NCAA Women's Tournament: TV schedule, channels and streaming options
Our local teams are out, but that's no reason to stop watching the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Unlike the men's games, these are all on ESPN.
We've got the full schedule below with channels and streaming options for cord-cutters.
SCHEDULE
SWEET 16 — Friday, March 23
No. 6 Oregon State vs. No. 2 Baylor — 7 p.m., ESPN2
No. 4 NC State vs. No. 1 Mississippi State — 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 1 Louisville — 9 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 2 Texas — 9 p.m., ESPN2
SWEET 16 — Saturday, March 24
No. 11 Buffalo vs. No. 2 South Carolina — 11:30 a.m., ESPN
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 1 UConn — 1:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Notre Dame — 4 p.m., ESPN
No. 11 Central Michigan vs. No. 2 Oregon — 6 p.m., ESPN
ELITE 8 - Sunday, March 25
No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 6 Oregon State Noon, ESPN
#1 Mississippi State vs. No. 3 UCLA, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
ELITE 8 — Monday, March 26
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 2 South Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Oregon, 9 p.m., ESPN
FINAL FOUR — Friday, March 3
TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN2
TBD vs. TBD, 9 p.m., ESPN2
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP — Sunday, March 1
TBD vs. TVD, 6 p.m., ESPN
How to find ESPN
ESPN — Channels 31 and 300 on Spectrum (Time Warner Cable); channel 602 on AT&T U-verse; channel 210 on Google Fiber TV; channel 140 on DISH; and channel 206 on DirecTV.
ESPN2 — Channels 32 and 301 on Spectrum (Time Warner Cable); channel 606 on AT&T U-verse; channel 214 on Google Fiber TV; channel 143 on DISH; and channel 209 on DirecTV.
ESPN Watch:A great way to watch the games on the go, but you'll need authentication — which means you'll need a cable log-in or the log-in credentials that come with your streaming service subscription (Sling, DirecTV Now, Vue and Hulu Live all have ESPN credentials). Here's how to use it:
▪ On a computer: Go to ESPN3.com, click on the tab for either “Live” or “Upcoming” and select the game you’re looking for. The games are grouped by sport and are in chronological order.
▪ WatchESPN app: On your smartphone, tablet or streaming device, open the WatchESPN app. From the app, you can find the game by clicking on “Sport,” then selecting “Basketball.” Click the tab for either “Live Now” or “Upcoming” and select the game you want to watch.
▪ Roku, Apple TV, XBox 360, XBox One, Amazon Fire TV/Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Chromecast: Search “WatchESPN” and add that channel. Browse to select the content you want to view. At some point in the process you will have to activate the device with your cable or satellite username and password; it will give you instructions on the TV screen. You should only have to do this one time.
STREAMING
You can still watch ESPN if you don't have cable, but you'll need to subscribe to a streaming service.
Here's a rundown of popular services, and please note that all of these allow for free trials. Most of these services are available to stream through Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire devices (meaning you can watch them on your TV), as well as Android and iOS apps, so you can watch on your phone or tablet.
YouTube TV: This has lots of channels, including all the major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC – plus all the ESPN networks. Cost: $35 per month. Info: tv.youtube.com .
Sling: There are two packages available plus a way to combine them, depending on your needs. There’s a lot of stuff here, including: ABC, NBC and Fox, plus all the ESPN channels. Cost: $20-$45 per month. Info: sling.com.
DirecTV Now: This is a streaming service, so you don’t need DirecTV’s satellite subscription. For sports, DirecTV Now has ABC, NBC, Fox and all the ESPN channels. Cost: $35-$70 per month. Info: directvnow.com.
Playstation Vue: All Playstation Vue packages include ABC, NBC and Fox, plus all ESPN channels. Cost: $40-$75 per month. Info: playstation.com/en-us/network/vue.
Hulu: Hulu with Live TV (not the same as regular Hulu) offers a lot of channels, including all of the ESPN channels. Cost: $39.99 per month. Info: hulu.com/live-tv.
Brooke Cain: 919-829-4579, bcain@newsobserver.com, @warmtv, @brookecain
This story was originally published March 20, 2018 at 1:02 PM.