The Peacocks are still dancing. After stunning No. 2 Kentucky in the first round and taking out No. 7 Murray State in the second round, little Saint Peter’s College from Jersey City, New Jersey, is just the third No. 15 seed ever to make it to the second week of the NCAA tournament. Saint Peter’s takes on No. 3 Purdue on Friday.
Three other double-digit seeds have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. No. 11 Michigan faces No. 2 Villanova on Thursday, and No. 11 Iowa St. and No. 10 Miami square off on Friday.
Despite the upsets in the first two rounds of the tournament, plenty of big-name schools managed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Top seeds Gonzaga, Arizona and Kansas are still playing, as is No. 2 Duke in Coach K’s farewell tour. We will also be treated to a classic matchup on Friday between No. 8 North Carolina and No. 4 UCLA, two of most most storied programs in college basketball history.
Here’s all you need to know to watch the Sweet Sixteen and beyond, with or without cable.
Saint Peter’s will look to continue its Cinderella run against Purdue on Friday.
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
March Madness FAQs
Where can I see the March Madness bracket?
You can check out all of the regions, results and remaining matchups of the NCAA tournament bracket here.
What’s the schedule for the Sweet Sixteen?
Here’s the schedule for the next round that starts Thursday (all times ET):
Thursday, March 24
- No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Gonzaga, 7:09 p.m. on CBS
- No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 2 Villanova, 7:29 p.m. on TBS
- No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Duke, 9:39 p.m. on CBS
- No. 5 Houston vs. No. 1 Arizona, 9:59 p.m. on TBS
Friday, March 25
- No. 15 Saint Peter’s vs. No. 3 Purdue, 7:09 p.m. on CBS
- No. 4 Providence vs. No. 1 Kansas, 7:15 p.m. on TBS
- No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 4 UCLA, 9:39 p.m. on CBS
- No. 11 Iowa St. vs. No. 10 Miami, 9:59 p.m. on TBS
You can check out the full March Madness schedule here.
Where is the Final Four taking place and what channel is it on?
The Final Four and national championship game will take place in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome and will air on TBS.
Which channels will air March Madness games?
The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games will air on CBS and TBS. Three of the streaming services — YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV and DirecTV Stream — offer both channels needed to watch the remainder of March Madness.
You can also stream the games live with NCAA March Madness Live. There’s a free 3-hour preview, but then you’ll need to log in with a TV provider to prove you’re a pay-TV subscriber. You can also watch the games broadcast on CBS with Paramount Plus… but that’s less than ideal because the Final Four games and national championship game will be shown on TBS this year, not CBS.
Can I watch for free?
Yes, you can. There are two ways, but neither will get you through the rest of the tournament by itself.
The March Madness Live app and website offers a free 3-hour preview, after which point you’ll need to prove you are a pay-TV subscriber.
The other way is to sign up for a live TV streaming service. Each of the major five 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.
Best options for streaming without cable
YouTube TV costs $65 a month and includes CBS and TBS to watch the rest of March Madness. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see what live, local networks are available where you live. Read our YouTube TV review.
Hulu With Live TV costs $70 a month and includes CBS and TBS. Click the “View all channels in your area” link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code. Read our Hulu With Live TV review.
DirecTV Stream’s basic, $70-a-month package includes CBS and TBS. You can use its channel lookup tool to see if you get a live feed of CBS and the other local networks in your ZIP code. Read our DirecTV Stream review.
Sling TV is a poor choice for watching March Madness because it does not include CBS. Its $35-a-month Blue plan includes TBS for half the games of the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight as well as both games of the Final Four and then the national championship game. Read our Sling TV review.
FuboTV costs $65 a month and includes CBS but not TBS. With the Final Four games and national championship game on TBS, FuboTV is not a good pick for college basketball fans. Click here to see which local channels you get. Read our FuboTV review.
You can stream every game of March Madness on the NCAA’s March Madness Live site or app. You can watch for 3 hours for free, but then you will need to log in to prove you have a pay TV subscription that includes the channels that televise the tournament. It should be noted 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 lone exception among the live TV streaming services because it doesn’t offer any of the Turner-owned stations.)
Latency is an issue with any streaming service and particularly with live sports, where you might also be following along on Twitter and could see a final score before the game actually ends. The NCAA says this year’s streams will offer a 20% latency improvement compared with last year’s. While that is welcome, March Madness Live streams will likely still be behind cable and satellite TV and could also trail streams from YouTube TV and the other live TV services.
All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live-TV streaming services guide.
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