The 2026 NCAA Tournament officially begins Tuesday and Wednesday with First Four action followed by first- and second-round games on Thursday and Friday as part of a rollercoaster opening week that will see the 68-team field quickly shrink to a Sweet 16 in the span of just six days. A basketball bonanza is upon us, so consider this a warning that it is not going to let up until the end of March Madness and into the first week of April.
As the home of March Madness, CBS Sports will track every game and score, keeping you apprised of notable developments in our continuously updating live NCAA Tournament bracket with matchup analysis for every game.
As far as the NCAA Tournament schedule, we understand that it’s hard to keep up with that printable bracket of yours, so how about an easier way to digest it?
Below you will find a March Madness schedule featuring viewing information for each game broken down by region, that way you can not only follow your team but also those they may compete against through the duration of March Madness.
Brackets are here! Get your pools ready and enter our Bracket Challenge for your chance to win a dream trip to the 2027 Final FourⓇ.
In other words, you should bookmark this page and keep it as an easy reference guide from the First Four through the Final Four. Once the games start on Tuesday, it will be updated with scores, analysis and much more — all the way through the national championship.
2026 NCAA Tournament bracket, scores
All times Eastern
East
FIRST ROUND
Thursday — Greenville
Thursday — Buffalo
Friday — San Diego
Friday — Philadelphia
West
FIRST FOUR
Tuesday — Dayton
FIRST ROUND
Thursday — Portland
Friday — San Diego
Friday — St. Louis
Midwest
FIRST FOUR
Tuesday — Dayton
Wednesday — Dayton
FIRST ROUND
Thursday — Buffalo
Friday — St. Louis
Friday — Tampa
Friday — Philadelphia
South
FIRST FOUR
Wednesday — Dayton
FIRST ROUND
Thursday — Oklahoma City
Thursday — Greenville
Thursday — Oklahoma City
Friday — Tampa
- (9) Clemson vs. (8) Iowa | 6:50 p.m., TNT
- (16) Prairie View/Lehigh vs. (1) Florida | 9:25 p.m., TNT
2026 NCAA Tournament schedule
Second round
Saturday, March 21 — 12:10 p.m. start (CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV)
KeyBank Center (Buffalo), Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville), Paycom Center (Oklahoma City), Moda Center (Portland)
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)
Sweet 16
Thursday, March 26 — 7:10 p.m. start (CBS, TBS)
Toyota Center (Houston), SAP Center (San Jose)
Friday, March 27 — 7:10 p.m. start (CBS, TBS)
United Center (Chicago), Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)
Elite 8
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)
