NCAA March Madness 2026: Second Round Schedule and Results

March Madness 2026: The Race to the Final Four Officially Explodes

The Men's and Women's NCAA tournaments are in full swing as the second round narrows the field for championship runs in Indianapolis and Phoenix.

Aisha Palmer

Mar 21, 2026, 6:43 PM PT · 2 min read

The 2026 NCAA Men's Final Four will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this April.

THE RUNDOWN

Men’s First Four games tipped off March 17-18 at Dayton’s UD Arena.
Women’s tournament action followed with First Four matchups on March 18-19.
First Round games for both tournaments concluded between March 19 and March 21.
The Men’s Final Four is scheduled for Lucas Oil Stadium in April.
Women’s championship games will take place at Phoenix’s Footprint Center.

The 2026 NCAA March Madness tournaments have officially taken over the national conversation, following a whirlwind week of high-stakes basketball. The action kicked off at the University of Dayton Arena with the Men’s First Four on March 17 and 18, 2026. Not far behind, the Women’s First Four followed on March 18 and 19, setting the stage for a weekend where brackets across the country either flourished or fell apart.

As of March 22, the tournaments have moved into the second round. The Men’s First Round, which spanned March 19 to 20, and the Women’s First Round from March 20 to 21, saw massive fan engagement and the usual flurry of upsets that define the season. Broadcasters including CBS Sports, Warner Bros. Discovery, and ESPN report that viewership is peaking as teams fight for a spot in the Sweet 16, with all eyes on the eventual championship goals in Indianapolis and Phoenix.

The road to the Men’s Final Four will culminate at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 4 and 6, 2026, while the Women’s title will be decided at the Footprint Center on April 3 and 5. With the second round currently underway this Sunday, the intensity is only increasing. Fans are glued to their screens as the field of 64 continues to shrink, proving once again why March remains the most unpredictable month in collegiate sports.