The calendar is about to flip to March, meaning college basketball madness is right around the corner.
The 2025 men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments are just weeks away from tipping off. Over 130 combined men’s and women’s squads will get the chance to go dancing and compete for college basketball glory.
Last year’s March Madness action saw the UConn Huskies pull off a historic repeat on the men’s side and the South Carolina Gamecocks reclaim the women’s national title with a perfect season. So, which teams will be the last to cut down the nets in 2025?
From Selection Sunday through the national championships, here’s everything to know about the March Madness schedule:
When is Selection Sunday for March Madness 2025?
The men's and women's NCAA Tournament brackets will be unveiled on Sunday, March 16. The men's bracket will be released first, starting at 6 p.m. ET on CBS, followed by the women's bracket starting at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
How many teams make March Madness?
Both NCAA Tournaments feature 68-team fields.
How many automatic, at-large bids are there in March Madness?
Each NCAA Tournament has 32 automatic bids, which are awarded to conference tournament champions, and 36 at-large bids.
When does March Madness 2025 start?
The men's tournament gets underway first with the First Four from March 18-19. The women's First Four runs from March 19-20.
What is the March Madness 2025 schedule?
Here's a full look at the NCAA Tournament schedules leading up to the Final Four:
Men's
- First Four: March 18-19
- First round: March 20-21
- Second round: March 22-23
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
Women's
- First Four: March 19-20
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-31
What are the March Madness 2025 locations?
The host sites for the women's tournament aren't completely set just yet. That's because the top 16 seeds in the tournament serve as hosts for games in the First Four, first round and second round. There are two host sites for Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.
Here are the men's host sites from the First Four to the Elite Eight:
First Four
- UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
First and second rounds
- Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky
- Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island
- Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle
- Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas
- Rocket Arena in Cleveland
- Ball Arena in Denver
- Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee
- Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina
Sweet 16 and Elite Eight
- East Regional: Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
- West Regional: Chase Center in San Francisco
- South Regional: State Farm Arena in Atlanta
- Midwest Regional: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
When and where is the Final Four 2025?
The women's Final Four will be played on Friday, April 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, will host the men's Final Four on Saturday, April 5.
Tampa will be hosting the women's Final Four for a record fourth time, last doing so in 2019. San Antonio has hosted four previous men's Final Fours, most recently in 2018.
When is the NCAA basketball championship 2025?
The women's national champion will be crowned on Sunday, April 6 at Amalie Arena before the college hoops season closes out with the men's national title game on April 7 at the Alamodome.
