The UCLA Bruins earned their first Big Ten championship title by defeating USC last weekend and the No. 1 team would like to keep that hot streak alive. The Bruins will enter the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball tournament playing the No. 16 Southern University Jaguars, who beat UC San Diego in the First Four on Wednesday to advance to the first round, tonight on their home court.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch the UCLA vs. Southern U game and get the complete schedule for every other first round game this week.
How to watch UCLA vs. Southern U:
Date: Friday, March 21
Time: 10 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: Sling, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV and more
What channel is the UCLA vs. Southern U game on?
The women’s UCLA Bruins vs. Southern University Jaguars game will air on ESPN.
Don’t have cable? Don’t worry: Games across the ESPN suite of channels are accessible via live TV streaming services like Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV, Sling and Fubo.
2025 March Madness First Round Schedule:
All times Eastern
Women’s first round
Friday, March 21
No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 Iowa State/Princeton, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Liberty, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 8 Utah vs. No. 9 Indiana, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin State, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Fairfield, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 2 TCU vs. No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Oregon, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 13 Montana State, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 12 Ball State, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Nebraska, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 8 Richmond vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Lehigh, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 12 South Florida, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 Southern, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, March 22
No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 11 Murray State, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Arkansas State, 1 p.m. (ABC)
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 12 Green Bay, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 2 NC State vs. No. 15 Vermont, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 6 West Virginia vs. No. 11 Columbia/Washington, 2 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 1 Southern California vs. No. 16 UNC Greensboro, 3 p.m. (ABC)
No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 South Dakota State, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Norfolk State, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 14 Oregon State, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Harvard, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 8 California vs. No. 9 Mississippi State, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 8 Illinois vs. No. 9 Creighton, 7:15 p.m. (ESPNews)
No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 11 George Mason, 7:45 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 16 High Point/William & Mary, 9:45 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 San Diego State, 10:15 p.m. (ESPN)
How to watch the First Round of March Madness 2025:
Hulu’s live TV tier includes every channel you’ll need to watch the women’s NCAA tournament (and the men’s!). For $82.99/month, you’ll get live ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ABC and access to ESPN+, plus CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV for all the men’s games too.
On top of all that live TV, you’ll get access to regular Hulu which offers Hulu Originals and FX shows and Disney+. You can try all of this free for three days, too!
Sling doesn’t offer a free trial these days, and March Madness lasts longer than your standard trial would. It’s still a solid option to catch most games in the tournament. Emphasis on most, because one big blindspot for Sling is that it doesn’t carry CBS — though you can still authenticate via Sling on the march Madness website to watch CBS coverage live through your phone or laptop, but not your TV.
That said, for $48 for your first month of Sling Orange + Blue and the Sports Extra add-on, you can catch all the games on TBS, TNT, TruTV, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews and ABC.
2025 NCAA tournament schedule:
2025 March Madness women’s schedule:
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Selection Sunday: 8 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 16 (ESPN)
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First Four: March 19-20 (ESPN2, ESPNU)
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First round: March 21-22 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS)
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Second round: March 23-24 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS)
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Sweet 16: March 28-29 (ESPN, ESPN2)
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Elite Eight: March 30-31 (ESPN)
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Final Four: April 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida (ESPN, ESPN+)
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NCAA championship game: April 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida (ABC2, ESPN3, ESPN+)
2025 March Madness men’s schedule:
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Selection Sunday: 6 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 16 (CBS)
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First Four: March 18-19 (TruTV)
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First round: March 20-21 (CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV)
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Second round: March 22-23 (CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV)
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Sweet 16: March 27-28 (CBS, TBS)
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Elite Eight: March 29-30 (CBS, TBS)
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Final Four: April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (CBS)
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NCAA championship game: April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (CBS)
