NCAA Tournament: Tip-Off Times, Networks Released

Three Philadelphia area teams qualified for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, with Penn securing the Ivy League’s automatic bid alongside both Villanova Men’s and Women’s Basketball’s at-large bids.

While the initial brackets dropped at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on March 15 during the respective men’s and women’s selections shows, additional information like broadcast networks and game start times didn’t filter out until later in the day.

Penn Men’s Basketball, issued a No. 14 seed, will begin their tournament run at 9:25 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, facing No. 3 seed Illinois at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. TNT holds the broadcast rights to the Quakers’ game, a familiar matchup for head coach Fran McCaffery, who coached against Illinois head man Brad Underwood in the Big Ten for much of the past decade. Penn fans will enjoy a premiere broadcast crew of Ian Eagle, Grant Hill and La Salle alumnus Bill Raftery; Tracy Wolfson will serve as the sideline reporter.

Villanova Men’s Basketball will start their run at 4:10 p.m. on Friday, March 20, playing at Viejas Arena on San Diego State University’s campus against No. 9 seed Utah State. TNT will broadcast that matchup with Kevin Harlan on play-by-play duty, Robbie Hummel and Stan Van Gundy as analysts and Lauren Shehadi on the sideline.

Villanova Women’s Basketball will travel to LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, La., taking on No. 7 seed Texas Tech at 8:30 p.m. on March 20. ESPNU holds the broadcasting rights to that matchup: Tiffany Greene, Carolyn Peck and Alyssa Lang will have the call.