How to watch March Madness First Four games: online and on TV

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The First Four kicks off March Madness action and helps determine the official NCAA Tournament fields.

University of Colorado's Luke O'Brien
University of Colorado's Luke O'Brien (Image credit: Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Everyone is excited for the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament (aka March Madness) on Thursday, March 21, and rightly so, but tournament action actually begins with the First Four, a quartet of games in the men's and women's college basketball tournaments that will round out their official fields of 64 teams. We've got everything you need to know about how to watch the First Four games right here.

How to watch First Four

Men's First Four: TruTV (streaming via Sling, Max and more)

Women's First Four: ESPNU & ESPN 2 (streaming via Sling and more)

How to use a VPN to watch any stream

After the first two men's NCAA Tournament First Four games took place on Tuesday, March 19, the final two games are set for Wednesday, March 20, in Dayton, Ohio: Grambling vs Montana State tips off at 6:40 pm ET/3:40 pm PT and then Colorado vs Boise State at 9:10 pm ET/6:10 pm PT.

The women's tournament starts with its First Four games on March 20 and Thursday, March 21. Wednesday's games feature Presbyterian vs Sacred Heart at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT and Columbia vs Vanderbilt at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. On Thursday the games are Arizona vs Auburn at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT and UT Martin vs Holy Cross at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT.

Something to note, especially in the men's bracket, First Four teams have a history of going on runs in the tournament (most notably VCU and UCLA's famous runs to the Final Four, but also 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson University upsetting 1-seed Purdue in 2023), so consider that as you fill out your bracket.

With that in mind, here is everything you need to know about how to watch the March Madness First Four games online and on TV.

How to watch men’s March Madness First Four games in US

All of the First Four games in the men's bracket are airing on TruTV. To watch live on TV, you need a cable TV package or a live TV streaming service that carries the channel; in the case of the latter that includes Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV. College basketball fans who have cut the cord can also stream the First Four games live if they sign up for Max, which has the B/R Sports tab for live sports available to all subscribers for free (for a limited time).

Though one of the best bang for your buck deals to watch the First Four and all of March Madness is Sling TV. For as low as $20 per month you can sign up for Sling TV Blue and watch not only the First Four games, but all of the March Madness games that air on TruTV, TBS and TNT.

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Sling TV offers multiple live TV packages that allow you to focus on the content most important to you. Sling Blue brings access to TruTV where you'll find all four of the First Four March Madness games. For a limited time, you can get your first month of Sling Blue at halfprice. That's as low as $20 per month. Cancel at any time.

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How to watch women’s March Madness First Four games in US

The women's First Four games are airing on the ESPN family of networks, specifically ESPNU for the games on Wednesday, March 20, and ESPN2 for games on Thursday, March 21.

To watch any of these games, you are going to need a pay-TV cable package that includes the sports networks or a live TV streaming service with them. In the case of the latter, ESPN2 is available on Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV, while ESPNU is available as part of the lineup on Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV, while it is available via add-on packages with Fubo and Sling TV.

Still, based on the current Sling TV deal, even the required add-on for ESPNU ($15 per month), it remains one of the cheaper options.

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Sling TV offers multiple live TV packages that allow you to focus on the content most important to you. Sling Blue brings access to TruTV where you'll find all four of the First Four March Madness games. For a limited time, you can get your first month of Sling Blue at halfprice. That's as low as $20 per month. Cancel at any time.

PREFERRED PARTNERView Deal

How to watch March Madness First Four games from anywhere

If you finds yourself outside of the US but wanting to watch March Madness this year, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can help if there is no easy way to catch the action. 

A VPN lets you get around the usual digital barriers by changing your IP address, meaning you can watch events like March Madness as you would in your home country. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

How to use a VPN to watch any stream

  • Download the app at NordVPN
  • Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (US, UK, etc)
  • Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
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NordVPN is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to watch what you want, from wherever you want to watch it.

It's straightforward and easy to use, has great security, is available on loads of streaming devices and, best of all, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out 100% risk-free. Give it a go.

First Four game times

Again, here is the official schedule for the First Four games in the men's and women's brackets:

Men's First Four schedule

Tuesday, March 19

  • No. 16 Wagner 7 1, No. 16 Howard68
  • No. 10 Colorado State 67, No. 10 Virginia 42

Wednesday, March 20

  • No. 16 Grambling 88, No. 16 Montana State 81
  • No. 10 Colorado 60, No. 10 Boise State 53

Women's First Four schedule

Wednesday, March 20

  • No. 16 Presbyterian 49, No. 16 Sacred Heart 42
  • No. 12 Columbia 68, No. 12 Vanderbilt 72

Thursday, March 21

  • No. 11 Arizona vs No. 11 Auburn, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (ESPN2)
  • No. 16 UT Martin vs No. 16 Holy Cross, 9 pm ET/6 pm PT (ESPN2)
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Michael Balderston
Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.