The 2021 NCAA Tournament is finally here, and what fun is March Madness without a bracket?
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. Sporting News has every type of college basketball fan covered with our 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket in printable, PDF form, complete with the full field of 68. Download it, print it, fill it out, trash talk your co-workers.
This year’s tournament schedule begins with the First Four on March 18. The Big Dance ramps up with the first and second rounds March 19-22 and concludes with the Final Four and national championship games April 3-5, all from Indiana.
In addition to the printable bracket below, you’ll also find tips and tools to help you fill it out, including picks and analysis from SN’s expert writers.
Printable NCAA Tournament bracket 2021
Download Sporting News’ printable NCAA Tournament bracket (PDF) by clicking the image above. The bracket is blank for now, but will be updated shortly after the March Madness selection committee releases the field of 68 teams on Sunday, March 14.
MORE: Download your 2021 March Madness bracket PDF here
March Madness bracket tips from SN’s experts
So you’ve printed a bracket. Need a hand filling it out? Sporting News’ staff of college basketball experts will fill out their own brackets on Selection Sunday, sharing the method to their madness. In the meantime, here’s a list of tools you can use to win your office pool.
SN’s latest field of 68 projections: Sporting News’ Ryan Fagan predicts the entire March Madness bracket, including the No. 1 seeds, first four out and more.
An idiot’s guide to filling out your NCAA bracket: It might seem like obvious advice, but we’re here to remind you what not to do.
NET rankings 101: Here’s what you need to know about the metric the NCAA’s selection committee uses to choose the field of 68.
Play the odds when picking Final Four, national champs: Don’t get cute. Your Final Four should include a lot of chalk.
2021 March Madness schedule
The 2021 NCAA Tournament begins March 18 with the First Four play-in games. The first and second rounds will be held from March 19-22 followed by the Sweet 16 (March 27-28) and Elite Eight (March 29-30) a week later. This year’s Final Four will take place April 3-5 from Indianapolis — the site of the entire tournament due to COVID-19 considerations.
| Round | Dates |
| First Four | March 18 |
| Round 1 | March 19-20 |
| Round 2 | March 21-22 |
| Sweet 16 | March 27-28 |
| Elite Eight | March 29-30 |
| Final Four | April 3 |
| National championship | April 5 |
More NCAA Tournament news from Sporting News
Sporting News’ 2020-21 college basketball All-Americans: SN’s Mike DeCourcy names the 15 best players from the 2020-21 college basketball season.
Sporting News Player of the Year: Iowa’s Luka Garza became the first repeat winner of the award since … Michael Jordan.
Sporting News Coach of the Year: Michigan’s Juwan Howard had to follow a legend, take over the program late, work during a pandemic, replace seniors at PG and C and do all of that with no background coaching college.
35 best teams that didn’t win the NCAA Tournament: Sporting News picks teams from the past three decades that didn’t deliver a title. Which was the best?
March Madness Cinderella players we’ll never forget: Stephen Curry is among the greatest Cinderella players in March Madness history, but he’s not No. 1 on our list.
Most hated college basketball players of all time: Sporting News looks at the most-hated college hoops players of all time. Don’t worry, there is a lot of Duke on this list.
10 best schools without Final Four appearance: Who are the best schools that haven’t made a Final Four since the 64-team era began in 1984-85?
Best college players who never made the NCAA Tournament: Say hello to Ben Simmons, Noah Vonleh, Nerlens Noel, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and others who watched March Madness on TV. It’s quite a list.
An Oral History of Steph Curry’s 2008 Breakout: In 2008, a little-known, baby-faced guard from Davidson completely took over the NCAA Tournament.
Upset City: Reliving the wildest opening venue in NCAA Tournament history.