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The 2026 NCAA women’s March Madness tournament tips off this week. The reigning National Champions, UConn Huskies, have been a dominating force in women’s basketball since last season with Paige Bueckers and are a clear favorite to win again. With the star now in the WNBA, her now alma mater continues to play top-level basketball with an impressive undefeated 34-0 record and a 50-game win streak.
UConn’s road to glory won’t be easy though. Other top-seeded favorites in March Madness are UCLA (31-1), Texas (31-3), and South Carolina (31-3). UCLA is UConn’s clear No. 1 challenger. With their only loss coming against then-No 4 Texas back in November, the Bruins have gone on a 25-0 run defeating twelve ranked opponents, compared to UConn’s five. Will we see an upset later in the tournament? You must tune in to find out.
Where to Watch Women’s March Madness, At a Glance:
The first round of the March Madness tournament doesn’t start until tomorrow, March 20, but the remaining two First Four games to decide the last couple seeds in the tournament tip-off today. Tune into watch Samford vs. Southern (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and Virginia vs. Arizona State (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2) later today and prepare your brackets for the first round to begin.
This year, basketball fans can watch every NCAA game on ABC and ESPN’s network of channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN News. Luckily, there are plenty of streaming platforms to that offer live TV coverage, such as DirecTV, ESPN Unlimited, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV.
Keep reading to how to watch the March Madness 2026 online.
Where to Watch Women’s March Madness 2025 Online
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament airs on ESPN and ABC. If you don’t have cable, cord-cutters can also take advantage of free trials and promos from live TV streamers like DirecTV, Sling TV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV to stream the Women’s NCAA March Madness without cable. Learn more below.
DirecTV
Free Trial
DirecTV
Get access to ESPN and ABC.
DirecTV is offering a five-day free trial, which will let you watch ESPN for free. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network is included in all of the streaming packages. In addition to unlimited DVR storage, you’ll get access to local channels and the ability to stream on as many devices as you want.
Right now, you can sign up starting at $89.99 per month. Another great, affordable plan option is DirecTV’s MySports Genre Pack, which carries over 20 key sports channels for $44.99 for the two months ($69.99 a month afterwards).
ESPN
ESPN Unlimited is the official streaming platform for ESPN and women’s March Madness. A subscription includes instant access to NCAA tournament games and more exclusive content for $29.99 per month. You can save almost 17% off by purchasing an annual subscription for $299.99 per year. There is no free ESPN Unlimited trial, but it does include exclusive on-demand videos and access to content from what was formerly known as ESPN Insider.
In addition to live sports, ESPN Unlimited has original shows to stream on-demand, plus game recaps and analysis, a shorter version of NFL Primetime and full replays of historic NFL matchups.
To expand your savings and content offerings, currently, you can bundle ESPN Unlimited with Hulu and Disney+ for a single monthly price of just $29.99 per month for all three services for 12 months of streaming.
Sling TV
With prices starting at just $4.99 for a day pass, Sling TV includes ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN 3 (for ABC simucast) with it Sling Orange and Sling Orange + Blue packages — which features dozens of channels that can be streamed on up to three devices at the same time. Sling Orange + Blue features FS1 and the NFL Network too for even more sports content.
Please note: Sling TV’s pricing and channel availability depends on your local TV market.
FuboTV
Fubo offers a five-day free trial for new users who sign up, and the streaming service includes a live feeds for Women’s NCAA March Madness online. The service offers a promo that’ll get you up to $30 off the first month, which can get you access to ESPN and more for as low as $45.99 (reg. $55.99 per month). Once set up, customers get access to ESPN and more than 240 live TV channels.
Hulu
Free Trial
Hulu + Live TV
For the most content options, Hulu + Live TV gives you access to the entire Hulu library in addition to more than 95 live TV channels — including ESPN for just $82.99 per month.
And, unlike the rest of the options, you can also expand your content library by bundling Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited. You’ll not only have all of the Hulu library to watch, but also exclusive and original programming available exclusively on ESPN Unlimited.
ESPN is also good to watch for surprise celebrity appearances. Every now and then, musicians have been know to drop in and give their thoughts and opinions on the latest going in the sports world. Famous recording artists, like Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, J. Cole, John Legend, Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Drake and others.
2026 NCAA Women’s March Madness Game Schedule:
All times Eastern.
Wednesday, March 18
- 7 p.m. – No. 11 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Richmond (ESPN2)
- 9 p.m. – No. 16 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 16 Missouri State (ESPN2)
Thursday, March 19
- 7 p.m. – No. 16 Samford vs. No. 16 Southern (ESPN2)
- 9 p.m. – No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 10 Arizona State (ESPN2)
Friday, March 20
- 11:30 a.m. – No. 3 Duke vs. No. 14 Charleston (ESPN2)
- 12 p.m. – No. 3 TCU vs. No. 14 UC San Diego (ESPN)
- 1:30 p.m. – No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech (ESPN2)
- 2 p.m. – No. 6 Baylor vs. No. 11 Nebraska/Richmond (ESPN)
- 2:30 p.m. – No. 6 Washington vs. No. 11 South Dakota State (ESPN News)
- 3 p.m. – No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 12 Murray State (ESPNU)
- 3:30 p.m. – No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 12 Gonzaga (ESPN2)
- 4 p.m. – No. 1 Texas vs. No. 16 Stephen F. Austin/Missouri State (ESPN)
- 5:30 p.m. – No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 15 Holy Cross (ESPN2)
- 5:30 p.m. – No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Western Illinois (ESPN News)
- 6 p.m. – No. 2 LSU vs. No. 15 Jacksonville (ESPN)
- 6 p.m. – No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 13 Green Bay (ESPNU)
- 7:30 p.m. – No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Colorado State (ESPN News)
- 8 p.m. – No. 7 NC State vs. No. 10 Tennessee (ESPN)
- 8:30 p.m. – No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Villanova (ESPNU)
- 10 p.m. – No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Idaho (ESPN)
Saturday, March 21
- 11:30 p.m. – No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 14 Howard (ESPN2)
- 12 p.m. – No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Vermont (ESPN)
- 1 p.m. – No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Samford/Southern (ABC)
- 1:30 p.m. – No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Virginia/Arizona State (ESPN2)
- 2 p.m. – No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Fairfield (ESPN)
- 2:30 p.m. – No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 James Madison (ESPNU)
- 2:30 p.m. – No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 11 Rhode Island (ESPN News)
- 3 p.m. – No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 UTSA (ABC)
- 3:30 p.m. – No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 USC (ESPN2)
- 4 p.m. – No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson (ESPN)
- 5 p.m. – No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Miami (Ohio) (ESPNU)
- 5:30 p.m. – No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Syracuse (ESPN2)
- 7 p.m. – No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 15 High Point (ESPN News)
- 7:30 p.m. – No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Princeton (ESPN2)
- 9:30 p.m. – No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado (ESPN2)
- 10 p.m. – No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 California Baptist (ESPN)
2026 NCAA Women’s March Madness Schedule:
The schedule and locations for the women’s tournament:
- First Four: March 18-19
- First round: March 20-21
- Second round: March 22-23
- Sweet 16: March 27-28 in Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA
- Elite Eight: March 29-30 in Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA
- Final Four: Friday, April 3, Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ
- NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 5, Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ
