Watch the action begin with Women’s March Madness First Four!
Watch the action begin with Women’s March Madness First Four!
The play-in tournament will see four teams continue to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, and four sent home to wait for next year.
The best women’s college basketball teams from around the country are putting on their dancing shoes, but the final field of 64 teams for the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament isn’t quite set. The First Four round will determine which teams get to continue on in the tournament and which will go home. Women’s First Four games start on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and viewers can stream all four games for a total of $10 with a subscription to Sling TV.
How to watch 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four
- When: Starts Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN2
- Stream: Watch for $10 with a three-day pass to Sling TV.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four
What is the schedule of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four games?
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, March 18 | 7 p.m. | No. 11 Richmond vs. No. 11 Nebraska | ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | No. 16 SFA vs. No. 16 Missouri State | ESPN2 | |
| Thursday, March 19 | 7 p.m. | No. 16 Samford vs. No. 16 Southern U. | ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | No. 10 Arizona State vs. No. 10 Virginia | ESPN2 |
Why do we recommend watching the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four games on Sling TV?
Sling TV is the ideal choice for watching the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four. As all four games are on ESPN2, viewers can watch them with Sling’s Orange package, which costs just $46 per month if you want sustained access to the platform. Sling Orange includes 30+ channels, including TNT and TBS if you want to watch contests from the Men’s March Madness tournament as well.
If you don’t need month-to-month access to Sling TV, you can also opt to purchase a Pass to watch the First Four. These products unlock short-term subscriptions to Sling Orange, allowing viewers to sign up for $5 for one day, $10 for three days, or $15 for one week of service. These Passes can be used to enjoy everything on ESPN or ESPN2 any time a fan wants, unlocking a kind of freedom never enjoyed before.
Either way, you’ll be able to stream the First Four at a low price with Sling TV, and continue to watch the Women’s Basketball Tournament on the service as well!
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 watch the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four for free?
There are some services that carry programming from ESPN2 and offer free trials.
DIRECTV carries the channel in its Signature packages and MySports Genre Pack, and comes with a five-day free trial for new subscribers.
Hulu + Live TV offers a three-day free trial, after which plans with the Disney Bundle cost $90 per month.
Fubo has a free trial of between one and seven days, then costs $46 for one month of the Fubo Sports plan. The trial can vary in length based on the time of month and other variables.
YouTube TV also has a free trial that can change in duration, varying from two to 21 days based on numerous factors. Once the trial ends, its core plan costs $83 per month.
What are all the services you can use to watch the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four?
Fans can stream the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four on DIRECTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. We like Sling TV the best of these various choices, as we described above, since you can choose to watch the games for as little as $10.
All live events from ESPN2 are available to stream with a subscription to ESPN Unlimited, which costs $30 per month.
| 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 | ||
| ESPN2 | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
How to watch 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First Four from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the 2026 NCAA Women’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