How to watch, stream March Madness 2024 live online free without cable

The Big Dance tips off on March 19, with the First Four playing in Phoenix, Arizona, leading up to the NCAA championship on April 8.  It’s a time of office pools, broken brackets and Cinderella stories. It’s also a time where lunches tend to run longer and are often scheduled at sports bars for the next few weeks (thus the HR grumbling).

The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament is one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. And if don’t have a TV in your home office (or, if you’ve returned to work and want to sneak a game in without the boss knowing), you’ve got plenty of options.

Here’s when and where the games will be airing and ways to watch for free, without a cable subscription.

When and where does March Madness air?

The 2024 NCAA Tournament will take place in several segments. Here’s when and where you can catch the games this year.

First Four

March 19-20 – The tip-off games pit the four lowest-seeded automatic bids against the four lowest seeded at-large bids—and they’re split over two nights. They’ll air on TruTV this year.

Tuesday March 19

Wagner vs Howard, 6:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

Colorado State vs. Virginia, 9:10 p.m. ET on TruTv

Wednesday, March 20

Grambling vs. Montana State, 6:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

Colorado vs Boise State, 9:10 p.m. ET on TruTv

First Round/Round of 64

March 21-22 – The first batch of games for the 2024 NCAA Tournament will begin airing at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV (and various streaming networks, see below).

Thursday March 21

Mississippi State vs Michigan State, 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS

BYU vs. Duquesne, 12:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

Creighton vs. Akron, 1:30 p.m. ET on TNT

Arizona vs. Long Beach State, 2:00 p.m. ET on TBS

North Carolina vs. (winner of the Howard/Wagner game), 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS

Illinois vs. Morehead State, 3:10 pm. ET on TruTV

South Carolina vs. Oregon, 4:00 p.m. ET on TNT

Dayton vs. Nevada, 4:30 p.m. ET on TBS

Texas vs. (winner of Colorado State/Virginia game), 6:50 p.m. ET on TNT

Kentucky vs. Oakland, 7:10 p.m. on CBS

Gonzaga vs. McNeese, 7:25 p.m. ET on TBS

Iowa State vs. South Dakota State, 7:35 p.m. ET on TruTV

Tennessee vs. Saint Peters, 9:20 p.m. ET on TNT

Texas Tech vs. NC State, 9:40 p.m. ET on CBS

Kansas vs. Samford, 9:55 p.m. ET on TBS

Washington State vs. Drake, 10:05 p.m. ET on TruTV

Friday March 22

Florida Atlantic vs. Northwestern, 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS

Baylor vs. Colgate, 12:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

San Diego State vs. UAB, 1:45 p.m. ET on TNT

Marquette vs. Western Kentucky, 2:00 p.m. ET on TBS

UConn vs. Stetson, 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS

Clemson vs. New Mexico, 3:10 p.m. ET on TruTV

Auburn vs. Yale, 4:15 p.m. on TNT

Florida vs. (winner of Colorado/Boise State game), 4:30 p.m. ET on TBS

Nebraska vs. Texas A&M, 6:50 p.m. ET on TNT

Duke vs. Vermont, 7:10 p.m. on CBS

Purdue vs. (winner of Grambling/Montana State game), 7:25 p.m. ET on TBS

Alabama vs. College of Charleston, 7:35 p.m. ET on TruTV

Houston vs. Longwood, 9:20 p.m. on TNT

Wisconsin vs. James Madison, 9:40 p.m. ET on CBS

Utah State vs. TCU, 9:55 p.m. ET on TBS

Saint Mary’s vs. Grand Canyon, 10:05 p.m. ET on TruTV

Second Round/Round of 32

March 23-24 – The second set of games for this year’s tournament will also air on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV—and will start at 12:10 p.m. ET.

Sweet 16

March 28-29 – The semi-final rounds will begin airing on Thursday, March 28 on CBS and on TBS.

Elite 8

March 30-31 – There’s little rest for the winners of the Sweet 16. Regional championships will begin on Saturday, March 30

Final Four

April 6 – The penultimate games will air on CBS.

NCAA championship game

April 8 – The champion will be decided on Monday at 9:20 p.m. ET on CBS.

How can I watch March Madness games for free?

The best way to watch any sort of network programming for free on a big screen is with a good HD antenna. You won’t be able to watch all of the NCAA Tournament over the air, but CBS is the host for this year’s Final Four and NCAA championship game, meaning you’ll catch the final act. (Other matchups will air on TBS, TNT and truTV.) To ensure you’re getting the most reliable signal for the CBS-carried games, you’ll want to test the antenna in multiple locations in your home.

Can I watch March Madness online?

Definitely. There are loads of online options to watch 2024 NCAA Tournament games, some completely free and others with free trial periods. If you’re not near a TV, you can log into TBS.com, TNTdrama.com and truTV.com (or the TBS, TNT or truTV apps). You’ll need to log-in with your cable or satellite provider username and password for those, though. And both CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery will be streaming games on their respective streaming services.

Paramount+

CBS’s streaming service will give you access to games air on that network. You can get a one-week free trial, followed by a $6 or $12 monthly charge. All March Madness games airing on CBS will stream simultaneously with the Paramount+ with Showtime tier subscription.

Max

The former HBO-Max added lives ports programming last year and March Madness is one of its crown jewels. You’ll be able to stream select games for free (for now… eventually, live sports will come with a $10 monthly add-on fee). Subscriptions start at $10 per month.

Disney+

Disney’s bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ no longer has a free trial, so you’ll have to pay $15 per month for all three combined (or $25 per month for no ads on Hulu).

Including Live TV in the bundle bumps the price to $77 per month ($90 with no ads).

Hulu with Live TV

The free trial on this service is no longer offered, as well. It will now cost you $77 per month.

YouTubeTV

After up to a two-week trial, you can expect monthly charges of $73. YouTube is also now the home of Sunday Ticket. Prices on that service currently range from $300 to $439 for the season, with the current discounts.

Sling TV

Dish Network’s Sling lower-tiered “Orange” plan will run you $40 per month. Adding the more comprehensive “Blue” plan bumps the cost to $55 per month. The seven-day free trial has disappeared, but the cord-cutting service is offering 50% off of the first month’s bill.

DirecTV Stream

Formerly known as DirecTV Now, AT&T TVNow and AT&T TV, this oft-renamed streaming service will run you $75 per month and up after the free trial option.

Fubo TV

This sports-focused cord-cutting service carries broadcast networks in most markets. There’s a seven-day free trial, followed by monthly charges of $75 and up, depending on the channels you choose.

Does the NCAA offer any service for me to watch the game I want?

It does. March Madness Live will stream every game on the NCAA Website, as well as Apple, Android, Amazon and Roku devices. You’ll need to log in with your username and password from your TV provider.

Can I watch March Madness games on Amazon?

No. NCAA Tournament games do not stream on Amazon.

Which team is favored to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament?

The UConn Huskies, which won last year’s Tournament, are the odds-on favorite to win once again in 2024. Also in the running are Houston, Purdue, Arizona and North Carolina, according to Bet MGM.

UConn Huskies – +400

Houston Cougars – +600

Purdue Boilermakers – +650

Arizona Wildcats – +1100

North Carolina Tar Heels – +1300