As championship week winds down, we look ahead to March Madness. The NCAA Tournament has changed up since last year, so we should probably inform you of the changes to watch out for.
In case you missed it, here's how things are different from last year.
Last year: All the games were on CBS.
This year: The games are being split up on four different networks thanks to the new Turner deal. CBS, TNT, TBS, & TruTv will split television coverage up to the Sweet 16, when CBS will take over and broadcast the Final Four.
Last year: Games on CBS were on at the same time. If you wanted to watch multiple endings at once, you'd generally have to hope for the guys at the studio to be quick on cutting back and forth between games
This year: Every game starts on a staggered schedule, so you'll be guaranteed to watch every ending to every game without having to worry about flipping channels.
Last year: You could watch every game online with March Madness On Demand.
This year: Ditto.
Here is the current TV schedule and gametimes, courtesy of Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. SB Nation Bay Area will update this with the teams later. Times are all Pacific Time (PT).
First Four: March 15 (Tuesday)
- truTV: 3:30 PM, 6 PM
Round of 64: March 17 (Thursday) and March 18 (Friday)
- CBS: 9 AM, 11:30 AM, 4 PM, 6:30 PM
- truTV: 9:30 AM, noon, 4:15 PM, 6:55 PM
- TBS: 10:30 AM, 1 PM, 3:45 PM, 6:15 PM
- TNT: 11 AM, 1:30 PM, 4:15 PM, 6:45 PM
Round of 32: March 19 (Saturday)
- CBS: 9 AM, 11:30 AM, 2 PM, 4:30 PM
- TNT: 3 PM, 5 PM
- TBS: 4 PM, 6:30 PM
Round of 32: March 20 (Sunday)
- Same as Saturday's schedule, except truTV airing the 4:30 PM game instead of CBS
Sweet 16: March 24 (Thursday) & March 25 (Friday)
- CBS: 4 PM, 6:30 PM
- TBS: 4:15 PM, 6:55 PM
Elite 8: March 26 (Saturday) & March 27 (Sunday)
- CBS on Saturday: 1:20 PM, 3:55 PM
- CBS on Sunday: 11:10 AM, 1:55 PM
Final 4: April 2 (Saturday)
- CBS: 3 PM, 5:30 PM
National Championship Game: April 4 (Monday)
- CBS: 6 PM