Villanova fans suffering from yet another all-too-early exit in the Big East tournament will see a familiar face on this year’s men’s NCAA selection Sunday show.
In his third season as a college basketball analyst for CBS, former Wildcats head coach Jay Wright is back to break down this year’s bracket during tonight’s NCAA men’s basketball championship selection show (6 p.m., CBS).
Wright will likely be asked about Villanova’s decision to fire head coach Kyle Neptune after the Wildcats were bounced out of the Big East tournament by Connecticut, ending any shot of advancing to this year’s NCAA tournament.
Returning to host tonight’s reveal for the second straight year is Adam Zucker, who is officially taking over the role held since 1997 by beloved broadcaster Greg Gumbel, who died in December.
“He was very much the vibe of the place and such a sweet man and kind guy,” Zucker said during an interview on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast. “It still hurts. We’re going to honor him like crazy during this tournament.”
Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis will join Wright and Zucker to break down tonight’s bracket. Bubba Cunningham, North Carolina’s athletic director, and the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee chair, will also join the broadcast.
This is the 14th year CBS and TNT Sports (previously Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and Turner Sports) have partnered to cover the men’s basketball tournament. While TNT lost its NBA rights following this season, its partnership with CBS is scheduled to run through the 2032 tournament.
CBS will air both the Final Four and the championship game this year. Veteran play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle will call both for the second straight year after Jim Nantz retired from college basketball broadcasts in 2023.
Meanwhile, ESPN will air the women’s NCAA selection Sunday show at 8 p.m. Elle Duncan will host the network’s coverage, joined by analysts Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, Andraya Carter, and bracketologist Charlie Creme.
What time does the men’s NCAA selection show start?
- When: Sunday, March 16
- Time: 6 p.m. Eastern
- TV: CBS
- Hosts: Adam Zucker, Jay Wright, Clark Kellogg, Seth Davis
- Stream: NCAA March Madness Live (requires authentication), Paramount+, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream (all require a subscription).
What time does the women’s NCAA selection show start?
- When: Sunday, March 16
- Time: 8 p.m. Eastern
- TV: ESPN
- Hosts: Elle Duncan, Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, Andraya Carter, Charlie Creme
- Stream: NCAA March Madness Live (requires authentication), YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream (all require a subscription).
Will any Philadelphia-area schools make it into the NCAA tournament?
For the third straight year, not a single one of Philly’s Big 5 men’s basketball teams is expected to advance to the men’s NCAA tournament. And it’s likely to be the first year since the women’s NCAA tournament began in 1982 that Philly won’t have a single men’s or women’s team representing the city in the big dance.
Villanova was eliminated from the Big East tournament by Connecticut Thursday night, the third straight season you won’t hear the Wildcats mentioned on Selection Sunday. The loss cost Neptune his job less than 48 hours later, with assistant coach Mike Nardi serving as interim head coach if Villanova gets invited to play in the College Basketball Crown tournament later this month.
Temple’s chances of making their first NCAA tournament since 2019 were dashed when they lost to Tulsa on Thursday in the American Athletic Conference tournament. The same goes for Drexel, which was booted out of the Coastal Athletic Association tournament by Towson.
St. Joseph’s University’s hopes of advancing to the NCAA tournament made it all the way to Saturday. Unfortunately, the Hawks were defeated in the Atlantic 10 semifinal by George Mason.
La Salle was eliminated by St. Joe’s in the second round of the A-10 tournament in Fran Dunphy’s final game as the Explorers’ head coach. It was his 1,005th game as a head coach across 33 seasons at Penn, Temple, and La Salle.
Then there’s the University of Pennsylvania, who fired longtime men’s coach Steve Donahue after the Quakers finished the season 8-19, with a paltry 4-10 record in the Ivy League.
On the women’s side, St. Joseph’s was the closest to landing a spot in the NCAA tournament but lost their chance to land an automatic bid after being defeated by George Mason in the Atlantic 10 title game. The Hawks finished fourth in the A-10 and could still sneak in as a bubble team, but ESPN currently has St. Joseph’s pegged as one of the first four teams out.
Drexel’s women’s team, the only Big 5 squad to advance to the NCAA tournament last year, was blown out of the Coastal Athletic Association tournament by William & Mary on Saturday.
Penn women also came close to landing a spot in the Big Dance but lost to top-seeded Columbia in the semifinals of the Ivy League tournament Friday. Three Ivy League teams have a chance at making it into the NCAA tournament this year, but Penn won’t be one of them.
Temple’s women’s team was upset by Rice in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament. Despite ending the season 20-11 (13-5 ACC), the Owls don’t appear to be a bubble team.
Villanova’s women’s team was knocked out of the Big East tournament by UConn, while the La Salle women lost to Dayton in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
How teams are selected for the tournament
Both men’s and women’s teams can make it into their respective NCAA basketball tournaments in two ways — an automatic bid and an at-large bid.
Thirty-two teams receive automatic bids by winning their Division I conference tournament. Several conferences will hold their championship games on Sunday.
A 10-member selection committee picks the remaining 36 teams after every conference tournament game has been played. After the teams are selected, the NCAA says the committee “endeavors to achieve reasonable competitive balance in each region of the bracket.”
2025 NCAA men’s tournament schedule
- First Four: March 18-19
- First round: March 20-21
- Second round: March 22-23
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
- Final Four: April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
- NCAA championship game: April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
2025 NCAA women’s tournament schedule
- First Four: March 19-20
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-31
- Final Four: April 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
- NCAA championship game: April 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
