2023 Selection Sunday: Date, Time, & Full NCAA Tournament Schedule

The 2023 NCAA Tournament began Selection Sunday on Sunday, March 12, 2023.

NCAA Tournament Schedule

Two days after Greg Gumbel hosted the selection show on CBS at 6 p.m. on March 12, the First Four tipped off in Dayton, which was the only city that returned as a host in 2022 after losing games in 2021.

Dayton has hosted the first games of March Madness each year since the initial play-in format was established in 2001. 

Columbus also hosted first- and second-round games, making Ohio only of only two states with two host cities. New York is the other; Albany hosted first- and second-round games and New York City will host the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight at Madison Square Garden. It will be the Garden’s first tourney games since 2017.

Here’s the full 2023 NCAA Tournament schedule, starting with Selection Sunday on March 12 and ending with the Final Four in Houston on April 2 and 4:

First Four – Schedule & Location

Dates: March 14-15
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Venue: UD Arena

The First Four returned Dayton for the second straight year and the 22nd time since the play-in format began in 2021.

First & Second Round – Schedule & Locations

Dates: March 16, 18
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Venue: Legacy Arena

March Madness returned Birmingham for the first time since 2008, the most recent of 10 times the city has hosted, half of which were first- and second-round games and half were regional games.

Dates: March 16, 18
Location: Orlando, Florida
Venue: Amway Center

March Madness was back in Orlando for the seventh time in the last 31 years. The city most recently hosted first- and second-round games (at the Amway Center) in 2017.

Dates: March 16, 18
Location: Sacramento, California
Venue: Golden 1 Center

When Golden 1 Center hosted first- and second-round games in 2017, it became the 10th different venue in California to do so. And with games played in 2023, it became the seventh different venue to host at least twice.

Dates: March 16, 18
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Venue: Wells Fargo Arena

Prior to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the state of Iowa had never hosted a tourney game. With games played at Wells Fargo Arena this year, the state has now hosted the first- and second-round three times in the last seven tournaments (2016, 2019, and 2023).

Dates: March 17, 19
Location: Albany, New York
Venue: MVP Arena

MVP Arena hosted NCAA Tournament games for the second time ever and the first time since 1995 (then named Knickerbocker Arena). It’s one of eight venues in the state that have hosted first- or second-round games in tourney history.

Dates: March 17, 19
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Venue: Nationwide Arena

Since hosting first- and second-round games in 2004, four years after the arena opened, Nationwide Arena hasn’t gone more than four years without hosting games. The arena most recently hosted in 2019.

Dates: March 17, 19
Location: Denver, Colorado
Venue: Ball Arena

Denver has been in the regular rotation for opening weekend games for the last two decades and is scheduled to host in both 2023 and 2025.

Dates: March 17, 19
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Venue: Greensboro Coliseum

After hosting games on March 17 and 19, Greensboro overtook Meadowlands Arena (East Rutherford, New Jersey) and Bojangles’ Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) for sixth-place among venues with the most hosted tournament rounds.

Sweet 16 & Elite Eight – Schedule & Locations

Region: West Region
Dates: March 23, 25
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada 
Venue: T-Mobile Arena

Region: East Region
Dates: March 23, 25
Location: New York, New York
Venue: Madison Square Garden

Only UD Arena (Dayton) has hosted more tournament rounds than Madison Square Garden. This will be the third time the Garden has hosted regional games since 2014.

Region: Midwest Region
Dates: March 24, 26
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Venue: T-Mobile Center

Only Dayton and New York City have hosted more NCAA Tournament rounds than Kansas City. The T-Mobile Center most recently hosted first- and second-round games (as the Sprint Center) in 2019.

These will be the first NCAA Tournament games ever played in Las Vegas and the entire state of Nevada.

Region: South Region
Dates: March 24, 26
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Venue: KFC YUM! Center

This will be the fifth time hosting games for the KFC YUM! Center since opening in 2010. The venue most recently hosted Elite Eight and Sweet 16 games in 2019.

Final Four & National Championship – Schedule & Locations

Dates: April 1-3
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: NRG Stadium

NRG Stadium will host the national semifinals and national championship for the first time since Kris Jenkins’ title-winning shot in 2016.

As of Friday, Jan. 27, Houston sits atop national championship odds at +600. Arkansas and Purdue are tied for the second-shortest odds (+900), followed by UCLA and Tennessee at +1200.