When does March Madness start and what games are airing today?

Here’s the schedule for the rest of the games this weekend (all times ET):

Sunday March 20

• No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Villanova, 2:40 p.m. on CBS
• Michigan State, No. 7 vs. Duke, No. 2, 5:15 p.m. on CBS
• No. 11 Iowa State vs. No. 3 Wisconsin, 6:10 p.m. on TNT
• No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, 7:10 p.m. on TBS
• No. 10 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 2 Auburn, 7:45 p.m. on TruTV
• No. 6 Texas vs. No. 3 Purdue, 8:40 p.m. on TNT
• TCU No. 9 vs. Arizona No. 1, 9:40 p.m. on TBS

You can view the full March Madness schedule here.

When is the Sweet Sixteen?

The Sweet Sixteen begins Thursday, March 24. Current matchups for Thursday include No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Gonzaga, but finalized matchups and playing times — including whether Michigan’s No. 11 will face No. 2 Villanova or No. 7 Ohio State — won’t be known until after Sunday’s action is over.

Friday’s Sweet Sixteen games include No. 4 Providence vs. No. 1 Kansas and No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 4 UCLA. Saint Peter’s No. 15 will also play Friday, but like Michigan, we won’t. We won’t know who they’ll be up against until today’s game between No. 3 Purdue and No. 6 Texas.

Where is the Final Four taking place?

The Final Four and National Championship Game will take place in New Orleans at Caesars Superdome and will be broadcast on TBS.

Which channels will broadcast the March Madness games?

NCAA Tournament games will air on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV.

According to the NCAA, here is the breakdown of where you can find games:

• CBS will broadcast 21 games throughout the tournament, including the Elite 8, the Sweet 16 and the first and second rounds.
• TBS will air 21 televised matches, including the National Championship, Final Four, Elite 8, Sweet 16, and first and second round matches.
• TruTV will broadcast a total of 13 matches, including the first four and the first and second rounds.
• TNT will broadcast 12 televised matches, including the first and second round matches.

Three of the streaming services – YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV and DirecTV Stream – offer the above four channels needed to catch all the craziness this month.

You can also stream the games live on NCAA March Madness Live. There’s a free three-hour preview, but then you’ll need to sign in with a TV provider to prove you’re a pay-TV subscriber. You can also watch the games that air on CBS with Paramount Plus…but that’s not ideal because the Final Four games and the National Championship game will be airing on TBS this year, not CBS.

What channel is TruTV?

You’ll need to locate TruTV on your channel list for the first two rounds of the tournament if you don’t want to miss any of the games and potential buzzers. Here’s where you can find it on some of the biggest cable and satellite providers:

Can I watch for free?

Yes you can. There are two ways, but neither will get you through the entire tournament on its own.

The March Madness Live app and website offer a free three-hour preview, after which you’ll need to prove you’re a pay-TV subscriber.

The other way is to sign up for a live TV streaming service. Each of the five main services offers a free trial. YouTube TV, Hulu With Live TV and FuboTV offer seven-day trials, while DirecTV Stream gives you five days and Sling TV has the shortest trial with three.

YouTube TV costs $65 per month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV to watch every March Madness game. Plug your postcode into its homepage to see which local live networks are available where you live. Read our YouTube TV review.

Hulu With Live TV costs $70 per month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV. Click the “View all channels in your area” link on its homepage to see which local channels are offered in your postcode. Read our Hulu With Live TV review.

The basic DirecTV Stream package at $70 per month includes CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. You can use its channel finder to see if you get a live stream from CBS and other local networks in your zip code. Read our DirecTV Stream review.

Sling TV is a poor choice for watching March Madness because it doesn’t include CBS. Its $35 per month Blue package includes TruTV as well as TBS and TNT. Read our Sling TV review.

FuboTV costs $65 per month and includes CBS, but not TBS, TNT, or TruTV. With Final Four games and the national championship game on TBS, FuboTV is not a good choice for college basketball fans. Click here to see which local channels you get. Read our FuboTV review.

You can stream every March Madness game on the NCAA’s March Madness Live website or app. You can watch for free for three hours, but then you’ll need to log in to prove you have a pay-TV subscription that includes the channels showing the tournament. It’s worth noting that in addition to cable and satellite providers, you can use a YouTube TV, Hulu With TV, DirecTV Stream, or Sling TV subscription to access March Madness Live. (FuboTV is the only exception among live TV streaming services because it doesn’t offer any of the Turner-owned stations.)

Latency is an issue with any streaming service and especially with live sports, where you can also follow Twitter and see a final score before the game ends. The NCAA says this year’s streams will offer improved 20% latency compared to last year. While welcome, March Madness Live streams will likely still be behind cable and satellite TV and could also follow streams from YouTube TV and other live TV services.