Selection Sunday Time Is Set — Here’s Exactly When the Bracket Reveal Starts In Every Time Zone

If you’re wondering what time is Selection Sunday, the men’s NCAA tournament bracket reveal starts at 6 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, March 15, 2026, on CBS. The women’s bracket reveal follows later that night at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

For fans in every U.S. time zone, that means the men’s Selection Sunday show begins at 5 p.m. Central, 4 p.m. Mountain, 3 p.m. Pacific, 2 p.m. Alaska and 12 p.m. Hawaii. The women’s show starts at 7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain, 5 p.m. Pacific, 4 p.m. Alaska and 2 p.m. Hawaii.

That timing matters because this is the night the full 68-team fields, seed lines, regions and first-round matchups are finally locked in. It also sets the calendar immediately: the men’s First Four begins March 17 in Dayton, while the women’s First Four begins March 18.

Key Points

• Men’s Selection Sunday show: 6 p.m. ET on CBS

• Women’s Selection Sunday show: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

• Men’s stream: Paramount+ and March Madness Live/CBS platforms

• Women’s stream: ESPN platforms

• The bracket reveal comes just ahead of the First Four this week.

What time is Selection Sunday in your time zone?

Here’s the Selection Sunday start time converted across the U.S. for the men’s NCAA tournament bracket reveal on CBS:

Eastern Time (ET): 6 p.m.
Central Time (CT): 5 p.m.
Mountain Time (MT): 4 p.m.
Pacific Time (PT): 3 p.m.
Alaska Time (AKT): 2 p.m.
Hawaii Time (HST): 12 p.m.

The women’s NCAA tournament bracket reveal airs later Sunday night on ESPN:

Eastern Time (ET): 8 p.m.
Central Time (CT): 7 p.m.
Mountain Time (MT): 6 p.m.
Pacific Time (PT): 5 p.m.
Alaska Time (AKT): 4 p.m.
Hawaii Time (HST): 2 p.m.

How to Watch Selection Sunday Live

The men’s Selection Show will air on CBS from 6-7 p.m. ET, with NCAA and CBS announcing that one-hour window as the official start of tournament coverage. Fans can also watch through Paramount+ and NCAA’s March Madness Live ecosystem.

The women’s Selection Show airs live at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, with ESPN’s press materials confirming the bracket special and surrounding coverage for Sunday night.

That’s the most useful takeaway for “what time is Selection Sunday,” the clearest answer is that the men’s bracket drops first at 6 p.m. ET, and the women’s bracket follows at 8 p.m. ET.

Bracketology: What to Watch Before the Reveal

Bracketology is the other reason this night draws so much traffic. Heading into Selection Sunday, several projections have Duke, Florida, Michigan and Arizona tracking toward No. 1 seeds on the men’s side, while the final at-large spots and seed lines remain fluid because conference tournament results continued into Sunday.

That’s what makes bracketology useful on Selection Sunday itself: it is less about guessing the obvious teams and more about watching the bubble, the Last Four In/First Four Out, and which teams could be pushed to Dayton. Blogging the Bracket’s latest projection listed Missouri, Texas, VCU and San Diego State among the last teams in, with Oklahoma, SMU, Auburn and Indiana among the first four out entering the final day.

There is also real seeding value beyond just getting in. A move from the 8-9 line to a 6-7 line can dramatically change a team’s path in the first weekend, while automatic bids from Sunday title games can steal spots from bubble teams. That is why Selection Sunday remains a live event, not just a bracket dump.

What Happens After the Bracket Reveal?

Once the bracket is announced, the turnaround is fast. The men’s First Four starts Tuesday, March 17, and the women’s First Four starts Wednesday, March 18, which is why the exact Selection Sunday start time matters so much for fans trying to follow seeding, travel sites and matchup analysis in real time.

What happens next? Expect immediate follow-ups on bracket winners and losers, the biggest snubs, first-round upset picks and which projected contenders got the toughest paths.

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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports

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