The 2021 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament starts Tuesday, March 9 at 2 pm when 12th ranked Pitt takes on the 13th ranked Miami. 15 teams will battle it out to see who’s the best in ACC at the ACC championship game on Saturday, March 13. While all these games will air on ESPN, ESPN2, and ACCN (ACC Network), you don’t need cable to watch. In fact, with the tournament only lasting 5 days, you can watch the whole ACC Tournament Free by using a Free trial from a streaming service that carries those networks.
This article will tell you which services to use and when every game airs so you can watch the entire ACC Tournament for free without cable.
Watch The ACC Tournament Free
Rounds 1 and 2 of the ACC Tournament will air on ACCN, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals airing on ESPN and ESPN 2. The Championship game will air on ESPN. The following streaming services carry all three of those channels in their channel lineup and offer a free trial long enough for you to watch the entire ACC Tournament.
- fuboTV – Offers a 1-week free trial
- Hulu Live TV – offers a 7-day free trial to Hulu Live TV
- YouTube TV – offers a 1-week free trial
Watch The ACC Tournament on fuboTV
FuboTV is an excellent place to go for sports. In addition to ACCN, ESPN, and ESPN2, over 90 channels are offered in its Family package for $64.99/month (after a 7-day free trial). However, cancel before the free trial period, and you will not be charged, allowing you to watch the entire ACC Tournament for free.
Below are features included with the FuboTV “Family” package:
- ACC Network, ESPN, ESPN2, and more 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 AppleTV, AndroidTV, Roku, and Amazon FireTV.
You can sign up for a 1-week free trial or check out our review of FuboTV for more details.
Watch The ACC Tournament on Hulu Live TV
Hulu Live TV offers ACC Network, ESPN, and ESPN2 in its channel lineup for $64.99/month. Remember to cancel before the free trial period, and you will not be charged. Previously Hulu was known for its vast on-demand streaming library. Recently, they have added a Hulu Live TV service for $64.99 a month. Hulu Live TV is one of the best live TV streaming services available. It includes the following features:
- The basic package comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR storage. (Upgrades available)
- Watch on two screens at once. (Upgrades available)
- Comes with six customizable profiles
- Includes entire Hulu streaming library
Hulu + Live TV is supported on Roku, Fire TV Devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and more. See our review of Hulu + Live TV for more details.
Watch The ACC Tournament on YouTube TV
YouTube TV also offers ACCN, ESPN, and ESPN2 streaming live. YouTube TV costs $64.99 a month. Remember to cancel before the free trial period, and you will not be charged. A subscription to Youtube TV includes the following:
- access to ACC Network, ESPN, ESPN2, and over 70 other channels
- unlimited cloud DVR storage
- stream on three devices at once
- Youtube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app isn’t available on Roku. However, users can use YouTube TV through the YouTube app on Roku devices.
- Includes Youtube TV on-demand
Check out my review of YouTube TV for all the details and channels available on the service. You can also check your Zip Code on Youtube TVs Website to see the available channels in your area.
Watch ACC Tournament Through The ESPN App
Once you activate one of the fee trials to one of the services above, the easiest way to watch the tournament is through the ESPN App. The Games televised on ACCN, ESPN and ESPN2 will all be available through the app. You can use the ESPN app on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Android devices. The steps below explain how to set up the app.
- Sign up for a Free Trial to fuboTV or a Free Trial to Hulu+ Live TV
- Go to the channel store on your streaming device.
- Please search for the ESPN app, and add it to your device.
- Open the app, and click the setting gear from the top right of the menu.
- Then select “Account Information” and then “TV Provider.”
- Your device will provide an activation code and a URL
- Using a web browser on your laptop or mobile device, go to the URL and enter the supplied code.
- You will then be asked for the TV provider. Use the one you signed up for in step 1. ( For example, I used my Hulu credentials)
- Once you successfully log in, The ESPN App screen will refresh and list your TV provider.
- The ESPN app is now set up. In the ESPN app, you should be able to go to “Featured,” then “NCAA Basketball” upcoming ACC Tournament games will be available to watch on your TV through the app.
ACC Tournament TV Schedule
Below is the TV schedule of all ACC Tournament games with the TV channel the game will air on. All times are eastern standard.
Round 1: Tuesday, March 9
- Game 1: No. 12 Pitt vs. No. 13 Miami – 2 p.m. on ACCN
- Game 2: No. 10 Duke vs. No. 15 Boston College – 4:30 p.m. on ACCN
- Game 3: No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Wake Forest – 7 p.m. on ACCN
Round 2: Wednesday, March 10
- Game 4: No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 N.C. State – Noon on ACCN
- Game 5: No. 5 Clemson vs. Game 1 winner – 2:30 p.m. on ACCN
- Game 6: No. 7 Louisville vs. Game 2 winner – 6:30 p.m. on ACCN
- Game 7: No. 6 North Carolina vs. Game 3 winner – 9 p.m. on ACCN
Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 11
- Game 8: No. 1 Virginia vs. Game 4 winner – Noon on ESPN/ESPN2
- Game 9: No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. Game 5 winner – 2:30 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2
- Game 10: No. 2 Florida State vs. Game 6 winner – 6:30 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2
- Game 11: No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. Game 7 winner – 9 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2
Semifinals: Friday, March 12
- Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner- 6:30 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2
- Game 13: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner – 9 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2
ACC Championship game: Saturday, March 13
- Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner – 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
Other Viewing Options
The following streaming services also carry ACC Network, ESPN and ESPN2. However, they either do not offer a free trial, or the free trial period isn’t long enough to watch the entire tournament for free.
Vidgo
Vidgo is a newer streaming service that offers fairly competitive pricing over other live streaming services. Vidgo includes ACCN, ESPN, and ESPN2 in its Core package, along with over 60 other channels. New customers can sign up for the Core Plan for $55 per month.
Vidgo doesn’t force you into a contract so you can cancel any time. They do offer a 3-day free trial, which you can cancel within the first three days at no charge.
Vidgo is supported on available on Android, iOS, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV. You can also stream the service on up to 3 devices at the same time. We have the full details in our guide to Vidgo’s live streaming service.
Sling TV
While ACC Network isn’t available in Sling’s base packages, it can be added to Sling TV’s Orange package for $10/ month as part of its “Sports Extra.” This would bring the total amount to $50/month. ESPN and ESPN2 come standard in the Orange package.
Sling TV is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and more, so it’s not a problem to enjoy it on a TV, tablet, computer, or other smart devices. There are more channels than I’ve mentioned available on Sling TV than what I’ve discussed here. To find out more about what Sling TV has to offer and more information about Sling TV device compatibility, check out this detailed review of Sling TV.
The review includes information on a Sling TV free trial and ways to get discounted (and free) streaming devices, so be sure to check it out. Currently, there are offers for a 3-day trial and free Amazon fire stick if you sign up for two months.
DIRECTV Stream
You can watch ACCN, ESPN, and ESPN2 as part of their “Choice” package for $84.99 per month. Check out our review of DIRECTV Stream for information on all the channels available through the service.
All DIRECTV Stream plans include:
- the ability to watch on 3 devices at the same time
- a cloud-based DVR
- channels like ESPN, AMC, HGTV, Discovery, and more
- supported on AppleTV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, and more
You can try DIRECTV Stream by signing up for online offer.
ACC Network on TVision
TVision is a new live TV streaming service from T-Mobile. The service is currently only available to T-Mobile customers. TVision’s “Live TV+” plan offers ACC Network and 60 other channels for just $50 per month. Below are features included with this plan:
- 60+ live channels including ACC Network, ESPN, ESPN2, and more
- includes 100 hours of cloud DVR
- stream to 3 devices at a time
- supported on Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more
See our review of TVision or visit T-Mobile’s website for more information.
If this article didn't answer your specific question, head over to our Home Page! It will guide you to affordable internet providers, streaming services to meet your needs, information on antennas, and many more tools and resources to help you save money on TV and Internet access.
For tips and tricks on cutting the cord and other tech topics be sure to join our Facebook Page.