Adam Zeis is the Managing Editor of The Streamable, where he oversees all site content and leads a dynamic team of freelancers. With over 15 years of experience in tech media, Adam has developed a deep expertise in streaming entertainment, technology, and content creation. His passion for the streaming landscape began when he cut the cord in 2010. Since then, he has dedicated his career to exploring and sharing insights on the ever-evolving digital entertainment space.
As a cord-cutter since 2010, he’s spent over 15 years covering tech and streaming for sites like TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, and CrackBerry. He also has a soft spot for '80s movies.
As a cord-cutter since 2010, he’s spent over 15 years covering tech and streaming for sites like TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, and CrackBerry. He also has a soft spot for '80s movies.
If you want to watch college basketball games live without cable, you actually have plenty of options. Live TV streaming services make it easy to keep track of your favorite team during the entire college basketball season. Games are broadcast on local network channels, regional sports networks, national sports networks, and college sports networks, but thankfully, there are various packages across the major live TV streaming services that will get you exactly what you need to catch most — if not all — of your favorite teams’ games all season long, including March Madness.
Most major college basketball games will air on local networks or major cable channels. However, some smaller conferences and games will air on college sports networks or Internet sports channels.
For maximum NCAA basketball coverage, we recommend DIRECTV as your live TV solution. It offers more channels than any other service and gives you the most bang for your buck for the college basketball season. It includes most of the networks you’ll need to watch a multitude of games during the season, as well as access to ESPN Unlimited.
How NCAA basketball is broadcast
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 college season. When the March Madness tournament kicks off, you’ll need a much wider array of channels, however, like CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV.
What services offer live NCAA games?
Every school is different. The major conferences get a lot of airtime from the big broadcasters, while smaller schools may be harder to watch, leaving you a bit lost if you don’t know where to look. Choosing a live TV streaming service with a wide range of channels is important to ensure you can watch most of your favorite teams’ games during the NCAA season.
Regarding streaming, we believe DIRECTV does everything well. You have a large channel lineup to choose from, an unlimited DVR, and the ability to watch on multiple devices at once. Plus, DIRECTV’s Multiview for sports is one of our favorite features. ESPN Unlimited is also included. It’s the simplest choice if you’re switching over from traditional cable TV in terms of familiarity and user experience.
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 during the season, but keep in mind that Sling doesn’t have CBS, a major network for college basketball. The user interface can be a bit slow and less responsive than some other streamers, but the price is definitely more wallet-friendly. You may also want to add the college-specific channels with the Sports Extra package.
No CBS, but you could grab a Paramount+ subscription to solve that
Clunky UI
No regional sports networks
Limited DVR
ABC is not available in all areas
Fubo
Fubo is a sports lover’s paradise, especially if you’re looking beyond basketball to sports 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 an unfortunate omission.
YouTube TV is a good all-around streaming option. It offers many of the most important sports channels, the user interface is among the best in the live TV space, and the price is in line with its peers. YouTube TV also has a custom Multiview option for watching up to four games at once, and ESPN Unlimited is included. There are also various genre plans to choose from that are more budget-friendly than the full plan.
Channel package is not as customizable as other services
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu Live TV has much to offer, with a great channel lineup and great ESPN and Disney+ bundles. It’s hard to get more bang for your buck, and it’s got nearly every channel you need to watch college basketball, so it’s a solid choice overall for the entire season.
If you’ve gotten this far, you can see that we’ve done extensive testing to seek out the best live TV streaming services for NCAA games in 2026. DIRECTV is still our top pick in most cases, but 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 the best thing to do before making a choice is to check your team’s broadcast schedule. You can do that by looking at each team’s page below, 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 favorite team’s schedule before you subscribe.
How to watch the 2026 Men’s college basketball tournament (March Madness)
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, and highlights, and stream all of the 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 2026 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. You must authenticate with your TV Everywhere credentials to watch every game, including those on TNT, TBS, and truTV.
Every season, the Final Four and Championship alternate between CBS and TBS.
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 and use your credentials to access the games.
Why you can trust us: Our expert team has reviewed, tested, and researched streaming services and devices since 2017. Millions trust The Streamable for our honest, in-depth analysis and up-to-date information. Discover our testing methodology. for College Basketball and others.
Adam Zeis is the Managing Editor of The Streamable, where he oversees all site content and leads a dynamic team of freelancers. With over 15 years of experience in tech media, Adam has developed a deep expertise in streaming entertainment, technology, and content creation. His passion for the streaming landscape began when he cut the cord in 2010. Since then, he has dedicated his career to exploring and sharing insights on the ever-evolving digital entertainment space.
