When is Selection Sunday 2023? Show date, time, TV channel for NCAA Tournament bracket reveal
The biggest Sunday in sports this side of the Super Bowl is fast approaching.
With that comes the thrill of seeing your school placed in the NCAA tournament, the agony of their absence, and all the dismay that comes with whether they were seeded too high, too low, in the wrong region, or not at all. Yep, Selection Sunday – and the March Madness it’s heralding – is almost here.
The NCAA selection show has different meanings for fans of different teams. For teams like Kansas, Alabama and UCLA seeded at No. 1, it’s little more than seeing which region you’re ranked in and on your way to the Final Four. For other teams in the bubble — including surprising traditional powers in North Carolina and Michigan — the selection show takes on even greater significance.
Whatever the case, Selection Sunday serves as the essential television for fans of basketball teams across the country — even for those watchers who just want an early idea of how to fill in their bracket.
MORE: Watch NCAA Tournament Selection Show Live With fuboTV (Free Trial)
With that, The Sporting News has everything you need to know about Selection Sunday, including how to watch and all other information related to the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
When is Selection Sunday 2023?
- Date: Sunday March 12th
- Time: 6 p.m. ET
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show airs Sunday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. – or after the conclusion of the last conference tournament game. At that point, the selection committee will announce its 68-team field, which will of course include the first four teams who must earn the right to participate in the 64-team field.
What channel is the March Madness Selection Show on?
Selection Sunday will continue to air on CBS in 2023, although there are multiple ways to watch the Selection show off-wire. These include the NCAA March Madness Live app and CBS’ special streaming program Paramount+. Another option for cable cutters is fuboTV, which offers a free trial.
2023 NCAA tournament selection format
The 2023 NCAA tournament will again use a selection format that includes 32 automatic qualifiers and 36 general bidding, with an emphasis on shorter travel distances as the top-ranked teams are seeded and placed in their respective regions.
That’s a far cry from the 2021 tournament, which, being held entirely in the state of Indiana, eliminated such considerations and was replaced with the S-curve instead. The committee will also make its NET ranking system, launched in 2018, the primary sorting tool for seeding teams.
March Madness Bracket Predictions
Predicting the NCAA tournament field is a Herculean task (or a no-brainer, depending on who you ask). Separately, The Sporting News’ Bill Bender has once again taken up the challenge of predicting the 68-team field.
Below are his predicted top 16 teams along the 1, 2, 3, and 4 seed lines:
- 1 seed: Kansas, Houston, Alabama, UCLA
- 2 seeds: Purdue, Texas; Baylor, Arizona
- 3 seeds: Marquette, Gonzaga, Kansas, Xavier
- 4 seeds: UConn, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia
Here’s his latest full bracket prediction.
2023 NCAA Tournament Schedule
The 2023 NCAA tournament begins Tuesday, March 14 with the First Four and kicks off six straight days with college basketball.
The first round will then take place on Thursday, March 16th and Friday, March 17th. The second round will be played on Saturday 18th March and Sunday 19th March.
Teams will have the opportunity to rest and travel to their respective Regionals venues after the tournament’s opening weekend. The Sweet 16 takes place on March 23-24 and the Elite Eight on March 25-26.
After that, the remaining teams will have six days off before playing in the Final Four in Houston on Saturday, April 1st. The 2023 NCAA tournament concludes with the national championship game on Monday, April 3rd.
Below is the full schedule for the event.
| Round | Events |
| First Four | 14-15 March |
| round 1 | 16-17 March |
| round 2 | 18-19 March |
| sweet 16 | 23-24 March |
| Elite Eight | 25-26 March |
| last four | April 1st |
| National Championship | 3rd of April |
When is the First Four?
The 2023 NCAA tournament begins with the First Four, a play-in round that reduces the group from 68 teams to 64 teams. There will be four games in Dayton, Ohio – two on Tuesday and two on Wednesday. Entrants will be the four lowest seeded automatic qualifiers bidding for two 16-seeders and the four lowest seeded at large vying for two 11-seeders.
The winners of these games play on Thursday and Friday to ensure they have at least a day off before playing in the actual NCAA tournament.
- Date: 14-15 March
- Time: 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET
- TV channel: TruTV
- Live broadcast: NCAA March Madness Live
When is the Final Four?
The 2023 NCAA tournament concludes with the Final Four, which this season will be played at Houston’s NRG Stadium. The final four round will be played on Saturday April 1st before the national championship game on Monday April 3rd.
- Events: April 1st, 3rd
- Time: 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET for Final Four, 9 p.m. ET for Championship game
- TV channel: CBS
- Live broadcast: NCAA March Madness Live | Outstanding+ | fuboTV