March Madness 2026 Schedule: Full Men’s Tournament Dates and Start Times

March Madness 2026 schedule

On Sunday, March 15, the 2026 March Madness tournament will start with selections. The First Four games begin on Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18. The Final Four takes place in Indianapolis on April 4 and 6.

The complete March Madness tournament schedule may be found here.

Schedule and dates for the 2026 NCAA tournament

Here is the schedule:

Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 15
First Four: March 17-18
First round: March 19-20
Second round: March 21-22
Sweet 16: March 26-27
Elite Eight: March 28-29
Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
NCAA championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

2026 March Madness tournament locations

2026 PRELIMINARY ROUND SITES
Round	Dates	City	Venue	Host(s)
First Four	March 17 & 18	Dayton, OH	UD Arena	University of Dayton
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Buffalo, NY	KeyBank Center	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Canisius College Niagara University
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Greenville, SC	Bon Secours Wellness Arena	Furman Southern Conference
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Oklahoma City, OK	Paycom Center	Big 12 Conference
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Portland, OR	Moda Center	Oregon State University
First/Second	March 20 & 22	Tampa, FL	Benchmark International Arena	University of South Florida
First/Second	March 20 & 22	Philadelphia, PA	Xfinity Mobile Arena	Saint Joseph’s University
First/Second	March 20 & 22	San Diego, CA	Viejas Arena	San Diego State University
First/Second	March 20 & 22	St. Louis, MO	Enterprise Center	Missouri Valley Conference
South Regional	March 26 & 28	Houston, TX	Toyota Center	Rice University
West Regional	March 26 & 28	San Jose, CA	SAP Center	San Jose State University
Midwest Regional	March 27 & 29	Chicago, IL	United Center	Northwestern University
East Regional	March 27 & 29	Washington, D.C.	Capital One Arena	Georgetown University
Final Four	April 4 & 6	Indianapolis	Lucas Oil Stadium	Horizon League IU Indianapolis

2025 NCAA men’s tournament bracket

2025 NCAA tournament schedule, scores, highlights

All times ET

Monday, April 7 (National championship game in San Antonio)

(1) Florida 65, (1) Houston 63

Tuesday, March 18 (First Four in Dayton, Ohio)

(16) Alabama State 70, (16) Saint Francis 68
(11) North Carolina 95, (11) San Diego State 68

Wednesday, March 19 (First Four in Dayton, Ohio)

(16) Mount St. Mary’s 83, (16) American University 72
(11) Xavier 86, (11) Texas 80

Thursday, March 20 (First Round/Round of 64)

(9) Creighton 89, (8) Louisville 75
(4) Purdue 75, (13) High Point 63
(3) Wisconsin 85, (14) Montana 66
(1) Houston 78, (16) SIU Edwardsville 40
(1) Auburn 83, (16) Alabama State 63
(12) McNeese 69, (5) Clemson 67
(6) BYU 80, (11) VCU 71
(8) Gonzaga 89, (9) Georgia 68
(2) Tennessee 77, (15) Wofford 62
(10) Arkansas 79, (7) Kansas 72
(4) Texas A&M 80, (13) Yale 71
(11) Drake 67, (6) Missouri 57
(7) UCLA 72, (10) Utah State 47
(2) St. John’s 83, (15) Omaha 53
(5) Michigan 68, (12) UC San Diego 65
(3) Texas Tech 82, (14) UNC Wilmington 72

Friday, March 21 (First Round/Round of 64)

(9) Baylor 75, (8) Mississippi State 72
(2) Alabama 90, (15) Robert Morris 81
(3) Iowa State 82, (14) Lipscomb 55
(12) Colorado State 78, (5) Memphis 70
(1) Duke 93, (16) Mount St. Mary’s 49
(7) Saint Mary’s 59, (10) Vanderbilt 56
(6) Ole Miss 71, (11) North Carolina 64
(4) Maryland 81, (13) Grand Canyon 49
(1) Florida 95, (16) Norfolk State 69
(3) Kentucky 76, (14) Troy 57
(10) New Mexico 75, (7) Marquette 66
(4) Arizona 93, (13) Akron 65
(8) UConn 67, (9) Oklahoma 59
(6) Illinois 86, (11) Xavier 73
(2) Michigan State 87, (15) Bryant 62
(5) Oregon 81, (12) Liberty 52

Saturday, March 22 (Second Round/Round of 32)

(4) Purdue 76, (12) McNeese 62
(10) Arkansas 75, (2) St. John’s 66
(5) Michigan 91, (4) Texas A&M 79
(3) Texas Tech 77, (11) Drake 64
(1) Auburn 82, (9) Creighton 70
(6) BYU 91, (3) Wisconsin 89
(1) Houston 81, (8) Gonzaga 76
(2) Tennessee 67, (7) UCLA 58

Sunday, March 23 (Second Round/Round of 32)

(1) Florida 77, (8) UConn 75
(1) Duke 89, (9) Baylor 66
(3) Kentucky 84, (6) Illinois 75
(2) Alabama 80, (7) Saint Mary’s 66
(4) Maryland 72, (12) Colorado State 71
(6) Ole Miss 91, (3) Iowa State 78
(2) Michigan State 71, (10) New Mexico 63
(4) Arizona 87, (5) Oregon 83

Thursday, March 27 (Sweet 16)

(2) Alabama 113, (6) BYU 88
(1) Florida 87, (4) Maryland 71
(1) Duke 100, (4) Arizona 93
(3) Texas Tech 85, (10) Arkansas 83 (OT)

Friday, March 28 (Sweet 16)

(2) Michigan State 73, (6) Ole Miss 70
(2) Tennessee 78, (3) Kentucky 65
(1) Auburn 78, (5) Michigan 65
(1) Houston 62, (4) Purdue 60

Saturday, March 29 (Elite Eight)

(1) Florida 84, (3) Texas Tech 79
(1) Duke 85, (2) Alabama 65

Sunday, March 30 (Elite Eight)

(1) Houston 69, (2) Tennessee 50
(1) Auburn 70, (2) Michigan State 64

Saturday, April 5 (Final Four in San Antonio)

(1) Florida 79, (1) Auburn 73
(1) Houston 70, (1) Duke 67

March Madness: Future sites, dates

Here are the future sites for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball Final Four:

FINAL FOUR DATES	CITY, REGION	FACILITY	HOST
April 4 and 6, 2026	Indianapolis	Lucas Oil Stadium	Horizon League, IU Indianapolis
April 3 and 5, 2027	Detroit	Ford Field	Michigan State University
April 1 and 3, 2028	Las Vegas	Allegiant Stadium	UNLV
March 31 and April 2, 2029	Indianapolis	Lucas Oil Stadium	Horizon League, IU Indianapolis
April 6 and 8, 2030	North Texas	AT&T Stadium	Big 12 Conference
April 5 and 7, 2031	Atlanta	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Georgia Tech