The first two tickets to the 2026 Final Four will be punched Saturday, with regional finals in the West and South. Three of the four teams — Illinois, Iowa and Arizona — are seeking long-awaited returns to the Final Four, while Purdue can make it two appearances in three seasons with a win over the Wildcats.
No. 9 seed Iowa has authored one of the tournament’s most unlikely runs under first-year coach Ben McCollum. The Hawkeyes face No. 3 seed Illinois (6:09 p.m. ET, TBS, March Madness Live) in the first game of the day.
Iowa hasn’t reached the Final Four since 1980, while Illinois is seeking its first trip since 2005.
In the nightcap, No. 1 seed Arizona meets No. 2 seed Purdue (8:49 p.m. ET, TBS, March Madness Live) with the second Final Four berth on the line.
Arizona hasn’t advanced to the Final Four since 2001, while Purdue reached the national championship game in 2024 before falling to UConn.
Here is the full tournament schedule and scoreboard to keep you up to date.
The dates and sites for every 2026 NCAA Tournament game are listed below, culminating with the Final Four and NCAA championship game on April 4 and 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The road to the Final Four is a long but worthwhile journey, so be sure to check in often as CBS Sports will update this page each time the NCAA Tournament schedule is adjusted. Games will be aired across CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV, all available on March Madness Live. Games airing on CBS will also be available to Paramount+ subscribers, while those on TBS/TNT/truTV are available via HBO Max.
2026 NCAA Tournament schedule, dates
Sweet 16
Friday, March 27
United Center (Chicago), Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)
Elite Eight
Saturday, March 28 — 6:09 p.m. start (TBS) Toyota Center (Houston), SAP Center (San Jose)
Sunday, March 29 — 2:15 p.m. start (CBS) United Center (Chicago), Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)
2:15 p.m.(1) Michigan vs. (6) Tennessee or (2) Iowa State || ChicagoCBS (watch live)5:05 p.m.(1) Duke vs. (2) UConn/(3) Michigan StateCBS (watch live)
Final Four
Saturday, April 4 — 6:09 p.m. start (TBS) Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
National Championship
Monday, April 6 — 8:50 p.m. (TBS) Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
First Four
Tuesday, March 17UD Arena (Dayton)
Wednesday, March 18UD Arena (Dayton)
First round
Thursday, March 19KeyBank Center (Buffalo), Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville), Paycom Center (Oklahoma City), Moda Center (Portland)
Time (ET)GameTV / Stream12:15 p.m.(9) TCU 66, (8) Ohio State 64 Highlights12:40 p.m.(4) Nebraska 76, (13) Troy 47 Highlights1:30 p.m.(6) Louisville 83, (11) South Florida 79 Highlights1:50 p.m.(12) High Point 83, (5) Wisconsin 82 Highlights2:50 p.m.(1) Duke 71, (16) Siena 65 Highlights3:15 p.m.(5) Vanderbilt 78, (12) McNeese 68 Highlights4:05 p.m.(3) Michigan State 92, (14) North Dakota State 67 Highlights4:25 p.m.(4) Arkansas 97, (13) Hawaii 78 Highlights6:50 p.m.(11) VCU 82, (6) North Carolina 78 (OT) Highlights7:10 p.m.(1) Michigan 101, (16) Howard 80 Highlights7:25 p.m.(11) Texas 79, (6) BYU 71 Highlights7:35 p.m.(10) Texas A&M 63, (7) Saint Mary’s 50 Highlights9:25 p.m.(3) Illinois 105, (14) Penn 70 Highlights9:45 p.m.(9) Saint Louis 102, (8) Georgia 77 Highlights10 p.m.(1(3) Gonzaga 73, (14) Kennesaw State 64 Highlights10:10 p.m.(2) Houston 78, (15) Idaho 47 Highlights
Friday, March 20Benchmark International Arena (Tampa), Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia), Viejas Arena (San Diego), Enterprise Center (St. Louis)
Time (ET)GameTV / Stream12:15 p.m.(7) Kentucky 89, (10) Santa Clara 84 Highlights12:40 p.m.(5) Texas Tech 91, (12) Akron 71 Highlights1:35 p.m.(1) Arizona 92, (16) LIU 58 Highlights1:50 p.m.(3) Virginia 82, (14) Wright State 73 Highlights2:50 p.m.(2) Iowa State 108, (15) Tennessee State 74 Highlights3:15 p.m.(4) Alabama 90, (13) Hofstra 70 Highlights4:10 p.m.(9) Utah State 86, (8) Villanova 76 Highlights4:25 p.m.(6) Tennessee 78, (11) Miami (Ohio) 56 Highlights6:50 p.m.(9) Iowa 67, (8) Clemson 61 Highlights7:10 p.m.(5) St. John’s 79, (12) Northern Iowa 53 Highlights7:25 p.m.(10) UCF vs. (7) UCLA Highlights7:35 p.m.(2) Purdue 104, (15) Queens 71 Highlights9:25 p.m.(1) Florida 114, (16) Prairie View A&M 55 Highlights9:45 p.m.(4) Kansas 68, (13) Cal Baptist 60 Highlights10 p.m.(2) UConn 82, (15) Furman 71 Highlights10:10 p.m.(7) Miami (FL) 80, (10) Missouri 66 Highlights
Second round
Sunday, March 22Benchmark International Arena (Tampa), Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia), Viejas Arena (San Diego), Enterprise Center (St. Louis)
Time (ET)GameTV / Stream12:10 p.m.(2) Purdue 79, (7) Miami (FL) 69 Highlights2:45 p.m.(2) Iowa State 82, (7) Kentucky 63 Highlights5:15 p.m.(5) St. John’s 67, (4) Kansas 65 Highlights6:10 p.m.(6) Tennessee 79, (3) Virginia 72 Highlights7:10 p.m.(9) Iowa 73, (1) Florida 72 Highlights7:50 p.m.(1) Arizona 78, (9) Utah State 66 Highlights8:45 p.m.(2) UConn 73, (7) UCLA 57 Highlights9:45 p.m.(4) Alabama 90, (5) Texas Tech 65 Highlights
Saturday, March 21KeyBank Center (Buffalo), Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville), Paycom Center (Oklahoma City), Moda Center (Portland)
Sweet 16
