If you are a college basketball fan, you can feel it coming.
The regular season is winding down. Conference tournaments are heating up. And everywhere you look, people are starting to talk about brackets.
Selection Sunday for the 2026 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will take place on Sunday, March 15, when the 68-team brackets are finally revealed. It is the moment the entire college basketball world waits for. Fans gather around the television, players sit together in locker rooms and watch parties, and bubble teams hold their breath hoping to hear their name called.
Once the bracket is announced, the madness officially begins.
Selection Sunday is the moment everything changes
The men’s bracket will be revealed at 6 p.m. ET on CBS. Just two hours later, the women’s bracket will be announced at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
For some teams, the night is a celebration. They already know they are in the tournament and are simply waiting to find out where they will play and who they will face.
For others, it is pure anxiety.
Bubble teams gather together and hope the selection committee believes their resume is strong enough. Every year there are cheers, tears, and a few surprised reactions when the final spots in the bracket are announced.
The madness begins in Dayton
The first games of the tournament will once again take place in Dayton, Ohio.
The First Four is scheduled for March 17 and March 18 at UD Arena. These games determine the final four teams that will enter the full bracket and officially launch the tournament.
From there, the opening weekend of March Madness takes over the sports world.
The first round will be played March 19 and March 20, followed by the second round on March 21 and March 22. In just four days, the field will shrink dramatically as teams fight to survive and advance.
This is also the stretch where Cinderella stories are born and brackets everywhere start falling apart.
The tournament moves to the regionals
Once the first two rounds are complete, only 16 teams remain.
The Sweet 16 will take place March 26 and March 27, followed by the Elite Eight on March 28 and March 29. These games determine which four teams will reach the Final Four.
This year’s regional rounds will be held in four cities across the country.
Houston will host the South Regional.
San Jose will host the West Regional.
Chicago will host the Midwest Regional.
Washington, D.C. will host the East Regional.
Each site will produce one Final Four team.
Indianapolis will host the Final Four
The final weekend of the men’s tournament will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Final Four games are scheduled for Saturday, April 4. Two teams will win those games and advance to the national championship game on Monday, April 6.
By the time that final game tips off, the tournament will have produced weeks of unforgettable moments, dramatic finishes, and stories that fans will talk about for years.
The women’s tournament will build toward Phoenix
The women’s NCAA Tournament follows a similar schedule, with its bracket also revealed on Selection Sunday.
The First Four games will be played March 18 and March 19. The first round follows on March 20 and March 21, with the second round scheduled for March 22 and March 23.
The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be played in Fort Worth and Sacramento before the tournament heads to Phoenix.
The women’s Final Four will take place April 3, and the national championship game will be played April 5.
Why March Madness never disappoints
Every year, the NCAA Tournament reminds fans why it is one of the best events in sports.
A mid-major school shocks a powerhouse program.
A last-second shot sends a team into the next round.
A program suddenly captures the attention of the entire country.
No matter how many times you watch it, the tournament always seems to deliver something unforgettable.
And in just a few days, it will begin all over again.