2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament will involve 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2025–26 season. The 87th edition of the tournament is scheduled to begin on March 17, 2026, and will conclude with the championship game on April 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

2026 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	2025–26
Teams	68
Finals site	Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, Indiana
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2025 2027»

Tournament procedure

Further information: NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament § Tournament format

Pending any changes, a total of 68 teams will enter the 2026 tournament. 31 automatic bids shall be awarded to each program that wins their conference's tournament. The remaining 37 bids are "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee on Selection Sunday, March 15. The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 68.

Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at large-teams) play in the First Four. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket.

2026 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues

Dayton

Buffalo

Greenville

Tampa

Oklahoma City

Philadelphia

Portland

San Diego

St. Louis

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2026 First Four (orange) and first and second rounds (green)

Chicago

Houston

San Jose

Washington, D.C.

Indianapolis

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2026 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2026 tournament:

First Four

• March 17 and 18
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and Second Rounds (Subregionals)

• March 19 and 21
  • KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York (Host: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
  • Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina (Host: Furman University)
  • Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Host: Saint Joseph's University)
  • Moda Center, Portland, Oregon (Hosts: Oregon State University)
• March 20 and 22
  • Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)
  • Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Big 12 Conference)
  • Viejas Arena, San Diego, California (Host: San Diego State University)
  • Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 26 and 28
  • South Regional
    • Toyota Center, Houston, Texas (Host: University of Houston)
  • West Regional
    • SAP Center, San Jose, California (Host: San Jose State University)
• March 27 and 29
  • Midwest Regional
    • United Center, Chicago, Illinois (Host: Big Ten Conference)
  • East Regional
    • Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University)

National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four)

• April 4 and 6
  • Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana (Host; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis)

Indianapolis will host the Final Four for the ninth time, having previously hosted in 2021.

Media coverage

Television

Main article: NCAA March Madness (TV program)

CBS Sports and TNT Sports have US television rights to the tournament. As part of a cycle that began in 2016, TBS will televise the 2026 Final Four and the National Championship Game.

Television channels

• Selection Show – CBS
• First Four – TruTV
• First and Second Rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV.
• Regional Semifinals and Finals – CBS and TBS
• National Semifinals (Final Four) and Championship – TBS

Radio

Westwood One will have exclusive coverage of the entire tournament.