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)





