March Madness 2025: NCAA Announces Tipoff Time, TV Channel for National Championship
In this story:
Fans wanting an earlier start time for the NCAA Tournament National Championship Game in men's basketball have been granted their wish. On Tuesday, the organization announced that it has scheduled tipoff for this year's pinnacle event earlier than in previous seasons.
The 2025 National Championship Game is scheduled for an 8:50 p.m. ET tipoff time. Per the NCAA's social media team, that's 30 minutes earlier than when it is typically scheduled. The game will air on CBS.
So, it's not exactly an "early" tipoff, but it is an "earlier" start time for the big game.
🚨 National Championship tip-off time!
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 28, 2025
The 2025 National Championship will tip off at 8:50pm ET - 30 minutes earlier than the typical start time. pic.twitter.com/h39KTt16Q0
This year, the Final Four and National Championship Game will be played in San Antonio, Texas, with the Alamodome hosting the event. Semifinal games are scheduled for Saturday, April 5 and the championship will be on Monday, April 7.
The First Four round of the NCAA Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 18 and the Round of 64 starts on Thursday, March 20.
Related stories
PURDUE-INDIANA A 'MUST WATCH' GAME: One of the greatest rivalries in college basketball gets renewed on Friday, when Indiana travels to play Purdue at Mackey Arena. CLICK HERE
BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS: Minnesota has now won three straight games, including two wins over ranked opponents. Has Ben Johnson's team finally found something? Here's a look at the latest Big Ten basketball power rankings. CLICK HERE
BIG TEN BASKETBALL STANDINGS: Things in the Big Ten are heating up as we enter the second half of the conference season. Here's a look at the standings entering the last week of January. CLICK HERE
Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
Follow SchutteDustin