March Madness, America's annual college basketball bonanza, is finally here. As usual, though, almost all the opening-round games on Thursday and Friday occur during working hours.
The mission is clear: Figure out how to watch March Madness online. Luckily, we're here to help.
See also: Do Yourself a Favor: Ditch the March Madness Bracket
There is only one legal way to watch March Madness online: March Madness Live, a digital service from the NCAA along with its broadcast partners, CBS and Turner. March Madness Live streams games to your laptop or desktop computer and is also available for a range of mobile devices.
You'll need cable login credentials to watch the tournament's full slate of games, which are being carried on CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV. But all of the CBS games — including many of the best later-round match-ups — are available for free without any subscriber credentials. (Unlike in some years, however, you can't simply pay a flat rate to stream all the games.)
To watch March Madness Live online, you can visit NCAA.com/marchmadness, CBSSports.com or BleacherReport.com. You can also download it for iOS, Android, Windows Phone or Amazon Kindle Fire (all links here).
After play-in games wrap up on Wednesday night, the real action begins Thursday morning, with first round games running nearly nonstop through Friday night. Below, find the first round's full schedule of 32 games with the networks carrying each, so you know whether a login is required to watch the madness.
Thursday, March 21
(6) Ohio State vs. (11) Dayton; 12:15 p.m. on CBS
(2) Wisconsin vs. (15) American; 12:40 p.m. on truTV
(8) Colorado vs. (9) Pittsburgh; 1:40 p.m. on TBS
(5) Cincinnati vs. (12) Harvard; 2:10 p.m. on TNT
(3) Syracuse vs. (14) Western Michigan; 2:45 p.m. on CBS
(7) Oregon vs. (10) BYU; 3:10 p.m. on truTV
(1) Florida vs. (16) Albany/Mount St. Mary’s; 4:10 p.m. on TBS
(4) Michigan State vs. (13) Delaware; 4:40 p.m. on TNT
(7) UConn vs. (10) Saint Joseph’s; 6:55 p.m. on TBS
(2) Michigan vs. (15) Wofford, 7:10 p.m. on CBS
(5) Saint Louis vs. (12) N.C. State/Xavier; 7:20 p.m. on TNT
(5) Oklahoma vs. (12) North Dakota State; 7:27 p.m. on truTV
(2) Villanova vs. (15) Milwaukee; 9:25 p.m. on TBS
(7) Texas vs. (10) Arizona State; 9:40 p.m. on CBS
(4) Louisville vs. (13) Manhattan; 9:50 p.m. on TNT
(4) San Diego State vs. (13) New Mexico State; 9:57 p.m. on truTV
Friday, March 22
(3) Duke vs. (14) Mercer; 12:15 p.m. on CBS
(6) Baylor vs. (11) Nebraska; 12:40 p.m. on truTV
(7) New Mexico vs. (10) Stanford; 1:40 p.m. on TBS
(1) Arizona vs. (16) Weber State; 2:10 p.m. on TNT
(6) UMass vs. (11) Iowa/Tennessee; 2:45 p.m. on CBS
(3) Creighton vs. (14) UL Lafayette; 3:10 p.m. on truTV
(2) Kansas vs. (15) Eastern Kentucky; 4:10 p.m. on TBS
(8) Gonzaga vs. (9) Oklahoma State; 4:40 p.m. on TNT
(8) Memphis vs. (9) George Washington; 6:55 p.m. on TBS
(1) Wichita State vs. (16) Cal Poly/Texas Southern; 7:10 p.m. on CBS
(6) North Carolina vs. (11) Providence; 7:20 p.m. on TNT
(5) VCU vs. (12) Stephen F. Austin; 7:27 p.m. on truTV
(1) Virginia vs. (16) Coastal Carolina; 9:25 p.m. on TBS
(8) Kentucky vs. (9) Kansas State; 9:40 p.m. on CBS
(3) Iowa State vs. (14) North Carolina Central; 9:50 p.m. on TNT
(4) UCLA vs. (13) Tulsa; 9:57 p.m. on truTV