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2026 March Madness TV schedule for first round: Tip times, announcers, where to watch NCAA Tournament games

2026 March Madness TV schedule for first round: Tip times, announcers, where to watch NCAA Tournament games

The First Four served as a nice appetizer, but the 2026 NCAA Tournament got underway in earnest Thursday with upsets and shocking results as the first full slate of 16 games was played. Lower seeds advanced as favorites fell by the wayside, and here’s the best news: It all happens again Friday with 32 teams competing for the final 16 spots in the second round.

March Madness continues across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV on Friday. Paramount+ subscribers will be able to watch every game airing on CBS, while the March Madness Live app will have every game, period. There’s also HBO Max, which carries all the games going up on TBS, TNT and truTV.

No. 7 seed Kentucky opens the day against No. 10 seed Santa Clara at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS with No. 7 seed Miami (FL) vs. No. 10 seed Missouri serving as the nightcap starting at 10:10 p.m. ET. In between, No. 1 seeds Florida and Arizona look to avoid the hiccups their counterparts faced on Thursday, while some attractive games will certainly catch the eyes of fans like No. 8 seed Villanova vs. No. 9 seed Utah State and No. 6 seed Tennessee vs. No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio). Will the RedHawks become the second play-in team to advance to the second round this year? 

Below are the announcing teams, channel assignments and tip times for every first-round game on Friday and second-round game on Saturday. Keep checking back through the weekend as the March Madness TV schedule below will be updated when the new sets of tip times become available.

2026 March Madness announcing teams

Play-by-Play | Analyst(s) || Reporter
* Regional Weekend announce teams | ~ Final Four team

  • Ian Eagle | Bill Raftery, Grant Hill || Tracy Wolfson*~
  • Brian Anderson | Jim Jackson || Allie LaForce*
  • Kevin Harlan | Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy || Lauren Shehadi*
  • Andrew Catalon | Steve Lappas || Evan Washburn*
  • Brad Nessler | Wally Szczerbiak || Jared Greenberg
  • Spero Dedes | Jim Spanarkel || Jon Rothstein
  • Tom McCarthy | Candice Parker, Dan Bonner || AJ Ross
  • Brandon Gaudin | Chris Webber || Andy Katz
  • Rules analyst: Gene Steratore

2026 NCAA Tournament schedule, dates

First round

Friday, March 20
Benchmark International Arena (Tampa), Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia), Viejas Arena (San Diego), Enterprise Center (St. Louis)

Time (ET) Game TV / Stream
12:15 p.m. (10) Santa Clara vs. (7) Kentucky
Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein
CBS (watch live)
12:40 p.m. (12) Akron vs. (5) Texas Tech
Tom McCarthy / Candace Parker, Dan Bonner // AJ Ross
truTV (watch live)
1:35 p.m. (16) LIU vs. (1) Arizona
Kevin Harlan / Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi
TNT (watch live)
1:50 p.m. (14) Wright State vs. (3) Virginia
Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Evan Washburn
TBS (watch live)
2:50 p.m. (15) Tennessee State vs. (2) Iowa State
Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein
CBS (watch live)
3:15 p.m. (13) Hofstra vs. (4) Alabama
Tom McCarthy / Candace Parker, Dan Bonner // AJ Ross
truTV (watch live)
4:10 p.m. (9) Utah State vs. (8) Villanova
Kevin Harlan / Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi
TNT (watch live)
4:25 p.m. (11) Miami (Ohio) vs. (6) Tennessee
Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Evan Washburn
TBS (watch live)
6:50 p.m. (9) Iowa vs. (8) Clemson
Tom McCarthy / Candace Parker, Dan Bonner // AJ Ross
TNT (watch live)
7:10 p.m. (12) Northern Iowa vs. (5) St. John’s
Kevin Harlan / Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi
CBS (watch live)
7:25 p.m. (10) UCF vs. (7) UCLA
Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Evan Washburn
TBS (watch live)
7:35 p.m. (15) Queens vs. (2) Purdue
Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein
truTV (watch live)
9:25 p.m. (16) Prairie View A&M vs. (1) Florida
Tom McCarthy / Candace Parker, Dan Bonner // AJ Ross
TNT (watch live)
9:45 p.m. (13) Cal Baptist vs. (4) Kansas
Kevin Harlan / Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy // Lauren Shehadi
CBS (watch live)
10 p.m. (15) Furman vs. (2) UConn
Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Evan Washburn
TBS (watch live)
10:10 p.m. (10) Missouri vs. (7) Miami (FL)
Spero Dedes / Jim Spanarkel // Jon Rothstein
truTV (watch live)

Second round

Saturday, March 21
KeyBank Center (Buffalo), Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville), Paycom Center (Oklahoma City), Moda Center (Portland)

Time (ET) Game TV / Stream
12:10 p.m. (9) Saint Louis vs (1) Michigan
Brian Anderson / Jim Jackson // Allie LaForce
CBS (watch live)
2:45 p.m. (6) Louisville vs. (3) Michigan State
Brian Anderson / Jim Jackson // Allie LaForce
CBS (watch live)
5:15 p.m. (9) TCU vs. (1) Duke
Ian Eagle / Bill Raftery, Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson
CBS (watch live)
6:10 p.m. (10) Texas A&M vs. (2) Houston
Brandon Gaudin / Chris Webber // Andy Katz
TNT (watch live)
7:10 p.m. (11) Texas vs. (3) Gonzaga
Brad Nessler / Wally Szczerbiak // Jared Greenberg
TBS (watch live)
7:50 p.m. (11) VCU vs. (3) Illinois
Ian Eagle / Bill Raftery, Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson
CBS (watch live)
8:45 p.m. (5) Vanderbilt vs. (4) Nebraska
Brandon Gaudin / Chris Webber // Andy Katz
TNT (watch live)
9:45 p.m. (12) High Point vs. (4) Arkansas
Brad Nessler / Wally Szczerbiak // Jared Greenberg
TBS (watch live)

Sunday, March 22 — 12:10 p.m. start (CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV)
Benchmark International Arena (Tampa), Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia), Viejas Arena (San Diego), Enterprise Center (St. Louis)

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