When Does The 2023 NCAA Tournament Actually Start?

The countdown to the start of March Madness has officially begun.

The countdown to the start of the 2023 NCAA tournaments has officially begun. As the excitement for March Madness draws near, fans eager to finish with a perfect bracket won’t have to wait too long for the start of this year’s festivities.  

The 2023 men’s tournament will begin with the First Four on March 14 and 15 at the UD Arena, the home of the Dayton Flyers, in Dayton, Ohio. All four games will air on truTV, beginning approximately at 6:40 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. ET both days. 

Day 1 (Tuesday) will see Texas A&M-CC take on SE Missouri State with the No. 16 spot and meeting with No. 1 Alabama on the line, followed by Pittsburgh-Mississippi State facing off to decide who will earn the No. 11 seed and a clash against No. 6 Iowa State. On Day 2, a battle of No. 16s between Fairleigh Dickinson and Texas Southern will determine who faces No. 1 Purdue, and No. 11s Nevada and Arizona State will meet to decide who will face No. 6 TCU.

Following the First Four, the round of 64 will kick off on March 16 and 17 with 16 regional matchups. Set to begin at 12:00 p.m. ET and air on CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV, Day 1 will see features games in Birmingham (Legacy Arena), Des Moines (Wells Fargo Arena), Orlando (Amway Center) and Sacramento (Golden 1 Center). The Day 2 slate will see teams face off in games in Albany, N.Y. (MVP Arena), Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena), Denver (Ball Arena) and Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum).

Meanwhile, the 2023 women’s tournament will kick off with the First Four on March 15 and 16, with first-round games set to begin on March 17 and 18. Unlike the men’s tournament with all games taking place at neutral sites, the top 16 women’s teams will host matchups through the first and second rounds.

The games will air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNNews as well as ABC. The start times and locations are still to be determined.