How to watch Xavier vs. Texas NCAA Tournament First Four Game on March 19, 2025
The final spot in the Men’s Basketball Tournament is up for grabs in this First Four matchup.
The final spot in the Men’s Basketball Tournament is up for grabs in the nightcap of Night 2 of First Four matchups. While the game will be played at the neutral site UD Arena in Dayton, the Texas Longhorns will face the Xavier Musketeers who will likely have a semi-home court advantage playing just 45 minutes from campus. You can watch the game on truTV at 9:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 19. So I recommend watching with a 50% off a subscription to Sling TV.
How to watch Texas vs. Xavier
- When: Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 9:10 p.m. ET
- TV: truTV
- Stream: Watch with 50% off a subscription to Sling TV and Max.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know to stream Texas vs. Xavier:
Why we recommend Sling TV to watch Texas vs. Xavier
Over the next few months, basketball fans will be in heaven as the NBA works its way to the Larry O’Brien Trophy and college basketball is fully entrenched in the Madness of March and April. As both the Association and the NCAA head toward crowning champions, Sling is the best way to catch all of the action. The streamer is the cheapest way to get national broadcast channels and the biggest cable networks as well, which will be especially important as Sling carries every network that will air the NBA playoffs and nearly all of the channels that will cover college postseason games.
Sling will not only broadcast all of the First Four games, but every NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament game on TBS, TNT, and truTV and every single NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament game.
Normally, Sling costs $46 per month, but you can currently get 50% off your first month of service, meaning that you can watch a month of the college and NBA seasons for as little as $23. Sling has two different base packages, Orange and Blue. You can subscribe to one or both. If you do opt to combine Orange and Blue it will run you $61 monthly — still substantially cheaper than the comparable live TV streaming services — but with the first-month deal, you can stream everything on both packages for just $30.50.
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.
Related: See the cheapest way to stream March Madness in 2025
Can you watch Texas vs. Xavier 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 STREAM, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV STREAM’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.
Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to another streamer with a free trial. The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.
If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV STREAM, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial.
| 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 | ✓ | ✓ | |
Watch a preview of the First Four games
What are all of the streamers you can use to watch Texas vs. Xavier?
Fortunately for basketball fans, there are six different streaming services that will stream the Texas vs. Xavier game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed Sling TV and the three free trial options above, but there are two others worth discussing.
Every sporting event that airs on TBS, TNT, or truTV is available to stream on the flagship Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service Max, so this game qualifies. While the plan had long been for WBD to eventually make the Bleacher Report Sports Add-On a paid part of the platform, the company recently announced it will not cost extra, but instead will only be available on the service's ad-free tiers. That means that you can watch this game by signing up for Max’s $17 per month Ad-Free plan.
If you are looking to find a long-term streaming service and want to avoid the potential of having to pay more if price hikes strike, then DIRECTV via Internet is your best bet. Packages start as low as $70 per month and come with a two-year price guarantee. This, of course, locks you into a two-year contract, but with prices increasing fairly regularly, it is understandable why this would be an attractive offer to many people.
Ultimately, there are tons of different ways to stream the game, and while we recommend Sling TV as the best way to stream all of the college and pro basketball season, you have plenty of options to find the platform that meets your needs.
DIRECTV Via Internet
DIRECTV via Internet was a live TV streaming service that delivered the full DIRECTV experience over the internet — no satellite dish required. It included local channels and many of the top cable channels. New subscribers could get a free Gemini streaming device that functions like a traditional cable or satellite box.
How to watch Texas vs. Xavier from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the game 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 like Sling TV in order to stream the Texas vs. Xavier game 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