March Madness 2026: free streams, how to watch college basketball, tournament schedule

The UConn Huskies' Braylon Mullins and Malachi Smith celebrating at March Madness 2026
(Image credit: Emilee Chinn via Getty Images)

The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, better known as March Madness, is a three-week frenzy of basketball that eclipses even the NBA – and we're now down to the last few games. This weekend sees the No.2-seeded UConn Huskies face the No.3-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini and the No.1-seeded Michigan Wolverines take on the No.1-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the semi-finals.

Follow our guide below for where to watch March Madness 2026 live streams from anywhere with a VPN.

How to watch March Madness 2026 online and free

UK: DAZN (FREE)
US: Sling
Australia: Kayo Sports (FREE trial)

Blocked? Watch your preferred March Madness stream with a VPN

You don't need to be crazy about basketball to catch the bug. Only the 68 best college programs in the US qualified for March Madness, which split them into four sections, each with its own No.1 seed. Two of those four slots had been occupied to the Duke Blue Devils and Florida Gators – however, the'yve already been eliminated.

If you have no skin in the game and aren't clued-up on college basketball, it's worth noting that the UConn Huskies are the most storied of the remaining contenders. They've won March Madness on six previous occasions, most recently in 2023 and 2024, while the Arizona Wildcats and Michigan Wolverines have a title apiece. The Illinois Fighting Illini are looking to make history with their first.

We'll show how to watch March Madness live streams from anywhere in the world. Scroll down for upcoming games.

Where can I watch March Madness 2026 free of charge?

Lucky basketball fans in the UK can watch March Madness games for free, courtesy of DAZN.

All you need to do is register an account.

Watch March Madness 2026 live from anywhere

Most March Madness live streams are location-sensitive, which means you won't be able to access your preferred coverage when travelling abroad. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a straightforward but powerful app that lets you alter your virtual location and thus unblock any March Madness stream – including the free coverage in the UK.

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How to use a VPN for any March Madness live stream

1. Sign up to the VPN of your choice. NordVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For March Madness, you may wish to choose the United Kingdom for DAZN.

3. Head over to DAZN on your browser or device and enjoy the free March Madness live stream.

Watch March Madness 2026 live in US

College basketball fans in the US can watch every March Madness game with a single subscription to Sling TV.

There are several plans to choose from, but the best option is a subscription to Sling Blue, which starts at $45.99/month – you'll get your first month half-price – and carries TBS and TruTV.

What's more, your Sling subscription will also unlock access to CBS' March Madness coverage, via March Madness Live.

Alternatively, Paramount+ and HBO Max are available as streaming alternatives that provide you access to CBS and TBS and TruTV's coverage respectively.

To access your usual streaming service from outside the US, you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed above.

Watch March Madness 2026 live in UK

As mentioned above, free March Madness coverage is available in the UK, via DAZN.

The streaming service usually requires a subscription, but it's taken its college basketball coverage out from behind the paywall.

Disney+ will also be showing the games with prices starting at £5.99 for their streaming service.

Outside the UK? Get NordVPN to access your usual March Madness streams.

Watch March Madness 2026 live in Australia

College basketball fans in Australia can watch select March Madness games on Kayo Sports

Kayo offers new customers a FREE 7-day trial to test the waters, after which it starts at AU$29.99 a month for the base Standard tier. For up to 4K video quality and simultaneous streaming on up to two devices, you'll need the Kayo Premium plan for AU$45.99 a month.

Subscribers can also stream the action via Foxtel Now by adding the Sports package ($30 a month).

Australian viewers travelling abroad can access their March Madness coverage using NordVPN.

March Madness 2026 schedule and dates

(All times BST)

Final Four Round
Saturday, 4th April
11.09pm – No.2 UConn Huskies vs vs No.3 Illinois Fighting Illini

Sunday, 5th April
1.09am – No.1 Michigan Wolverines vs No.1 Arizona Wildcats

March Madness Final
Monday, 6th April


Disclaimer

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example: a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad. Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

Aatif Sulleyman

Aatif is a freelance copywriter and journalist based in the UK. An avid armchair sports fan, he devours everything from football and Formula 1 to tennis, rugby and cricket. If you need to know where to watch the big game this weekend, Aatif can tell you what TV channel it's on and the exact start time (in eight different time zones). Elsewhere, Aatif has written about technology, science and politics for publications such as the The Independent, Trusted Reviews and Newsweek, but he focuses on streaming at Future, an arrangement that combines two of his greatest passions: sport and penny-pinching.

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