While there are plenty of big-time sporting events, few capture the public’s imagination like March Madness. People love to root for an underdog, and the annual NCAA basketball tournament caters to that reality; in a single-elimination format, a single bad day or lucky bounce can catapult a Cinderella into the national spotlight.
But before high drama can get underway, we need to take care of some logistical details. That’s exactly what Selection Sunday will provide. Over the course of the evening, we’ll wrap up the final conference tournaments, learn who did and did not make it into the Big Dance and, finally, draw up the bracket that will dominate the sporting world for the immediate future.
What to Know
- Selection Sunday will set the field for the 2025 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
- 68 teams will enter the bracket, with single-elimination games narrowing things down until a winner is crowned on April 7 in San Antonio, Texas.
- The selection show begins at 6 p.m. ET. It airs on CBS and is will also stream on Paramount+ (and other live streaming services that include CBS).
03:06 PM EDT Few things capture the attention of sports fans like March Madness, but when do the games actually begin?
After the final few conference tournaments wrap up, the 2025 bracket will be released on Sunday evening (hence the title of “Selection Sunday”). After that, we move on to the on-court action.
The First Four, four games featuring “the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams,” starts things off on March 18 and 19. Those games will take place in Dayton, Ohio, with the winners slotting into the proper 64-team field.
