March Madness 2022 continues with the Sweet 16 this weekend — here's how to watch the NCAA basketball tournament without cable
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- March Madness 2022 began on March 17 and continues with the Sweet 16 starting March 24.
- The men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments each feature 68 teams.
- Men's games are airing on CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV, while women's games air on ESPN networks.
The NCAA basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, officially began on March 15. After a week filled with upsets and tight games, the tournament has reached the Sweet 16 rounds. Millions of people who filled out March Madness brackets will be tuning in to see which schools reach the Final Four and claim this year's national championship.
Gonzaga, Arizona, and Kansas are still in the sweet 16 round after entering the tournament as top seeds, while defending champion Baylor was upset by the University of North Carolina in the second round. In the women's tournament, second round games will continue through Monday and all four top seeds still remain in the competition: South Carolina, Stanford, Louisville, and North Carolina State .
March Madness games are being broadcast on multiple TV channels throughout the men's tournament, including CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV. Many of these channels are available on live TV streaming services, like Sling, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV. CBS games can also be streamed live on Paramount Plus Premium ($10/month).
The women's tournament is airing on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, and ESPNU. The women's final four will air on ESPN, and ESPN cable subscribers can stream the games as well.
March Madness 2022 schedule: dates and times
March Madness began on March 15 and runs through April 4. Games will be played throughout the day, starting at the times listed below.
You can find the complete men's TV schedule and women's TV schedule with listed teams, channels, and tip-off times on the official March Madness website.
Date/Time | Event | Channel |
March 20-21 | Second round of women's tournament | ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU |
March 24-25 | Sweet 16 round of men's tournament | CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Paramount Plus |
March 25-28 | Sweet 16 and elite eight round of women's tournament | ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU |
March 26-27 | Elite eight round of men's tournament | CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Paramount Plus |
April 1, 6 p.m. ET | Women's final four | ESPN |
April 2, 6 p.m. ET | Men's final four | TBS |
April 3, 5 p.m. ET | Women's national championship game | ESPN |
April 4, 9 p.m. ET | Men's national championship game | TBS |
How to watch March Madness 2022
To watch every March Madness tournament game, you'll need a cable or live TV streaming subscription. Men's games are airing on CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV. Women's games are spread across ESPN networks.
If you already have a pay-TV provider with access to these channels, the easiest way to stream every men's game is to use the official March Madness website or the NCAA March Madness Live app. Once you sign in with your credentials, you can watch every men's match from the tournament live.
The NCAA March Madness app is available on mobile devices, web browsers, Apple TV, Android, Fire TV, Roku, Xbox, and LG smart TVs. That said, the app only allows you to watch CBS games on mobile devices or web browsers.
Ways to watch March Madness 2022 without cable
If you don't have cable, you can watch March Madness 2022 games through a live TV streaming service, like Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV.
Sling TV's Orange & Blue plan is one of the most affordable ways to watch March Madness games. This plan includes TBS, TNT, TruTV, ESPN, and ESPN2 for $50 a month.
You can also sign up for Sling's Orange or Blue plans separately for $35 a month. They both include TNT and TBS. That said, ESPN networks are only on Sling Orange while TruTV is only on Sling Blue. This makes Blue the better option for men's games and Orange the better option for women's games.
Keep in mind, however, that none of Sling's plans include CBS. To get live CBS games, you can sign up for a Paramount Plus Premium subscription for $10 a month.
If you're willing to pay a bit more, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV both include all the channels you need to watch men's and women's March Madness games.
Hulu + Live TV costs $70 a month, while YouTube TV starts at $55 a month for your first three months, and then goes up to $65 a month.
March Madness 2022 brackets
The NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments each feature 68 teams in a single-loss format. Teams are seeded into four regions that decide where they play during the tournament.
For those planning to fill out their own tournament brackets, Insider sports reporter Tyler Lauletta has spotted five potential first-round upsets based on betting odds, and five common mistakes to avoid when building your bracket.
You can find printable brackets below:
NCAA
NCAA