The dance begins! See how to stream the NCAA Men’s First Four
The dance begins! See how to stream the NCAA Men’s First Four
There are still eight teams trying to play their way into the Round of 64 at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, but which four will make it?
The tournament begins! The 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four starts on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:40 p.m. ET, with all games appearing on truTV. At the conclusion of the round, the final 64 Men’s March Madness will be chosen, and the main tournament will begin! Big-name schools like Texas and NC State are participating in the play-in, as are Cinderella candidates like UMBC and Prairie View. Stream each game of the First Four with a one or three-day pass to Sling TV.
How to watch the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four
- When: Starting Tuesday, March 17 at 6:40 p.m. ET
- TV: truTV
- Stream: Watch with a one or three-day pass to Sling TV.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four
What is the schedule of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four games?
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, March 17 | 6:40 p.m. | No. 16 UMBC vs. No. 16 Howard | truTV |
| 9:15 p.m.* | No. 11 Texas vs. No. 11 NC State | truTV | |
| Wednesday, March 18 | 6:40 p.m. | No. 16 Prairie View vs. No. 16 Lehigh | truTV |
| 9:15 p.m.* | No. 11 Miami (OH) vs. No. 11 SMU | truTV |
{*} indicates approximate start time
Why watch the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four on Sling TV?
Sling TV has long been one of our top choices for watching college basketball, thanks to its everyday low price and mix of channels — especially in larger markets. At just $46 per month, you can sign up for either the Sling Orange or Blue base plans, depending on which channel lineup makes the most sense for your viewing needs. In this case, Sling Orange would be your best bet to watch the First Four, since it is airing on truTV. Of course, you could always get Sling Orange and Sling Blue for just $61 monthly and have access to all of the streamer’s base package channels.
However, customers who don’t need a full month of Sling service can sign up to watch via Sling’s new Passes. Sling’s Day Pass will allow you to sign up for its Orange plan for one day for just $5. That means you can pay just $5 to watch one day of the First Four with Sling TV, or $10 to watch all four games, which is far less than you’ll be asked to pay at other streaming services. That lower price and heightened flexibility are why we recommend Sling TV for watching the biggest games of the 2025-26 men’s and women’s college basketball seasons.
Keep in mind that Sling will not provide access to every game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, as the live TV streaming service doesn’t carry CBS. However, there is an easy way to stack streamers to see all of the games and still pay less than you would for a live streamer that carries all of the channels. Just add on a subscription to Paramount+’s Premium tier to your Sling plan, and you are all set.
Sling TV
Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.
You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.
Can you stream the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four for free?
If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV’s trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.
The YouTube TV trial is a bit more difficult to nail down. The world’s largest live streamer is currently advertising a 21-day free trial, but our investigating indicates that it is not available to all users, and that some consumers only get an offer of two free days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process. But for three free weeks of service, it is probably worth jumping through a few hoops.
So, if you are looking to watch the game and as much of the men’s and women’s tournaments for free as possible, I would recommend giving YouTube a shot, and see if you can capitalize on its three-week free trial offer.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| truTV | + $24 | - | + $61 | - | - | - | + $6 | ✓ | ✓ | |
What are all the services you can use to watch the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four?
Fortunately for sports fans, there are numerous different streaming services that will stream the game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed Sling TV and the free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.
In addition to the live TV streaming options, since the game is being broadcast on a channel owned (for now) by Warner Bros. Discovery, there is one more choice. HBO Max’s ad-free plans can be used to stream all March Madness games appearing on TNT, TBS, and truTV, starting at $18.49 per month.
HBO Max
HBO Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library and exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Within HBO Max, B/R Sports allows users to watch live NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.
How to watch 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Four as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action no matter where you are in the world with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming service like Sling TV in order to stream the games with a VPN.
NordVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get two full years of protection for just $3.59 per month — plus you’ll get three extra months FREE. A high-speed VPN with best-in-class security that can be used on up to 10 devices at once — what more could you ask for? Simply sign up, install the software on your device of choice, and start streaming just as you would back home. It couldn’t be easier!
While NordVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.
- Best Features: ExpressVPN | Starting at $5 per month
- Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
- Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available