When Does March Madness Start: How and Where to Watch the 2025 NCAA Tournament

The days are counting down to the start of the sports world’s favorite frenzy, the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament, also known as March Madness.

Everyone’s favorite annual bracket-style competition hurls 68 of the best teams in the country into a single-elimination competition with the only goal of winning a national championship. 

The UConn Huskies repeated as men’s champs last year, while the South Carolina Gamecocks won their second women’s title in three seasons.

The unrelenting flow of March Madness games are enough to capture the undivided attention of the nation every spring. To make sure that no games are missed, here are the answers to questions such as “When does March Madness start?” and “How can I watch March Madness?”

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What is Selection Sunday?

The 68 teams invited to compete in both mens’ and womens’ March Madness will be revealed during a March 16 TV special known as Selection Sunday. Each team will be positioned within a region in the bracket, illustrating their potential path to a championship.

This will be the first time in more than two decades that college basketball won’t have the voice of Greg Gumbel, a 26-year host of “College Basketball on CBS” and the well-loved father of Selection Sunday. 

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Men’s March Madness Schedule

• 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

• National Championship Game: April 7

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Men’s March Madness Venues

First Four (March 18-19)

• UD Arena - Dayton, OH

First and Second Round (March 20-23)

• Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY

• Amica Mutual Pavilion - Providence, RI

• Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, WA

• Intrust Bank Arena - Wichita, KS

• Ball Arena - Denver, CO

• Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse - Cleveland, OH

• Fiserv Forum - Milwaukee, WI

• PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC

Sweet 16 and Elite Eight (March 27-30)

• Prudential Center - Newark, NJ

• Chase Center - San Francisco, CA

• State Farm Arena - Atlanta, GA

• Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN

Final Four and National Championship Game (April 5-7)

• Alamodome - San Antonio, TX

Women’s March Madness Schedule

• First Four: March 19-20

• First round: March 21-22

• Second round: March 23-24

• Sweet 16: March 28-29

• Elite Eight: March 30-31

• Final Four: April 4

• National Championship Game: April 6

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Women’s March Madness Venues

First Four (March 19-20)

• TBD - Games hosted by top 16 seeds

First and Second Round (March 21-24)

• TBD - Games hosted by top 16 seeds

Sweet 16 and Elite Eight (March 28-31)

• Legacy Arena - Birmingham, AL

• Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena - Spokane, WA

Final Four and National Championship Game (April 4-6)

• Amalie Arena - Tampa, FL

Men’s March Madness Winners Since 2000

Women’s March Madness Winners Since 2000

How to Watch March Madness 2025

• Date: March 18 - April 7

• TV: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV

• Streaming: Paramount+