March Madness: 32 Left
The men's NCAA tournament is down to 32 teams and the Elite Eight is set for March 28–29 — the bracket is tightening fast. CBS Sports and TNT are carrying key games and Paramount+ Premium is streaming many matchups; Chicago is hosting Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games and tickets are available now. ( )
Top seeds that advanced through the first weekend include Duke (71–65 over Siena), Arizona (advanced vs. Utah State) and Florida (114–55 over Prairie View), according to the live bracket and first‑round results posted by ESPN. (espn.com) Marquee second‑round showdowns on the schedule: Duke vs. TCU tips at 2:15 p.m. ET on CBS (March 21), Gonzaga vs. Texas is listed for Mar. 21 at 4:10 p.m. on truTV/TBS, and UConn vs. UCLA is slated for Mar. 22 at 5:45 p.m. on TNT. (espn.com) CBS games stream live to Paramount+ subscribers on the Paramount+ Premium plan, while TBS/TNT/truTV coverage is available through HBO Max and other Turner stream partners, per the tournament’s viewing guides and the Paramount+ March Madness page. ( ) Chicago’s United Center will host the Midwest Regional sessions (Sweet 16 and the regional final) on March 27 and March 29, with the arena listing the events on its schedule and Northwestern University serving as host. (unitedcenter.com) Ticket markets show single‑session and all‑session options already on sale: resale listings and reporting put single‑session prices starting in the high‑$500s and all‑session packages roughly in the $600 range, while premium resale seats on sites like SeatGeek are listed well above $1,000 for some views. ( ) The tournament’s regional schedule places the other Sweet 16/Elite Eight sites at Houston’s Toyota Center, San Jose’s SAP Center and Washington’s Capital One Arena, with the Final Four set for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on April 4 and the national title game on April 6. ( ) Availability of key players is already a story heading into the second round — ESPN’s Round‑of‑32 coverage flags question marks such as Patrick Ngongba II’s status for Duke and ankle concerns for other top contenders that could affect matchups. (espn.com) Limited‑time streaming offers are in market: Paramount+ has advertised promotional pricing that can let new subscribers stream CBS’s March Madness slate at a reduced rate for a short window in March. (mlive.com)
