March Madness BASKETBALL to begin live on ESPN

The race to College Basketball’s National Championship begins this week on ESPN with the start of March Madness.

The best in the NCAA will battle it out to be crowned Men’s and Women’s College Basketball champions and ESPN will have every moment covered.

March Madness is the annual Men’s and Women’s College Basketball single elimination tournament that sees 68 teams vying for the NCAA crown. The tournament is known for its heart stopping action and heartbreaking moments, with a single defeat ending your championship dreams.

Gonzaga are favourites to take out the Men’s 2022 NCAA Championship, but they will be closely followed by Kentucky, Arizona and Kansas, with South Carolina expected to lead the pack in the Women’s side of the tournament along with Stanford.

ESPN’s March Madness coverage begins 9.30am AEDT Wednesday when Texas Southern meet Texas A&M in the Men’s First Four stage of the competition.

That will be immediately followed by a further First Four showdown, as Indiana and Wyoming meet at 12pm AEDT, with both games live on ESPN.

Thursday will have the remaining two First Four matches, with Bryant taking on Wright State at 9.30am AEDT and Notre Dame meeting Rutgers at 12pm AEDT.

ESPN will then provide live whip-around coverage as the tournament begins its First Round phase, showcasing over 12 hours of live basketball from 3am AEDT to 3pm AEDT on ESPN, on both Friday March 18 and Saturday March 19.

This is the first look at favourites Gonzaga and their fellow highly rated contenders Arizona, Kansas, Baylor, Tennessee and Villanova in action.

The Women’s first four stage of the competition also begins on Friday March 18, with two live matches from 10am AEDT on ESPN2.

Saturday March 19 is when the First Round in the Women’s championship gets underway, with four live games back to back on ESPN2, beginning at 2am AEDT.

Sunday March 20 sees live Men’s second round matchups move to ESPN2, with another 12-hour dose of extended live coverage.

Featured matches from the Men’s and Women’s competitions will be re-aired in full throughout primetime to ensure hoops fans can catchup on all the action that they may have missed across each day of the tournament.

ESPN will also have live coverage across the Men’s and Women’s Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four and NCAA Championship games exclusively.

All live games and individual re-airs for the Men’s, Women’s and NIT tournaments will be available to watch through the ESPN App also.*

NCAA March Madness Opening Week on ESPN
 
Wednesday March 16
9.30am AEDT, Men’s First Four – Texas Southern vs Texas A&M, ESPN
12pm AEDT, Men’s First Four – Indiana vs Wyoming, ESPN
 
Thursday March 17
9.30am AEDT, Men’s First Four – Bryant vs Wright State, ESPN
12pm AEDT, Men’s First Four- Notre Dame vs Rutgers, ESPN
 
Friday March 18
3am AEDT-3pm AEDT, Men’s First Round Whiparound Coverage, ESPN
10am AEDT, Women’s First Four – Mount St Mary’s vs Longwood, ESPN2
12pm AEDT, Women’s First Four – Florida State vs Missouri State, ESPN2
 
Saturday March 19
2.30am AEDT, Women’s First Round – South Florida vs Miamia, ESPN2
3am AEDT-3pm AEDT, Men’s First Round Whiparound Coverage, ESPN
4.30am AEDT, Women’s First Round – South Dakota vs Ole Miss, ESPN2
7am AEDT, Women’s First Round – Hawai’i vs Baylor, ESPN2
9am AEDT, Women’s First Round – Albany vs Louisville, ESPN2
 
Sunday March 20
3am AEDT-3pm AEDT, Men’s Second Round Whiparound Coverage, ESPN2

*Streaming functionality on the ESPN App and ESPN.com.au is available to ESPN channel subscribers via Foxtel, Fetch TV and SKY NZ who enter their platform credentials. (Note: Kayo subscribers cannot stream via the ESPN App or ESPN.com.au).  Download the ESPN App from the Apple and Android app stores.

ESPN and ESPN2 linear channels are available via Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and SKY NZ.