How To Watch College Basketball Without Cable

This article lays out the channels you will need to watch Men’s NCAA Division I College Basketball throughout the 2022-23 season. We even have the full slate of upcoming games listed and where you can stream them live.

Best Value for College Basketball: I find combining Vidgo (7-day free trial) with ESPN+ ($9.99 per month) will provide live access to most college basketball for the best price. Vidgo doesn’t have CBS in its lineup, but you can watch that free with a TV antenna or grab a subscription to Paramount+ (Free Trial) to get live CBS.

Where To Stream Upcoming College Basketball Games

The table below lists the date and time of upcoming games and links the service where you can stream them

What TV Channels Show NCAA Basketball

The vast majority of NCAA Men’s College Basketball airs on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, FS1, FS2, FOX, CBS, ABC, CBS Sports Network, BTN (Big Ten Network), Pac-12 Network, ACC Network, beIN Sports, and SEC Network. Here is a breakdown of all the channels airing NCAA action this season, along with which conferences they carry.

• ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU and ESPN+: These networks air games from a wide variety of conferences. They carry a mix of A10, ACC, American, America East, Atlantic Sun, Big 12 Conference Basketball, Big South, Big Sky, Big Ten Conference Basketball, Big West, C-USA, Horizon, Ivy, MAC, MAAC, MEAC, Mountain West, MVC, NEC, OVC, Pac-12, Patriot League, SEC, SoCon, Southland, Summit League, Sun Belt, SWAC, WAC and WCC.
• CBS: Carries the ACC, American, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC
  Fox/FS1/FS2: Carry games from Big East, Big Ten, and Pac-12
• ACC Network: Airs games from the ACC
• beIN Sports: Airs games from C-US
• Big Ten Network: Airs games from the Big Ten
• CBS Sports Network: Games from the A10, Big East, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, NEC, Patriot League and WCC
• Fox Sports Networks (FS1 and FS2 along with the Fox RSNs: The fox networks carry ACC, Big 12, and Big East games. The Fox Regional Networks air local games within those conferences
• Longhorn Network: Texas
• USA Network: Carries A10 games
• Pac-12 Network: Airs Pac-12 conference games
• SEC Network: Airs SEC games
• Stadium: Carries A10, American, Big South, CAA, C-USA, Horizon, Ivy, MAC, OVC, Patriot, SoCon, Southland, WAC

So now let’s see where is the best place to watch all these networks.

Best Way to Watch NCAA Basketball

Combining the Vidgo Live TV streaming service with a subscription to ESPN+ will give you live access to the most college basketball this season. We take a look at both of these services below.

College Basketball on Vidgo

The most comprehensive and affordable way to watch college basketball is the newer streaming service Vidgo. The service costs only $69.99 per month for its “Plus” plan after a 7-day free trial. The plan comes will all the following college basketball channels:

• ABC (in over 100 markets)
• ACC Network
• Big Ten Network
• BYU TV
• ESPN
• ESPN Deportes
• ESPNU
• ESPN2
• ESPNews
• Fox (in over 100 markets)
• Fox Deportes
• FS1
• FS2
• Longhorn Network
• PAC -12 NETWORK
• PAC -12 NETWORK Los Angeles
• PAC -12 NETWORK Arizona
• PAC -12 NETWORK Bay Area
• PAC -12 NETWORK Mountain
• PAC -12 NETWORK Oregon
• PAC -12 NETWORK Washington
• SEC Network
• Stadium

The only visible drawback is the lack of CBS Sports Network and CBS, which both carry a few games this season. However, you can watch CBS using a TV antenna along with other local network channels. You could also opt to subscribe to Paramount+ for your local CBS station. Check out our review of Vidgo for more details on this service.

Watching College Basketball on ESPN+

If you are interested in watching a lot of college basketball games, then you should check out ESPN+. Each Week ESPN+ will have exclusive coverage of certain games. This year ESPN+ will air over 2000 games on the streaming service. Games include

• SEC: 73 non-conference games, with at least one game from every team, simulcast with SECN+
• ACC: 32 non-conference games, with at least one game from every team except UNC and FSU, simulcast with ACCNX
• Big 12: ~80 exclusive games all season long, including games from Kansas and reigning national champion, Baylor
• Mid-Majors: 2,000 games from ~26 conferences, all season long, including The America, A-10, and Missouri Valley

ESPN+ is also available to subscribers who want to bundle ESPN+ with Disney+ and Hulu’s streaming library. All three services together are just $13.99 per month. You can also subscribe to just ESPN+ for $9.99 per month.

Check out our review of ESPN+ for more details.

Other Ways to Watch College Basketball without Cable

If you don’t need all those networks or want to try another service, these services offer air NCAA basketball channels.

College Basketball on Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV provides access to most of the cable channels you need for college basketball and offers local broadcast channels in most TV markets. Here are all the channels carrying college basketball you get with Hulu Live TV:

• ABC (Most Markets)
• FOX (Most Markets)
• CBS (Most Markets)
• NBC (Most Markets)
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3 (Through the ESPN app)
• ESPNEWS
• ESPN-U
• FS1
• FS2
• ACC Network
• SEC Network
• BTN
• and CBS Sports

Hulu supports Roku, Fire TV Devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and more. Check out our review of Hulu Live TV for more information. You can subscribe to Hulu Live TV through their website.

College Basketball on fuboTV

FuboTV – FuboTV offers nearly every channel you need for NCAA college basketball.  FuboTV also offers a fuboTV subscription. We also have a full review of FuboTV for more details on their service. The list below shows the relevant channels in fuboTV’s “Pro Plan” for $74.99 (after 7-day free trial):

• ABC (in select markets)
• CBS (in select markets)
• NBC (in select markets)
• FOX (in select markets)
• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3 (Through the ESPN app)
• FS1
• FS2
• beIN Sports
• BTN (Big Ten Network)

If you upgrade to the Elite Channel Plan for $84.99/month, the following channels are added.

• SEC Network
• ACC Network
• Stadium
• PAC-12 Networks
• ESPNU
• ESPNews

Some of the highlights are:

• Over 100 channels including CBS, FOX, ABC, ESPN, and FS1 are available in fuboTV’s channel lineup
• You can watch on three screens at the same time 
• 250 hours of cloud DVR storage
• The FuboTV app is available on major platforms, including Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV. 

To see all the channels you can receive through FuboTV in your area, check out this link.

College Basketball on Sling

Sling TV – Sling TV is the service to grab if you must have Pac-12. However, you will be missing CBS Sports Network. To get the most college basketball on Sling TV, pick up both the Orange and the Blue package with the “Sports Extra” add-on for $70 per month (Both Sling Packages cost $55 a month, while the Sports Extra plan is an additional $15.) Both packages and the sports extra add-on provide access to:

• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3 and Longhorn Network through the ESPN app
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2,
• Pac-12 Network
• ACC Network
• SEC Network
• BTN
• beIN Sports
• Stadium

Suppose you are only interested in a few of the channels above. Sling TV may be a good choice as you can pick up Sling Blue or Sling Orange for $40 a month each. While the Sports Extra package costs $15 per month for both Orange and Blue subscribers, it only costs $11 if you subscribe to one of those plans. Below are how these channels break out per package.

Sling Orange ($40/month): Stadium, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3 (through the ESPN app)

Sling Orange with the Sports Extra Add-on ($51 per month) : ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 (through the ESPN app), ACC Network, Longhorn Network, ESPNU, ESPNews, SEC Network, Pac-12, Longhorn Network (through the ESPN app), and beIN Sports

Sling Blue ($40/month): FS1

Sling Blue with the Sports Extra Add-on ($51 per month): FS1, FS2, Pac-12, BTN, and beIN Sports.

You can sign up for a free trial to try it out. Sling TV is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and more, so see our full review of Sling TV for more information.

College Basketball on DIRECTV STREAM

The DIRECTV STREAM live streaming service is another way to watch College Basketball. However, you must subscribe to their “Choice” package for $99.99 per month. The service doesn’t force you into a contract so that you can cancel any time. It also provides access to ESPN2, ESPN, ESPNU, ESPNews, CBSSN, FS1, FS2 ACC Network, SEC Network, Big Ten Network, ABC, Fox, CBS, and more. They also carry the Ballys Regional Sports Networks. DIRECTV STREAM also includes a cloud DVR service and allows you to simultaneously stream to an unlimited number of devices in the home, and up to 3 outside the home.  

DIRECTV STREAM is supported on the following devices:

• 4th Gen Apple TV
• Google Chromecast, 2nd gen and higher
• Amazon Fire TV
• Fire TV Stick
• iOS devices
• Android
• Chrome and Safari browsers
• Roku

You can try DIRECTV STREAM by signing up for this  5-day free trial. You can also learn more about it in our review of DIRECTV STREAM

College Basketball on YouTube TV

YouTube TV offers local broadcast channels in many areas of the country. Here are the channels they provide:

• ABC (in select markets)
• CBS (in select markets)
• NBC (in select markets)
• FOX (in select markets)
• BTN
• CBS Sports Network
• SEC Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2
• Stadium (available through an add-on plan)

This will provide you with plenty of NCAA action for just $72.99 per month. YouTube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app has also returned to Roku devices after settling a dispute between the two companies.  Check out our review of YouTube TV for more details.