NCAA Releases 2021 March Madness Programming Schedule
On January 20, the NCAA announced the specific dates and locations for March Madness 2021. On Wednesday CBS and Turner Sports followed up by unveiling the times for the game windows as well as the TV programming schedule for the tournament.
As per normal, including the First Four, there will be 67 total games in the NCAA Tournament with live coverage of each game on either CBS, TBS, TNT, or truTV. Additionally, all games will stream on NCAA March Madness Live.
The event will kick-off on Sunday, March 14 with the Selection Show on CBS from 6-7 p.m. ET (all times listed in this article will be p.m. and ET).
TBS and truTV will split the four First Four games, which will all take place on Thursday, March 18. The truTV games will tip off at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. while the games on TBS take place at 6:20 and 9:50.
First and Second Round games will occur across all four networks. First Round games will be on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20 with the first tip of each day at noon on CBS. The Second Round games will occur on Sunday, March 21 and Monday, March 22. Once again, the first game of each day will be at noon on CBS.
As the tournament moves to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, games will be split between CBS and TBS. The Sweet 16 will occur on Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28, with four games per day. CBS will air the first two games each day (2:30 and 5:00 on Saturday, 2:00 and 4:45 on Sunday) while TBS takes the two later games (7:15 and 9:45 on Saturday; 7:00 and 9:30 on Sunday).
In the final weekend, CBS will carry the broadcast for both Final Four games as well as the National Championship. The Final Four games will tip at 5:00 and 8:30 on Saturday, April 3. The championship will take place the following Monday at 9:00. All three games will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.
Below is the full schedule in list form (Game # | Time | TV Channel):
2021 NCAA Tournament Selection Show
- Sunday, March 14 | 6:00 | CBS
2021 NCAA Tournament First Four
Thursday, March 18
- #1 | 5:00 | truTV
- #2 | 6:20 | TBS
- #3 | 8:30 | truTV
- #4 | 9:50 | TBS
2021 NCAA Tournament First Round
Friday, March 19 & Saturday, March 20
*same schedule both days
- #1 | Noon | CBS
- #2 | 12:30 | truTV
- #3 | 1:00 | TBS
- #4 | 1:30 | TNT
- #5 | 2:45 | CBS
- #6 | 3:20 | truTV
- #7 | 3:50 | TBS
- #8 | 4:20 | TNT
- #9 | 6:15 | TBS
- #10 | 7:00 | CBS
- #11 | 7:00 | truTV
- #12 | 7:15 | TNT
- #13 | 9:10 | TBS
- #14 | 9:30 | CBS
- #15 | 9:45 | truTV
- #16 | 9:50 | TNT
2021 NCAA Tournament Second Round
Sunday, March 21
- #1 | Noon | CBS
- #2 | 2:30 | CBS
- #3 | 5:00 | CBS
- #4 | 6:00 | TNT
- #5 | 7:00 | TBS
- #6 | 7:30 | truTV
- #7 | 8:30 | TNT
- #8 | 9:30 | TBS
2021 NCAA Tournament Second Round
Monday, March 22
- #1 | Noon | CBS
- #2 | 2:30 | CBS
- #3 | 5:00 | TBS
- #4 | 6:00 | TNT
- #5 | 7:00 | CBS
- #6 | 7:30 | TBS
- #7 | 8:30 | TNT
- #8 | 9:30 | CBS
2021 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Saturday, March 27
- #1 | 2:30 | CBS
- #2 | 5:00 | CBS
- #3 | 7:15 | TBS
- #4 | 9:45 | TBS
Sunday, March 28
- #1 | 2:00 | CBS
- #2 | 4:45 | CBS
- #3 | 7:00 | TBS
- #4 | 9:30 | TBS
2021 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
Monday, March 29
- #1 | 7:00 | CBS
- #2 | 9:45 | CBS
Tuesday, March 30
- #1 | 7:00 | TBS
- #2 | 9:45 | TBS
2021 NCAA Tournament Final Four
Saturday, April 3
- #1 | 5:00 | CBS
- #2 | 8:30 | CBS
2021 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
Monday, April 5
- #1 | 9:00 | CBS
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