The Best Way to Watch College Basketball Games Without Cable in 2024

If you want to watch college basketball, you have lots of options these days. Live TV streaming services make it easy to keep track of your favorite team. The Streamable has been tracking NCAA streaming options since 2017, and we’ve helped millions of people find the right provider. That means tracking every channel, every team, and every streaming provider. Don’t worry — we’ll walk you through everything you need to know.

The majority of major college basketball games will air on local networks or major cable channels, though some smaller conferences and games will air on college sports networks or Internet sports channels.

• Local Networks: CBS, FOX, & ABC
• Cable Sports Networks: ESPN, FS1, & USA Network
• Regional Sports Network: Bally Sports RSN, NBC Sports RSN, NESN, MSG, & SNY
• College Sports Networks: Big 10 Network, SEC Network, ACC Network, etc.
• Streaming Sports Networks: ESPN+, ESPN3, B1G+, SEC Network+

For maximum NCAA basketball coverage, we recommend DIRECTV STREAM as your TV solution. It will get you more channels than any other service.

How NCAA Basketball is broadcast

The NCAA basketball season begins November 6, 2023. As the season nears its end, we have Selection Sunday on March 17, 2024. The March Madness tournament begins with the First Four on March 19-20. The tournament continues through the Final Four (April 6) and the NCAA Championship Game (April 8, 2024). Each team will appear on a number of different channels throughout the season.

In most cases, a combination of CBS, ESPN, and your team’s conference channel will get you most of what you need during the regular season. When the tournament hits, you’ll need a wider array of channels like (channels TNT, tbs, trutv).

We’ve extensively tested all the live TV streaming services and we’ll outline which ones you might want to choose and why.

What Services Offer Live NCAA Games?

Every school is different. The major conferences get a lot of airtime on the big broadcasters, while smaller schools may be harder to watch. It’s important to choose a live TV streaming service with a wide range of channels.

NCAA Streaming Service Comparisons, Pros and Cons

DIRECTV STREAM for NCAA Basketball

When it comes to streaming, we believe DIRECTV STREAM does everything well. You have a huge channel list to choose from, there’s an unlimited DVR, and you can watch on lots of devices at once. It’s the simplest choice if you’re switching over from cable TV.

Important Included Channels: ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPNU, FS1, SEC Network, and truTV
Missing Channels: ACC Network Extra, Longhorn Network, and Pac-12 Network

PROS:

• Best channel lineup
• Unlimited DVR
• Stream on 20 simultaneous devices
• Free trial

CONS:

• Can be expensive
• May have more channels than you need

Sling TV for NCAA Basketball

We love Sling TV if you’re looking to save money. You can choose the package that’s right for you, so you don’t have to pay for a bunch of channels you won’t use. When we tested Sling TV, we found it was prone to occasional glitches, especially on DVR playback. We also found the user interface to be slower and less responsive than some other streamers. You may want the Sports Extra package to add the college-specific channels.

Important Included Channels: ABC, ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPNU, FS1, Longhorn Network, Pac-12 Network, and SEC Network
Missing Channels: CBS, CBS Sports Network and truTV

PROS:

• Least expensive option
• Flexible channel lineups
• 50% off your first month
• One of the only ways to get Pac-12 and Longhorn

CONS:

• No CBS, but you could grab a Paramount+ subscription to solve that
• Clunky UI
• No regional sports networks
• Limited DVR
• ABC not available in all areas

Fubo for NCAA Basketball

Fubo bills itself as a sports-lover’s paradise, and that’s especially true if you like international soccer. When it comes to the NCAA, you’ll get a wide range of regional sports channels, but the lack of TNT is unfortunate.

Important Included Channels: ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPNU, FS1, Pac-12 Network, and SEC Network
Missing Channels: TNT, ACC Network Extra, Longhorn Network, and truTV

PROS:

• Stream on 10 devices at once
• Offers Bally Sports Networks

CONS:

• Expensive
• DVR limited to 1,000 hours
• Free trial is only one day

Hulu Live TV for NCAA Basketball

Hulu Live TV has a lot to offer with a great channel lineup and free ESPN+ and Disney+. It’s hard to get more bang for your buck. It’s got nearly every channel you need to watch college basketball, so it’s a solid choice.

Important Included Channels: ABC, ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPNU, FS1, SEC Network, TNT, and truTV
Missing Channels: Longhorn Network and Pac-12 Network

PROS:

• Includes ESPN+ at no extra cost
• Unlimited DVR
• Hulu and Disney+ on-demand libraries are great bonuses

CONS:

• No Longhorn Network or Pac-12 Network

YouTube TV for NCAA Basketball

YouTube TV is a good all-around streaming option. It has lots of important channels, the user interface is the best in the live TV space, and the price is in line with its peers. We tested YouTube TV for several years and found it to be very user-friendly and reliable. You may also be frustrated by one-size-fits-all channel lineup, however. It’s somewhat all-or-nothing.

Important Included Channels: ABC, ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPNU, FS1, SEC Network, TNT, and truTV
Missing Channels: Longhorn Network and Pac-12 Network

PROS:

• Great UI
• Unlimited DVR
• Multiview feature

CONS:

• Channel package not as customizable as other services

Recap

If you’ve gotten this far, you can see that we’ve done extensive testing to find the best live TV streaming service for the NCAA games in 2024. If you’d like to save money, Sling TV seems like a slam dunk, though you’ll need Paramount+ to make up for the CBS shortfall.

But best thing to do before choosing is to check out your team’s broadcasting schedule. You can do that by looking at each team’s page in which we have collected everything you need to watch each of them:

College Basketball Teams

We picked the best live TV streaming services for many NCAA basketball teams. Be sure to check your the schedule for your favorite team before you subscribe.

How to Watch 2024 Men’s College Basketball Tourney

One of everyone’s favorite college basketball apps for the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament is NCAA March Madness Live. It lets you track your brackets, follow stats, scores, highlights, and stream all 67 March Madness games.

NCAA March Madness Live is a video streaming service that is a one-stop shop for all your men’s college basketball needs and is a must-have for anyone looking to stream the 2024 NCAA Tourney.

With March Madness Live, you can watch games airing on CBS on mobile or for three hours on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and other connected TV apps. To watch every game including those on TNT, TBS, and truTV, you will need to authenticate with your TV Everywhere credentials.

Every season the Final Four and Championship alternate between CBS and TBS. During the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament, the Final Four and Championship game will air on CBS.

If you don’t have a cable or Live TV Streaming package, you can sign-up for a free trial with a streamer like DIRECTV STREAM, and use your credentials to access the games.