March Madness live stream 2023: how to watch NCAA basketball – Sweet 16, full TV schedule

By Dan Sung, Tom Wiggins
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The best ways to watch March Madness 2023

Watch March Madness live stream
(Image credit: Getty Images / C. Morgan Engel )
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Watch March Madness live stream 2023

March Madness is available for basketball fans in the USA to watch on TruTV, TBS, TNT and CBS. You can also watch a March Madness live stream on ESPN Player and BT Sport in the UK, and Kayo Sports in Australia. Use a VPN to watch your usual stream from anywhere, if you happen to be abroad. Full details on how to watch March Madness online and on TV just below.

March Madness Sweet 16 games (23rd-24th March)

This is the Sweet 16 TV schedule for March Madness 2023. All game times are in ET. (Add four hours for GMT)

Thursday 23rd March

  • No. 3 Kansas St. vs No. 7 Michigan State | 6:30 p.m. | TBS 
  • No. 4 UConn vs No. 8 Arkansas | 7.15 p.m. | CBS / Paramount +
  • No. 4 Tennessee vs No. 9 Florida Atlantic | 9.00 p.m. | TBS
  • No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Gonzaga| 9:45 p.m. | CBS / Paramount +

Friday 24th March

  • No.1 Alabama vs No.5 San Diego St. | 6:30 p.m. |TBS 
  • No. 1 Houston vs No. 5 Miami | 7:15 p.m | CBS / Paramount +
  • No. 6 Creighton vs No.15 Princeton| 9:00 p.m. | TBS
  • No. 2 Texas vs No. 3 Xavier | 9:45 p.m. | CBS / Paramount +

Watch March Madness live stream: tournament preview

It's the second week of March Madness and things are about to get serious. The 72 teams that started their quest for an NCAA National Championship are now down to a Sweet 16 for Thursday and Friday with the regional finals to follow at the weekend.

For now, it's a moment to catch our collective breath after a high octane first few rounds that have provided plenty of upsets.

Virginia were on the end of, what for the Cavaliers, was a nasty surprise when they were dumped out in the First Round by No.13 Furman. The Paladins picked up a loose pass almost at the death and sunk a three-pointer to take the win at 68-67. That's as far as that Cinderella story got, however, with San Diego State making short work of the winners in the Second Round.

It was then over to the Razorbacks to spring a surprise when they sent the defending champions and No.1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks packing after some steady free-throwing late on from Ricky Council. Their prize is a date with the UConn Huskies.

Heading into the Sweet 16, it's UCLA vs Gonzaga and Texas vs Xavier that look like the tight ones. No.1 seeds Houston and Alabama will be hoping to avoid becoming the victims of the next shock upsets as they face fifth-seeded opposition.

As ever, the NCAA season comes to an end with this frantic tournament, with colleges from across the United States competing over seven rounds for a chance to play in the National Championship game in Houston, Texas on 3rd April.

To keep track of the Madness, you can download a printable March Madness bracket from the NCAA website (opens in new tab). Here's how to watch every NCAA March Madness game in the US, UK, Australia and beyond... 

US: Watch March Madness without cable

American coverage of March Madness is split across four different cable channels: TruTV, TBS, TNT and CBS. Those without cable can use a cord-cutting service, such as Sling.

A Sling Blue subscription has you covered for the first three of those channels and you can pick up the CBS games with the Paramount Plus streaming services. That costs just $20 for your first month. It's then $40 for Sling thereafter but you can cancel at any time. The first 30 days of Paramount Plus is free (use code PICARD until 30th April). Plans then start at $4.99/month.

Cheapest March Madness deal

Watch March Madness on Sling for $20 (opens in new tab)

Watch March Madness on Sling for $20 (opens in new tab)
Sling offers a whole range of channels for those without cable, including TBS, TNT and TruTV on its Sling Blue package. It's $40 per month but you can get your first month halfprice. To add the CBS games for free, subscribe to Paramount Plus with its 30-day free trial. Use the code 'PICARD'. No long contracts. Cancel any time.

View Deal (opens in new tab)

Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and DirecTV are three other options which include all the required cable channels, including CBS, but they are much pricier options.

Hulu + Live TV costs $69.99/month, while YouTube TV has an offer that means you’ll pay $54.99/month for the first three months and $64.99 thereafter, although you can cancel both at any time.

Watch March Madness live stream from anywhere

You won't be able to watch your regular March Madness live stream while traveling abroad. The streaming service will spot that you're in a foreign country and block you. You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though.

It's a straightforward piece of software which sets your device to appear as if it's in the right country, allowing you to watch any 2023 March Madness live stream from anywhere in the world.

We rate ExpressVPN as the best VPN for March Madness. It offers a 30-day guarantee for all your money back if you're not happy with the service.

Try ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days (opens in new tab)

Try ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days (opens in new tab)
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee with its VPN service. You can use it to watch the Copa del Rey live streams on your mobile, tablet, laptop, TV, games console and more. There's 24/7 customer support and three months free when you sign-up. Try it – it's easier than you think.

For the best value, try the 12-month subscription (opens in new tab). (opens in new tab)

View Deal (opens in new tab)

How to use a VPN for March Madness live stream

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN (opens in new tab) is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For March Madness, you may wish to choose 'US' for Sling.

3. Then head over to Sling (opens in new tab) on your browser or device and enjoy the free March Madness live stream!

UK: Watch March Madness live stream

ESPN Player is the best place to watch March Madness in the UK and Ireland, with every single game available to watch live for just £9.99. That gets you access for a whole month, which will have you covered from the First Four, starting on 14th March, to the NCAA men's championship game on 3rd April.

ESPN Player is only available via the web, Apple and Android phones and tablets, and Android TV, but it does support Google Cast and Apple AirPlay, so you can beam it from your mobile device to a compatible TV or streamer.

Stuck outside Blighty at the moment? Don't forget that you can use a VPN (opens in new tab) to access your usual live stream without being blocked.

ESPN Player – catch every single game for £10 ESPN Player streams over 10,000 live sports events a year, including the whole of March Madness, plus college football, X Games, and Major League Lacrosse. It also includes access to award-winning sports films such as OJ: Made in America and ESPN's excellent 30 for 30 series. (opens in new tab)

ESPN Player – catch every single game for £10
ESPN Player streams over 10,000 live sports events a year, including the whole of March Madness, plus college football, X Games, and Major League Lacrosse. It also includes access to award-winning sports films such as OJ: Made in America and ESPN's excellent 30 for 30 series.

View Deal (opens in new tab)

BT Sport will also show March Madness live, with coverage split between BT Sport 3 and BT Sport 4. The first games to be shown will be the First Four, which start on Tuesday 14th March at 10:30pm.  

Not a BT subscriber? Try BT Sport Monthly Pass (opens in new tab). For £30 a month, the monthly pass lets you watch March Madness live online or via an app, without tying you into a lengthy contract.

Watch March Madness 2023 in Australia

Hoops fans in Oz can catch the NCAA college basketball on Foxtel. Another – cheaper – option is to stream Foxtel via Kayo (opens in new tab), Australia's top sports streaming service.

Kayo is offers new subscribers a 7-day free trial (opens in new tab). After that, membership costs from $25 a month.

Kayo is only available within Australia but you can access your Kayo account from overseas using a VPN (opens in new tab). Details just above.

March Madness 2023 schedule

NCAA men's basketball schedule

March 14-15: First Four
March 16-17: First Round
March 18-19: Second Round
March 23-24: Sweet Sixteen
March 25-26: Elite Eight
April 1: Final Four
April 3: National Championship

NCAA women's basketball schedule

March 15-16: First Four
March 17-18: First Round
March 19-20: Second Round
March 24-25: Sweet Sixteen
March 26-27: Elite Eight
March 31: Final Four
April 2: National Championship

You can download a printable bracket for the men's tournament from the NCAA website here (opens in new tab).

Dan Sung
Dan Sung

Dan is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi? and his job is with product reviews as well as news, feature and advice articles too. He works across both the hi-fi and AV parts of the site and magazine and has a particular interest in home cinema. Dan joined What Hi-Fi? in 2019 and has worked in tech journalism for over a decade, writing for Tech Digest, Pocket-lint, MSN Tech and Wareable as well as freelancing for T3, Metro and the Independent. Dan has a keen interest in playing and watching football. He has also written about it for the Observer and FourFourTwo and ghost authored John Toshack's autobiography, Toshack's Way.