Men’s NCAA tournament 2025 schedule, locations, bracket announcement date, more

We’re about six weeks out from the beginning of the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season, so let’s take a look at the end of it: the 2025 men’s NCAA tournament.

March Madness 2025 begins with First Four games Tuesday, March 18, in Dayton, Ohio, and ends with the Final Four on April 5 and 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The cities for the first and second rounds of the tournament are: Lexington, Kentucky; Providence, Rhode Island; Seattle; Wichita, Kansas; Cleveland; Denver; Milwaukee; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The regional semifinals (Sweet 16) and finals (Elite Eight) will take place in Newark, New Jersey (East); Atlanta (South); Indianapolis (Midwest); and San Francisco (West).

Selection Sunday, and the announcement of the 68-team bracket, will precede all the games Sunday, March 16. Complete dates and venue information for the 2025 Division I men’s NCAA tournament are below.

Meanwhile, bookmark Joe Lunardi’s ESPN Bracketology for projections of the field, including teams considered to be on the bubble. The bracket will be updated every Tuesday during the nonconference portion of the 2024-25 regular season, every Tuesday and Friday during conference play and more frequently during league tournaments — aka Champ Week — in the lead-up to Selection Sunday.

Quick links:
Bracketology | Way-Too-Early Top 25

Selection Sunday: March 16

First Four: March 18-19

First round (round of 64): March 20

• Rupp Arena, Lexington

• Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence

• Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita

• Ball Arena, Denver

First round (round of 64): March 21

• Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle

• Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland

• Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee

• PNC Arena, Raleigh

Second round (round of 32): March 22

• Rupp Arena, Lexington

• Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence

• Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita

• Ball Arena, Denver

Second round (round of 32): March 23

• Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle

• Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland

• Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee

• PNC Arena, Raleigh

Sweet 16 (regional semifinals): March 27

• East: Prudential Center, Newark

• West: Chase Center, San Francisco

Sweet 16 (regional semifinals): March 28

• South: State Farm Arena, Atlanta

• Midwest: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

Elite Eight (regional finals): March 29

• East: Prudential Center, Newark

• West: Chase Center, San Francisco

Elite Eight (regional finals): March 30

• South: State Farm Arena, Atlanta

• Midwest: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

Final Four (national semifinals and national championship): April 5, 7