Here’s your full guide on how to watch college basketball games without cable, including the best streaming deals.
FuboTV
Sling TV Orange + Blue
Paramount+ with Showtime
(save $23.89)
Peacock Premium
ESPN+
The 2023-24 men’s college basketball season is underway. There will be more than 5,000 games played throughout this season before the 2024 Final Four, which is scheduled to take place on April 6 and April 8 in Phoenix.
UConn is the reigning men’s college basketball national champion, and Purdue’s national player of the year Zach Edey is back for another campaign. This season features the Big 12 Conference expansion to 14 teams with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF joining the league.
Rick Pitino, the former Kentucky and Louisville head coach, has gone from coaching Iona College in the MAAC to leading the St. John’s Red Storm in the Big East Conference. Syracuse also has a new head coach for the first time in more than 40 years following the retirement of Jim Boeheim, who was replaced by Adrian Autry.
Those are some of the exciting teams and stories to follow this season, but you’ll want to be able to watch all your favorite teams.
Can I watch college basketball games without cable?
Yes, you can watch college basketball games without cable. For many games, if you can’t be there in person, the only way to watch is via online live streaming services.
Some of the exclusive streaming services are ACC Network Extra, B1G+, ESPN+, FloHoops, Peacock, and SEC Network+. Even for those games on traditional TV channels, there are plenty of options to watch without cable or satellite TV.
There are two main alternatives to cable or satellite TV. One option is cable replacement, such as FuboTV or Sling. They offer a variety of channels, but they are more costly. Another option is to get a streaming service connected to a specific TV network. Those are cheaper, but they also have fewer channels.
What channels are college basketball games on?
Knowing what channels broadcast your favorite team will help you decide what streaming services to select. Broadcast contracts are based on the home team, so we’ve put together a list of the TV networks with contracts connected to each conference.
Here is a list of each conference and the channels and streaming services that will air games for each conference in 2023-24:
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America East — ESPN+
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American Athletic Conference (AAC) — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
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Atlantic 10 (A10) — CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+, MASN, USA Network
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Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) — ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+, The CW
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Atlantic Sun — ESPN+
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Big 12 — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, Fox, FS1, Longhorn Network
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Big East — CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox, FS1, FS2
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Big Sky — CBS Sports Network, ESPNU, ESPN+,
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Big Ten — Big Ten Network, B1G+, CBS, Fox, FS1, Peacock
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Big West — ESPN+, Spectrum Sports
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Colonial Athletic (CAA) — CBS Sports Network, FloHoops, MSG, NBC Sports Philadelphia, SNY
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Conference USA (CUSA) — CBS Sports Network, ESPNU, ESPN+
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Horizon — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
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Ivy League — ESPN+
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Metro Atlantic Athletic (MAAC) — ESPNU, ESPN+
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Mid-American Conference (MAC) — CBS Sports Network, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
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Mid-Eastern (MEAC) — No intra-conference national TV games
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Missouri Valley — CBS Sports Network, ESPN+
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Mountain West (MW) — CBS, CBS Sports Network, Fox, FS1, NBC Sports Bay Area
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Northeast (NEC) — YES
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Ohio Valley (OVC) — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
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Pac-12 Conference — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, Fox, FS1, Pac-12 Network
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Patriot League — CBS Sports Network, ESPN+
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Southeastern Conference (SEC) — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, SEC Network, SECN+
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Southern (SoCon) — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
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Southland — ESPN+
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Southwestern Athletic (SWAC) — ESPNU, ESPN+
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Summit League — CBS Sports Network
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Sun Belt Conference (SBC) — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
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West Coast (WCC) — CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
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Western Athletic (WAC) — ESPNU, ESPN+
In-season tournaments can make separate deals with TV networks. So for your favorite team, its road games and tournament games may appear on different networks than listed here.
What are the best streaming services for college basketball?
The channels needed to comprehensively watch college basketball during the 2023-24 season are ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, Fox, FS1, FS2, Longhorn Network, MASN, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, SNY, Spectrum, The CW, USA Network, and YES.
Additionally, you may want to consider streaming-only services like ACC Network Extra, B1G+, ESPN+, FloHoops, Peacock, and SEC Network+. Then for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, you’ll also need TNT, TBS, and TruTV.
If you have all those options, you can watch nearly every game this season, but there are not enough hours in the day to watch every game of every basketball team this season. Here’s some help to select the best streaming services to see the teams and leagues you’ll watch the most.
Most complete coverage: FuboTV
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FuboTV will be a great option for the college basketball regular season. Its Pro plan at $74.99 per month will give you access to hundreds of college basketball games. There is also a seven-day free trial.
If you’re a fan of teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, you’ll want to upgrade to the Elite plan to get the ACC Network. The Elite plan is $84.99 per month.
The biggest channels missing from the FuboTV lineup are TBS, TNT, and truTV. Those carry a large chunk of games during the NCAA Tournament, and the 2024 Final Four and national championship game are scheduled to be broadcast on TBS. To get those games, you’ll need to go elsewhere such as the B/R Sports add-on with Max.
FuboTV Pro plan channels: CBS, FOX, Big Ten Network, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, and USA Network.
FuboTV Elite plan channels: CBS, FOX, Big Ten Network, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, and USA Network. Plus, ACC Network, ESPNU, and ESPNEWS.
Channels unavailable through FuboTV: Longhorn Network, MASN, SNY, Spectrum, TBS, TNT, truTV, The CW, and YES.
Most affordable cable replacement: Sling TV Orange + Blue
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If you’re a casual college basketball fan, an option like Sling may be a good fit for you. With the Sling Orange plan, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, and TNT for $40 per month (with an introductory rate of $20 for the first month).
You may want to increase your Sling tier if there are specific teams or leagues that you’re passionate about watching. The biggest channel that you can’t get through Sling is CBS, so you may need to look to Paramount+ to supplement this to catch all those games.
Sling Orange plan channels: ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, and TNT.
Sling Orange & Blue plan channels: ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, and TNT. Plus, FS1, truTV, USA Network, and Fox (in select markets).
FOX is available on Sling TV in select markets. Those include Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Gainesville, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.
Sling Orange & Blue + Sports Extra plan: Fox (in select markets), ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, TBS, TNT, truTV, and USA Network. Plus, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, FS2, Longhorn Network, Pac-12 Network, and SEC Network.
There are other options through Sling with different price points for just the Blue plan or the Sports Extra package added to either just the Orange plan or just the Blue plan.
Channels unavailable through Sling: CBS, CBS Sports Network, MASN, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, SNY, Spectrum, The CW, and YES.
Best for CBS broadcasts: Paramount+ with Showtime
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CBS mainly shows college basketball games on the weekends, so if you’re mainly a weekend viewer until March, this would work for you.
Paramount+ gives you a seven-day free trial. To live stream CBS on Paramount+, you need the Paramount+ with Showtime tier, and that is $11.99 per month. You can also choose the annual plan at $119.99 per year, and you save about $1.99 per month.
Paramount+ also gives students a 25% discount.
CBS Sports Network games are not available to live stream through Paramount+
Best for exclusive Big Ten games: Peacock Premium
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The Big Ten Conference will have games exclusively on Peacock this season, so to catch all those conference contests, you’ll need Peacock.
Members of the Big Ten Conference in 2023-24 include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, and Wisconsin.
There are 34 Big Ten men’s basketball games scheduled to be broadcast exclusively on Peacock. Peacock Premium costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year.
Best for small school fans: ESPN+
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If your favorite team plays in the America East, Atlantic Sun, Ivy League, or Southland conference, then ESPN+ is the only way to watch those teams without going to the games. For many other leagues that don’t have many games on traditional TV channels, ESPN+ is the primary way to watch games.
ESPN+ costs $10.99 per month or you can get an annual plan for $109.99 per year.
An ESPN+ subscription does not include access to live streaming games on ESPN or its channels. You need an additional cable, satellite, or streaming subscription that includes access to ESPN and its subsidiary channels to view those.
Best channel selection: YouTube TV
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YouTube TV offers a 30-minute free trial. It is then $50.99 per month for the first three months. That will get you most of the way through the 2023-24 college basketball season. After the introductory rate, the rate is $72.99 per month starting in the fourth month.
YouTubeTV Base Plan channels: CBS, FOX, ACCN, Big Ten Network, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, FS1, FS2, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, truTV, The CW, and USA Network,
Channels unavailable through YouTube TV: Longhorn Network, MASN, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SNY, Spectrum, and YES.
