31 NCAA men’s basketball conference tournaments, auto bids for 2026 March Madness
Follow along here for brackets, schedules, automatic qualifiers and more for all 31 DI men’s basketball conference tournaments ahead of the NCAA tournament for March Madness.