The bracket is set, and the madness will soon begin. The NCAA men's college basketball tournament -- dubbed March Madness for the unpredictability that gives us small school Cinderella runs and bracket-busting buzzer beaters -- starts tomorrow with the first play-in games. Hoops fans will need to wait until Thursday, however, for the first full day of first-round games.

Defending champion UConn enters the tournament as the top overall seed. Joining the Huskies on the top line are Houston, Purdue and North Carolina, each of which earned a No. 1 seed despite losing in their conference tournament. Iowa State, Arizona, Marquette and Tennessee earned No. 2 seeds.

Here's everything you need to know to get ready for March Madness, from the first round to the Final Four and the National Championship game. The short of it is you need only two apps for $22 combined to stream every game of the tournament.

Eyeing a repeat championship, Tristen Newton and the UConn Huskies enter the 2024 NCAA tournament as No.1 seed in the East Region. Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images When does March Madness start?

Technically, the tournament gets underway on Tuesday, March 19, but the first full day of games tips off on Thursday, March 21. 

With 68 teams invited to the big dance, the NCCA holds four play-in games to get the field down to 64, after which point the math works out to have four regional tournaments of 16 teams each. The winners of the four regional tournaments then advance to the Final Four, held this year at State Farm Stadium (home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals) in Glendale, Arizona.

March Madness begins on Tuesday with two play-in games followed by two more play-in games the next night. After these First Four games, the field of 64 is set and the tournament begins in earnest on Thursday with a full slate of games that will take place all afternoon and into the night with at least a few moments of madness practically guaranteed.

What is the March Madness tournament schedule?

Here's the schedule, round by round:

First Four: March 19 to 20First round: March 21 to 22Second round: March 23 to 24Sweet 16: March 28 to 29Elite Eight: March 30 to 31Final Four: Saturday, April 6NCAA championship game: Monday, April 8 What does the March Madness bracket look like?

You can check out the official bracket to see all the matchups and attempt to identify potential upsets and which teams will make it to the Final Four.

The bracket 🙌 pic.twitter.com/X5pG3A8PlI— NCAA March Madness () March 17, 2024
Which are the top teams in college basketball this year?

Looking for help in filling out your bracket? I can offer no such assistance for a single-elimination tournament as wild and unpredictable as March Madness. 

What I can tell you is that online wagering site FanDuel currently lists defending champion UConn as the favorite, followed by Houston and Purdue. In the next tier are Arizona, North Carolina and Tennessee. Rounding out the top 10 betting favorites are Auburn, Creighton, Marquette and Iowa State.

How can I watch or stream March Madness?

As in past years, the tournament will be shown across four channels: CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Yep, the time has come again to find TruTV on your dial.

You can watch these channels with a cable subscription or a live TV streaming service, but the most affordable option is signing up for a pair of streaming services for a month: Max and Paramount Plus with Showtime. If you have the cheaper Paramount Plus Essential plan, you won't be able to watch March Madness unless you step up to the pricier option. 

That said, for just $22, you can watch every March Madness game live. With the $10-a-month Max streaming service, you can watch the games broadcast on TBS, TNT and TruTV. And with the $12-per-month Paramount Plus with Showtime plan, you'll be able to watch the CBS games. 

You'll have to juggle multiple apps, of course, but this is the cheapest ways to catch all the action. 

Which devices can I use to watch March Madness?

You'll find an app for each service to watch on an iPhone or Android phone as well as an iPad, Android tablet or Amazon Fire tablet. Max and Paramount Plus are also available on mainstream streaming platforms including Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Google Chromecast as well as smart TVs from LG, Samsung and Vizio. Both services are also accessible through Xbox and PlayStation game consoles.

For more specifics, check out the full list of supported devices for Max and Paramount Plus.

Can I stream March Madness for free?

Go to the NCAA's March Madness Live site or use its March Madness Live app and you'll be able to watch games for free. You can watch March Madness Live on iOS and Android devices along with Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Xbox One. The app also supports AirPlay and Chromecast.

As with most things that are free, there's a catch. Without proving you're a pay TV subscriber, you get only a 3-hour preview, after which point you'll need to log in to continue watching.

What's the best live TV streaming service for March Madness?

Three of the five live TV streaming services offer the four channels needed to watch every tournament game, but keep in mind that not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries CBS in your area. 

We recommend YouTube TV to college basketball fans for its relatively low monthly charge and multi-view capability that lets you watch multiple games at once. It's also one of the three services that offers all four channels needed to watch every game. At $73 per month, however, it's significantly pricier than getting Max and Paramount Plus with Showtime. 

Sling TV lacks CBS but is a good, low-cost option if you don't need to watch every game of the tournament but want to be sure you can watch the Final Four and national championship game. At $40 per month, however, it costs nearly twice as much as it would to sign up for a month of Max and Paramount Plus with Showtime that would let you watch every game.

Hulu with Live TV and DirecTV Stream have every channel needed as well, but both are pricier than YouTube TV and lack features like multi-view. Fubo offers multi-view but doesn't offer the Turner networks (TNT, TBS and TruTV), making it a poor choice for March Madness.

All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.