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What Time Is the NCAA Championship Game Tonight? Here’s When and How to Watch Villanova vs Michigan Online for Free

By: Brad Tuttle
Brad Tuttle, expert in Personal finance, shopping, consumer trends, and Senior Editor at Money
Brad Tuttle
Senior Editor | Joined January 2014
Brad Tuttle is a senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.
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Originally Published: Apr 02, 2018
Originally Published: Apr 02, 2018 Last Updated: Apr 02, 2018 3 min read
Kansas v Villanova play during March Madness 2018
Eric Paschall #4 of the Villanova Wildcats dunks in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal on March 31, 2018 in San Antonio.
Ronald Martinez—Getty Images

Tonight's the final night of March Madness 2018, and a national title is on the line. After an amazing basketball tournament full of dramatic upsets that generated both a celebrity nun and free pizza from Little Caesar's, the Villanova Wildcats will face the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA Championship Game tonight, April 2, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Villanova has the country's top-ranked offense, and is a 6.5-point favorite to beat Michigan

The NCAA Championship's start time is 9:20 p.m. ET, but the official broadcast begins at 9 p.m. ET. If you're wondering what channel the NCAA Championship Game is on, unfortunately it's not available on one of the big free TV networks. The national broadcast is being aired on the pay channel TBS. Two of its sister channels—TNT and TruTV—are also airing the championship game with commentators specifically for fans of Michigan and Villanova, respectively.

 

All three networks airing the NCAA Championship Game are pay TV channels, available with most cable or satellite subscriptions. But even if you don't have cable, or even a TV, you can still watch the NCAA championship game. Here's how.

Watch the 2018 NCAA Championship Game Online

There are several options for live-streaming the NCAA Championship Game Monday, and yes, you can watch the game online for free. First off, the NCAA March Madness Live app has a Fast Break feature allowing you to watch Villanova vs. Michigan for free. You are allowed to stream the championship game for free during a preview period that lasts roughly three hours, which should be long enough to catch the entire game, assuming you haven't been using up your free trial period previously.

When the free preview period expires, you will be required to log in with a pay TV account number and password. The Fast Break feature can be used on a browser in your desktop, or on any device after downloading the NCAA March Madness Live app.

The other main option to watch the NCAA Championship Game online for free comes by way of a free trial period offered by a streaming TV service like Hulu Live, DirecTV Now, Playstation Vue, Sling TV, or YouTube TV. All include channels like TBS with their basic packages, and all come with free trial periods of a week or so for new subscribers.

Streaming TV packages range from roughly $20 to $40 per month after the free trial period is over. Just be sure to remember to cancel before the free trial ends if you are not interested in paying for the service.