Every year when March Madness rolls around, college basketball fans spend a lot of time familiarizing themselves with the same few items in the leadup to the first game.
The first item is always the NCAA Tournament bracket in hopes of predicting the first perfect bracket in tournament history — good luck; the odds are practically nil. Then there is perhaps the most time-consuming one: building your TV schedule to make sure you have the perfect quad box to watch all the games at once.
And that means the return to prominence of truTV.
With a tournament that is so spread out across the country — 68 teams at 14 different arenas and stadiums — CBS and Turner Sports need to utilize all possible TV channels in their portfolio, and that includes truTV.
What is truTV? Explaining March Madness TV channel
TruTV is one of several cable television channels owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and carries some of TNT Sports’ coverage of sporting events.
It’s most famously known for carrying the NCAA Tournament as part of CBS and Turner Sports’ coverage of March Madness, plus housing TV shows such as ‘Impractical Jokers’ and ‘Billy on The Street.’
Traditionally speaking, when it comes to March Madness TV channel assignments, truTV normally carries the two-night First Four doubleheader from UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. That is the case once again for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, as No. 16 Alabama State-No. 16 Saint Francis and No. 11 North Carolina-No. 11 San Diego State square off on Wednesday, March 18 and No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s-No. 16 American and play No. 11 Texas-No. 11 Xavier on Thursday, March 19.
IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s Bracket Challenge contest for a chance at $1 million prize.
As noted by USA TODAY, truTV will carry 21 of the 67 games of the NCAA Tournament over the next three weeks — an increase in coverage from past tournaments. The network’s coverage of the 2025 NCAA Tournament will include the First Four, Elite Eight, Sweet 16 and first- and second-round games
Here’s a breakdown of the early March Madness games that are appearing on truTV:
All times Eastern
First Four
Tuesday, March 18
- No. 16 Alabama State vs. No. 16 Saint Francis | 6:40 p.m.
- No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 11 San Diego State | 9:10 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19
- No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s vs. No. 16 American | 6:40 p.m.
- No. 11 Xavier vs. No. 11 Texas | 9:10 p.m.
First Round
Thursday, March 20
- No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 High Point | 12:40 p.m.
- No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese | 3:15 p.m.
- No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Drake | 7:35 p.m.
- No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington | 10:10 p.m.
Friday, March 21
- No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris | 12:40 p.m.
- No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt | 3:15 p.m.
- No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron | 7:35 p.m.
- No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty | 10:10 p.m.