2026 NCAA Tournament schedule: March Madness bracket, game dates, locations, tip times and TV channels

The 2026 Final Four field will be set Sunday night, with two Elite Eight matchups on tap. With regional finals in the Midwest and East, only two teams will punch their tickets to Indianapolis and join the winners from the West and South regionals.

It begins in Chicago, where No. 6 seed Tennessee faces No. 1 seed Michigan (2:15 p.m. ET, CBS, March Madness Live).  Tennessee is seeking its first Final Four appearance in program history, while Michigan can return to the final weekend of the college basketball season for the first time since 2018 with a win.

The East Region features a matchup of college basketball heavyweights as No. 1 overall seed Duke faces No. 2 seed UConn (5:05 p.m. ET, CBS, March Madness Live). The Blue Devils can reach the Final Four for the second consecutive year with a win, while UConn can make it three trips in four seasons with an upset.

No team has won three national titles in four seasons since UCLA during its heyday in the 1960s. After losing to reigning national champion Florida last year in the second round, UConn is three wins away from joining that company.

The dates and sites for every 2026 NCAA Tournament game are listed below, culminating with the Final Four and NCAA championship game on April 4 and 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The road to the Final Four is a long but worthwhile journey, so be sure to check in often as CBS Sports will update this page each time the NCAA Tournament schedule is adjusted. Games will be aired across CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV, all available on March Madness Live. Games airing on CBS will also be available to Paramount+ subscribers, while those on TBS/TNT/truTV are available via HBO Max.

2026 NCAA Tournament schedule, dates

Elite Eight

Saturday, March 28 -- 6:09 p.m. start (TBS)
Toyota Center (Houston), SAP Center (San Jose)

Sunday, March 29 -- 2:15 p.m. start (CBS)
United Center (Chicago), Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)

Final Four

Saturday, April 4 -- 6:09 p.m. start (TBS)
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

National Championship

Monday, April 6 -- 8:50 p.m. (TBS)
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

First Four

Tuesday, March 17
UD Arena (Dayton)

Wednesday, March 18
UD Arena (Dayton)

First round

Thursday, March 19
KeyBank Center (Buffalo), Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville), Paycom Center (Oklahoma City), Moda Center (Portland)

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

Second round

Sunday, March 22
Benchmark International Arena (Tampa), Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia), Viejas Arena (San Diego), Enterprise Center (St. Louis)

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

Sweet 16

Sweet 16

Friday, March 27

United Center (Chicago), Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)