The best time of the year for college basketball is almost here! March Madness and the NCAA Tournament are just around the corner which means we’re approaching the "One Shining Moment" for one team and heartbreak for the rest.
The men’s and women’s tournaments as well as the NIT will tip off in mid-March, after the conclusion of the conference tournaments. Selection Sunday for the both the men’s and women’s tournaments is on March 16 with the tournament tipping off later in the week.
Following that, the NIT will compile its field, which tips off the same week as the NCAA Tournament.
When does the NCAA Tournament begin?
Both the men’s and women’s tournaments tip off on March 18, beginning with the play-in games.
In 2011, the men’s tournament adopted the play-in model. Doing that expanded the field to 68 teams from 64 and granted eight teams a play-in opportunity to get into the tournament. The First Four games are hosted at UD Arena in Dayton.
Dayton has been the site of the NCAA tournament first four games since the expansion in 2011 and Dayton has been part of the NCAA tournament since 2011. In the women’s tournament, the field expanded to 68 in 2021.
We’ve talked a little bit about it, but Selection Sunday is really the unofficial start to the NCAA tournament. It’s been the pinnacle of March Madness. While the conference champions get an automatic bid to the tournament, nobody knows what their seed is or who they’ll face in the first round and the teams in their region until March Madness.
I’m sure you’ve seen Joe Lunardi release his bracketology over the last month of the season, but those are simply predictions and not official. Where teams are seeded on Selection Sunday is what they’re seeded for the tournament.
Tipoff date & first round schedule for the men's NCAA Tournament
After the First Four games, once the field is dwindled down to 64 teams, the NCAA tournament will officially begin on Thursday, March 20. Games will begin at noon EST and last all day. The first round games are split between two days.
The next round of first round games will tip off on Friday, March 21, and follow the same schedule as Thursday. The second round games will be played Saturday and Sunday, and the game times will be the same as the first round games.
After the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, there’s a break during the week; the tournament resumes on Thursday, March 27, for the Sweet 16 games and goes through Friday; and the Elite Eight games start on Saturday and go through Sunday.
The Final Four will be Saturday, April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio with the National Championship game on Monday night, also in San Antonio.
To watch the men’s tournament this year, you can catch it on CBS, TruTV, TNT and TBS. There are also streaming options on MAX.
Tipoff Date & first round schedule for the Women's NCAA Tournament
The women’s NCAA tournament is a bit different than the men’s tournament. While they’ll play on a schedule that staggers the men’s tournament, the top 16 seeds will host first and second round games. The first round games are Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22, with the second round games following on Sunday, March 23, and Monday, March 24.
The idea is that most women’s NCAA tournament events are hosted on campus sites to encourage fan attendance. After the first two rounds, the tournament then goes to neutral sites of the Sweet 16 through the rest of the tournament.
The Sweet 16 will be March 28 and March 29 with the Elite Eight on March 30 and March 31. The Final Four will be on April 4 and the National championship will be April 6.
The Women’s NCAA Tournament will air on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPNEWS and ESPNU.
Start date for the NIT Tournament
The NIT, though an NCAA sanctioned, postseason tournament, isn’t quite the same as the NCAA Tournament. Think of it like the tournament for the teams that didn’t get into the NCAA Tournament.
The NIT is a 32-team playoff. How seeding works is the top 16 teams (seeded Nos. 1-4) will host a first round game. New this year, the NIT will give 16 “exempt” bids to the top teams. Two bids will go to the top two teams in both the ACC and SEC that aren’t selected to the NCAA Tournament.
The top team not selected to the NCAA Tournament (based on KenPom rankings) will also receive an exempt bid. The remaining exempt teams will be based on several ratings including ESPN Basketball Power Index, KenPom, Strength of Record and a few others.
The NIT will officially tip off on March 18 with the first round games. All games will be broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPNU with the semifinal games on ESPN and ESPN2 and the championship game on ESPN.
Key dates for the NCAA Tournament & NIT
Here are some key dates to remember ahead of the March Madness tipping off. Selection Sunday is on March 16 and reveals the entire field of 68. It will seed every team No. 1-16 with eight teams playing in the First Four games.
Men’s Tournament
- First Four: March 18-19
- First and Second Rounds: March 20-23
- Sweet 16 and Elite Eight: March 27-30
- Final Four and National Championship: April 5 and 7
Women's Tournament
- First Four: March 9-10
- First and Second Rounds: March 21-24
- Sweet 16 and Elite Eight: March 28-31
- Final Four and National Championship: Apr. 4 and 6
NIT Tournament
- First and Second Rounds: March 18-23
- Quarterfinals: March 25-26
- Semifinals: Apr. 1
- NIT Championship: Apr. 3
While the Men’s Tournament is going on, the Women’s Tournament and NIT will take place as well. The Women’s National championship will take place on April 6 in Tampa, FL and the NIT championship will be April 3 in Indianapolis.