NCAA bracket announcement time, how to watch and stream

Philadelphia basketball fans will see a familiar face at this year’s NCAA selection show.

Former Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who joined CBS as a college basketball analyst this season, will make his bracket analyst debut during tonight’s selection show, which airs live at 6:00 PM on CBS.

As has been the case in recent years, CBS will reveal the entire 68-team bracket by region shortly after the show begins. Following the full release, host Greg Gumbel will discuss the bracket with Wright and fellow analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. Gumbel will also interview NCAA Division I Basketball Committee Chairman Chris Reynolds.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus called the show a “high-wire act” juggling graphics, analysis and up to 15 live pictures, often put together at the last minute.

“Obviously, you only get one chance to get it right, and we get the brackets anywhere from an hour to 15 minutes before we go on the air,” McManus said during a recent conference call. “But it’s fun, and it kicks off our tournament coverage, and the attention it gets in the media is remarkable.”

For the 12th year, CBS has partnered with Warner Bros. Discover Sports (formerly Turner Sports) to cover the men’s basketball tournament. This year, CBS will televise both the Final Four and the championship game, which will be called for the last time by longtime announcer Jim Nantz.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream:

When does the NCAA selection start?

The March Madness Live site and app has a three-hour free preview before you have to sign in with your cable provider, plenty to get through the show.

Will any Philadelphia-area schools make the NCAA Tournament?

Do you consider Penn State a local team?

After upsetting No. 3 seed Indiana on Saturday, the No. 10 Nittany Lions will face No. 1 Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament championship game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Even if Penn State doesn’t win the Big Ten Tournament, they will have a decent chance to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid, which would mark their third straight men’s NCAA Tournament appearance.

Rutgers is also on the bubble after a decent showing in the Big Ten tournament, defeating Michigan and keeping things close in a loss to Purdue. “They’re obviously an NCAA Tournament team. I think they can do some real damage,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said of Rutgers after the game.

Villanova failed to win the Big East Tournament, eliminating their only remaining path to getting into the NCAA Tournament. It’s the first time since 2012 that the Wildcats have failed to advance to the big dance, ending a streak that includes six Sweet 16s, three Final Fours and two national championships.

Temple, St. Joe’s, Penn, La Salle and Drexel will also be watching March Madness from home after losing in their respective conference tournaments. It is for the first time since 1977, no Philadelphia team will play in the NCAA men’s basketball tournamentaccording to former Daily News editor Bob Vetrone Jr.

» READ MORE: No NCAA tournament for Villanova, and no challenges ahead

How teams are selected for the tournament

Teams can enter the men’s NCAA tournament in two ways – an automatic bid and an at-large bid.

Thirty-two teams receive automatic bids by winning their Division I conference tournament. Several conferences will hold their championship games on Sunday.

The remaining 36 teams are picked by a 10-member selection committee after each conference tournament game is played. Since 2019, the committee has used the NCAA Evaluation Tool as its primary tool for evaluating whether teams deserve a spot.

The current NET rankings have Rutgers at No. 38, while Penn State is ranked 54th.

After the teams are selected, the NCAA says the committee “strives to achieve reasonable competitive balance in each region of the bracket.”

2023 NCAA Men’s Tournament Schedule

The first four: Tuesday 14 March

The NCAA Tournament tips off Tuesday with the first four, four play-in games between the four lowest-seeded automatic bids and the four lowest-seeded at-large bids.

The games – which will again take place at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio – will air on TruTV on Tuesday and Wednesday, with coverage from

First round: Thursday 16 March

The first round begins Thursday and will feature 32 games broadcast on CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV over two days.

The first and second rounds are played at eight regional sites — Birmingham, Ala.; Des Moines, Iowa; Orlando, Florida; Sacramento, California; Albany, NY; Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Greensboro, NC

Second round: Saturday 18 March

The tournament’s second round begins Saturday and will feature 16 games over two days broadcast on CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV.

Sweet 16: Thursday 23 March

The Sweet 16 tips Thursday, March 23 and will feature eight primetime games played over two days on CBS and TBS.

Both the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 will be played at four regional locations:

Elite 8: Saturday 25 March

The Elite Eight starts on Saturday, March 25 and features four games shared by CBS and TBS.

Final Four: Sunday 1 April

The tournament is moving to Houston, Tx. for the Final Four, which will air on CBS from NRG Stadium on Saturday, April 1. Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and reporter Tracy Wolfson will call the Final Four and the national championship for the eighth consecutive year.

Championship game: Monday, April 3

This year’s national championship game will air on CBS on April 3 at 21.20