The newly expanded 2027 men's NCAA tournament will cap the 2026-27 men's college basketball season, which tips Nov. 2.
By the end of the season, on April 5 at Ford Field in Detroit, a champion will be crowned. Let's look at the details of how that will happen.
March Madness 2027 begins with the announcement of the 68-team bracket on Selection Sunday (March 14).
The new Opening Round -- at UD Arena in Dayton and InTrust Bank Arena in Wichita -- will consist of 24 teams playing on Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17 for a spot in round of 64, March 18.
The round of 64 begins Thursday, March 18, and the round of 32 begins Saturday, March 20. The cities for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament are: Pittsburgh; Omaha, Nebraska; Fort Worth, Texas; Spokane, Washington; Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis; Louisville; and Sacramento.
The regional semifinals (Sweet 16) and finals (Elite Eight) will take place in San Antonio, Texas (South); Los Angeles (West); Kansas City, Missouri (Midwest); and New York (East).
The Final Four will take place April 3 and 5 in Detroit.
Complete dates and venue information for the 2025 Division I men's NCAA tournament are below.
Meanwhile, bookmark Joe Lunardi's ESPN Bracketology for projections of the field, including teams considered to be on the bubble. The bracket will be updated every Tuesday during the nonconference portion of the 2026-27 regular season, every Tuesday and Friday during conference play and more frequently during league tournaments -- aka Champ Week -- in the lead-up to Selection Sunday.
Selection Sunday: March 14
Opening round: March 16-17
UD Arena, Dayton
InTrust Bank Arena, Wichita
First round (round of 64): March 18
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh
CHI Health Center, Omaha
Dickies Arena, Fort Worth
Numerica Veterans Arena, Spokane
First round (round of 64): March 19
Spectrum Center, Charlotte
Target Center, Minneapolis
KFC Yum! Center, Louisville
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento
Second round (round of 32): March 20
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh
CHI Health Center, Omaha
Dickies Arena, Fort Worth
Numerica Veterans Arena, Spokane
Second round (round of 32): March 21
Spectrum Center, Charlotte
Target Center, Minneapolis
KFC Yum! Center, Louisville
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento
Sweet 16 (regional semifinals): March 25
South: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio
West: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
Sweet 16 (regional semifinals): March 26
Midwest: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City
East: Madison Square Garden, New York
Elite Eight (regional finals): March 27
South: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio
West: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
Elite Eight (regional finals): March 28
Midwest: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City
East: Madison Square Garden, New York
Final Four (national semifinals and national championship): April 3, 5
Ford Field, Detroit