March Madness first round TV schedule: Tip times and where to watch 2026 NCAA Tournament

The First Four served as a nice appetizer, but the 2026 NCAA Tournament got underway in earnest Thursday with upsets and shocking results as the first full slate of 16 games was played. Lower seeds advanced as favorites fell by the wayside, and here’s the best news: It all happens again Friday with 32 teams competing for the final 16 spots in the second round.

March Madness continues across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV on Friday. Paramount+ subscribers will be able to watch every game airing on CBS, while the March Madness Live app will have every game, period. There’s also HBO Max, which carries all the games going up on TBS, TNT and truTV.

No. 7 seed Kentucky opens the day against No. 10 seed Santa Clara at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS with No. 7 seed Miami (FL) vs. No. 10 seed Missouri serving as the nightcap starting at 10:10 p.m. ET. In between, No. 1 seeds Florida and Arizona look to avoid the hiccups their counterparts faced on Thursday, while some attractive games will certainly catch the eyes of fans like No. 8 seed Villanova vs. No. 9 seed Utah State and No. 6 seed Tennessee vs. No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio). Will the RedHawks become the second play-in team to advance to the second round this year? 

Below are the announcing teams, channel assignments and tip times for every first-round game on Friday and second-round game on Saturday. Keep checking back through the weekend as the March Madness TV schedule below will be updated when the new sets of tip times become available.

2026 March Madness announcing teams

Play-by-Play | Analyst(s) || Reporter
* Regional Weekend announce teams | ~ Final Four team

• Ian Eagle | Bill Raftery, Grant Hill || Tracy Wolfson*~
• Brian Anderson | Jim Jackson || Allie LaForce*
• Kevin Harlan | Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy || Lauren Shehadi*
• Andrew Catalon | Steve Lappas || Evan Washburn*
• Brad Nessler | Wally Szczerbiak || Jared Greenberg
• Spero Dedes | Jim Spanarkel || Jon Rothstein
• Tom McCarthy | Candice Parker, Dan Bonner || AJ Ross
• Brandon Gaudin | Chris Webber || Andy Katz
• Rules analyst: Gene Steratore

2026 NCAA Tournament schedule, dates

First round

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

Second round

Saturday, March 21
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)