You've been there. It’s a Saturday in early April. You’ve got the wings ready, the bracket is (somehow) still semi-intact, and you realize you have no idea when the actual tip-off is. Honestly, finding the exact ncaa basketball final four game times can feel like a sport in itself, especially with the way the networks shift things around every single year.
The 2026 Men’s Final Four is descending on Indianapolis—a city that basically lives and breathes this stuff—and the schedule is already looking tight. If you’re planning your weekend around these games, you need to know that the clock is your biggest enemy. We aren't just talking about the shot clock. We’re talking about the gap between the first and second semifinal, the weirdly late Monday night championship start, and the fact that the Women’s Final Four in Phoenix is running on a completely different rhythm.
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The Men’s Final Four Schedule in Indy
Lucas Oil Stadium is hosting for the ninth time. That’s a lot of history in one building. For the 2026 run, the dates are set for Saturday, April 4, and Monday, April 6. While the NCAA loves to wait until the last possible second to announce the "official" minute-by-minute tip times based on TV matchups, we can look at the historical precedent which hasn't budged much in a decade.
Typically, the first semifinal game on Saturday tips off right around 6:09 PM ET.
Why 6:09? Because television executives love a very specific window for pre-game hype and national anthems. The second game follows roughly 40 minutes after the first one ends. This usually lands somewhere between 8:49 PM ET and 9:15 PM ET. If the first game goes into double overtime, well, prepare to be drinking coffee until midnight.
The National Championship on Monday, April 6, is a different beast. It almost always starts at 9:20 PM ET. It’s late. It’s notoriously tough for fans on the East Coast who have work the next morning, but that’s the price of primetime ratings.
Don’t Forget the Women’s Final Four in Phoenix
The women are heading to the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, and their schedule is arguably more fan-friendly for the weekend warrior. They play their semifinals on Friday, April 3, and the National Championship on Sunday, April 5.
Friday's games usually start around 7:00 PM ET, with the second game following at approximately 9:30 PM ET. The Sunday championship game is the real winner for the "early to bed" crowd, typically tipping off at 3:00 PM ET or 3:30 PM ET. This allows the NCAA to capture that late-afternoon Sunday audience without competing with the Sunday night lineup.
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Where to Watch and What to Know
The broadcast rights are split up in a way that can be kinda confusing if you don't keep a cheat sheet. For 2026, TBS is taking the lead for the Men’s Final Four. You’ll also find coverage bleeding over into TNT and truTV for those "Team Stream" broadcasts where they have announcers biased toward specific schools.
- Men’s Semifinals (April 4): TBS, TNT, truTV
- Men’s Championship (April 6): TBS
- Women’s Semifinals (April 3): ESPN / ESPN+
- Women’s Championship (April 5): ABC / ESPN+
One thing people always miss? The "First Four" in Dayton. It's the appetizer. Those games happen March 17-18, and while they aren't the Final Four, they set the entire pace for the tournament.
Why the Times Move
You might wonder why we can't just have a set 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM start. It comes down to "the window." The NCAA and its broadcast partners—Warner Bros. Discovery and CBS—have to account for the preceding shows, the length of the floor change between games, and the inevitable commercials.
Basically, if the first game is a blowout, the second game might start a few minutes earlier than projected. If it's a nail-biter, everything pushes back.
Planning Your Final Four Weekend
If you're actually going to Indianapolis, don't just show up at the stadium at tip-off. The Fan Fest at the Indiana Convention Center and the Music Fest (which usually takes place at White River State Park) are massive. These events run all day Saturday and Sunday.
- Check the time zone: Indianapolis is on Eastern Time. Phoenix is on Mountain Standard Time (and they don't do Daylight Savings, so they are currently 3 hours behind the East Coast in April).
- Arrive early: Security at Lucas Oil Stadium for an event of this scale is no joke. Give yourself at least 90 minutes.
- Hydrate: It's a long night, especially on Monday.
The ncaa basketball final four game times are more than just a slot on a calendar; they are the anchors for the biggest weekend in college sports. Whether you’re watching from a couch in Maine or a sports bar in Vegas, knowing that 6:09 PM ET Saturday start time is the difference between seeing the opening tip and missing the first run of the game.
To make sure you don't miss a single play, your next move should be to sync your digital calendar with the official NCAA March Madness app once the bracket is released on Selection Sunday, March 15. This will give you real-time alerts if a game is running long and when exactly the second semifinal is about to start.