College basketball fans discovered which 68 teams will be participating in the "Big Dance" when they were announced on Selection Sunday, March 17, 2024.
With matches set, the first round begins on Thursday, March 21. The second round kicks off that weekend on Saturday, March 23.
As the teams drill down to the favored few, watch for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight matchups to happen the week after.
Wrapping it all up are the Final Four games at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Saturday, April 6 followed by the championship game on Monday, April 8
2024 March Madness TV schedule
As usual, the First Four rounds will air on truTV. Sharing first and second round coverage will be CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV.
Thereafter, the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds will air on TBS and CBS.
Watch for the Final Four (Saturday, April 6) and the Championship game (Monday, April 8) to air exclusively on TBS this year.
Meanwhile, keep it here for complete times and TV channels along with team matchups and final scores for every game of the 2024 Men's NCAA basketball tournament.
FIRST FOUR
March 19 and 20
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
DATE
TIME (ET)
MATCHUP
TV
Tues, March 19
6:40 p.m.
(16) Howard vs. (16) Wagner
truTV
9:10 p.m.
(10) Virginia vs. (10) Colorado St.
truTV
Wed, March 20
6:40 p.m.
(16) Montana St. vs. (16) Grambling St.
truTV
9:10 p.m.
(10) Boise St. vs. (10) Colorado
truTV
FIRST ROUND
First round
Thursday, March 21
Spectrum Center -- Charlotte | CHI Health Center -- Omaha | PPG Paints Arena -- Pittsburgh | Delta Center -- Salt Lake City
DATE
TIME (ET)
MATCHUP
TV
Thurs, March 21
12:15 p.m.
(9) Michigan State vs. (8) Mississippi State
CBS
12:40 p.m
(11) Duquesne vs. (6) BYU
truTV
1:30 p.m.
.(14) Akron vs. (3) Creighton
TNT
2 p.m.
(15) Long Beach State vs. (2) Arizona
TBS
2:45 p.m.
(16) Wagner/Howard vs. (1) North Carolina
CBS
3:10 p.m.
(14) Morehead State vs. (3) Illinois
truTV
.4 p.m.
(11) Oregon vs. (6) South Carolina
TNT
4:30 p.m.
(10) Nevada vs. (7) Dayton
TBS
6:50 p.m.
(10) Colorado State/Virginia vs. (7) Texas
TNT
7:10 p.m.
(14) Oakland vs. (3) Kentucky
CBS
7:25 p.m.
(12) McNeese vs. (5) Gonzaga
TBS
7:35 p.m.
((15) South Dakota State vs. (2) Iowa State
truTV
9:20 p.m.
(15) Saint Peter's vs. (2) Tennessee
TNT
9:40 p.m.
(11) NC State vs. (6) Texas Tech
CBS
9:55 p.m.
(13) Samford vs. (4) Kansas
TBS
10:05 p.m.
(10) Drake vs. (7) Washington State
truTV
SECOND ROUND
DATE
TIME (ET)
MATCHUP
TV
Fri, March 22
12:15 p.m.
(9) Northwestern vs. (8) FAU
CBS
12:40 p.m
U(14) Colgate vs. (3) Baylor
truTV
1:30 p.m.
(12) UAB vs. (5) San Diego State
TNT
2 p.m.
(15) Western Kentucky vs. (2) Marquette
TBS
2:45 p.m.
(16) Stetson vs. (1) UConn
CBS
3:10 p.m.
(11) New Mexico vs. (6) Clemson
truTV
4 p.m.
(13) Yale vs. (4) Auburn
TNT
4:30 p.m.
(10) Colorado/Boise State vs. (7) Florida
TBS
6:50 p.m.
(9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Nebraska
TNT
7:10 p.m.
(13) Vermont vs. (4) Duke
CBS
7:25 p.m.
(16) Grambling/Montana State vs. (1) Purdue
TBS
7:35 p.m.
(13) College of Charleston vs. (4) Alabama
truTV
9:20 p.m.
(16) Longwood vs. (1) Houston
TNT
9:40 p.m.
(12) James Madison vs. (5) Wisconsin
CBS
9:55 p.m.
(9) TCU vs. (8) Utah State
TBS
10:05 p.m.
(12) Grand Canyon vs. (5) Saint Mary's
truTV
SWEET SIXTEEN & ELITE EIGHT
March 28 and 30
East Regional
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts (Host: Boston College)
West Regional
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California (Host: Pepperdine University)
March 29 and 31
South Regional
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference)
Midwest Regional
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan (Host: University of Detroit Mercy, Oakland University)
FINAL FOUR & CHAMPIONSHIP
April 6 and 8
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University)
March Madness tickets - watching the games live
The initial scramble for March Madness tickets for the first four, second/third round and regional games begins in late summer or fall of the year before.
Meanwhile, scoring tickets to local games means getting ready to pounce as venues are announced in March - whether its smaller college arenas, or mega-venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City.
FINAL FOUR: For the most sought-after finals, the NCAA annually puts about 40% of allotted Final Four tickets up for grabs in a random selection process the year before. The rest are managed by their official partner, Prime Sport. They provide a safe venue for fans to swap or sell tickets for popular final game tickets. Don't forget that as the tournament heats up, prices can range anywhere from $30 and upwards to $15,000!
BUT BE CAREFUL OUT THERE: As usual, be wary of the unscrupulous ticket seller on Craig's list or any other person looking to score on the frenzy for March Madness tickets. Say no to cash payments and only use a credit card to have record of your purchase and to contest any argument. Pro Tip: Buy from reputable sites like StubHub and TicketsNow which offer guarantees for refunds or exchanges on ticket errors or canceled games.
March Madness trivia & fun facts
The
phrase March Madness was coined by Henry V. Porter in
1939 to describe an Illinois high school basketball tourney. Brent
Musburger first used it during NCAA coverage in 1982 causing a legal
battle almost as insane as the playoffs.
But
everyone finally worked things out and the madness was official.
There isn't a good record of who first called the playoffs "The
Big Dance", but it does describe the action.
The 5 schools
who have the winningest history in NCAA Division I Men's basketball
are:
UCLA with 11 championships;
Kentucky
who won the March Madness games 7 times;
Indiana with
5 Big Dance victories;
North
Carolina outlasted all the other teams 4 times, including
their championship win in 2005, and
Duke with 5 titles, the most recent in a nail biter over Wisconsin in 2015.
Although past
history is no guarantee in this Cinderella-laced NCAA tournament,
number one seeds have won every time in the first round for the
past 16 years and number two seeds have only lost three first round
games... a 95% win average.
What makes the
brackets exciting are the number 13 and 14 seeds who came out winners
in the first round 20 times since 1992... a sweet 16% that leads
to dreams of glory. Watch for them in your brackets. Also look for teams
from smaller conferences or those who had a bad start to the season,
but got their game on during the last weeks to pull off an invitation.
A power player in a slump or on a injury roster can mean
a lower seed for a solid team.
March Madness 2024 NCAA.com - Check out the official site for ticket information, the latest updates,
scores, ranking and related pictures, videos, and feature stories, interviews
and more.
NCAA
Basketball - CBS Sports - Here's headline reports & predictions, opinion
and news, plus the latest scores at a glance and key dates for major games.