Don’t want to miss any of your favorite team’s games? Fortunately, for cable-cutters and streaming fans, there are some excellent options if you’re wondering how to watch college basketball online.
These are our top picks:
- Sling TV: Best bang for your buck, watch NCAA college basketball and other conferences on channels like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, FOX Sports channels, NBC, TBS and TNT with other sports add-ons available.
- Hulu + Live TV: Best all-around college basketball coverage. Access to all ESPN channels and ESPN+, FOX Sports channels, TNT, TBS, ABC, CBS, NBC and plenty more.
- Paramount+: Cheapest way to watch college basketball through the CBS Sports network. Exclusive coverage of Final Four and National Championship as well.
We’ll go through some of our other favorite options later on. Should you be abroad, you can still cheer on your favorite team. You’ll just need to follow these steps:
- Get NordVPN. We’ve used its high-speed US servers to stream plenty of sports with our top choices.
- Download and install NordVPN on your favorite streaming device.
- Connect to a US server to access the best college basketball streams.
- Go to your favorite college basketball streamer, like Sling TV. Enjoy your favorite games!
If you want more information about how to watch college basketball online, check out the complete article below. We’ll even break down some free sports streaming sites that some fans use to watch college hoops!
To some, college basketball is even more exciting than the pros. We’re talking about exciting young prospects here who give it their all to make it to the big leagues. For some, those bold three-pointers, stupifying crossovers, and buzzer-beating shots could be their last shot at glory — and that’s all before we’ve even hit March Madness.
But what if you’re not in the US while you’re favorite team is playing? This likely means you won’t have access to TV packages and streams that broadcast college basketball. In this article, we’ll show you how to watch NCAA basketball games and other major college basketball conferences from anywhere!
A great cyber tool for fans to watch their favorite team shoot some hoops from anywhere is NordVPN. This VPN (virtual private network) will unblock your favorite college basketball games from any part of the world while traveling or living abroad.
If you’re back home in the States, you can skip the VPN. But these are the streaming platforms that we’ve hand-picked as the best for college basketball — especially NCAA basketball games — based on channels, conference coverage, and total value.
If you’re like us and outside of the US, these platforms also pair excellently with a VPN, so you don’t miss a minute of action from your favorite teams while running abroad.
Watch College Basketball Games on Sling TV
Sling TV is a great option to watch NCAA basketball games, and it’s our No. 1 choice for college ball overall. It’s the cheapest option if you need an alternative to cable TV.
For the best college basketball coverage, you’ll need Sling TV’s Orange + Blue Package, which is only $55 a month — first-time customers get 50% off their first month — and you’ll get access to 40 channels, including key college basketball sports channels, like ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN 3 (which often has ABC simulcasts), FOX Sports channels, TBS, TNT and TruTV.
This will allow you to watch most major college basketball conferences and major NCAA basketball games. With TBS, TNT and TruTV thrown in the mix, it’ll carry you all the way through March Madness 2024.
Step-by-step: Watch college basketball on Sling TV from anywhere
- Get a subscription with a good VPN provider. We’ve used NordVPN extensively with Sling TV, and they’re the perfect pair. We watched a lot of last year’s March Madness tournament abroad with it, and they’ve got more than 1,970+ high-speed US servers to get you streaming the game you need.
- Download and install the VPN on the device of your choice.
- Open the VPN app and connect to a server in the US.
- Sign up for Sling TV if you don’t have an account yet. You’ll need to have access to a US payment method or a Sling TV gift card to register.
- Log in during game time, and you’re ready to go!
Watch College Basketball Games on Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV is another great option for watching college basketball games. Although this option is more expensive than other online streamers at $76.99 per month, it’s the most well-rounded. It also comes with a lot of perks.
Since it’s owned by Disney, you’ve got all things ESPN — which means you get all your favorite NCAA basketball games from channels like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN+ — not to mention ABC, CBS and CBS Sports, FOX its sports affiliates, TBS, TNT, NBC, the ACC Network, Big Ten Network, and SEC Network.
So when it comes to college basketball, Hulu + Live TV has you covered.
If you’re in the US, you won’t need to take any extra steps. If you’re abroad, follow this guide to watch college basketball on Hulu + Live TV:
Watch college basketball games from anywhere with Hulu + Live TV
- Get a subscription with NordVPN. We’ve had great experiences streaming Hulu + Live TV with NordVPN’s American servers. Plus, they throw in ESPN+ and Disney+, along with their entire Hulu on-demand library.
- Install the VPN on your preferred college basketball streaming device.
- Open the VPN app and connect to a server in the US.
- Go to Hulu + Live TV and get a subscription if you don’t have one yet. You will need a US payment method, such as a credit card, to register. If you don’t have one, you can try using a gift card.
- Enjoy complete college basketball coverage!
How to Watch College Basketball Games on Paramount+
Paramount+ is another one of your best options to watch college basketball. That’s because it’s one of the few platforms that offers college basketball that you can subscribe to specifically on the cheap rather than as part of an expensive cable package. You’ll have more than 270 college basketball games to watch during the 2023-24 season, with 10 conference championship games.
Of course, CBS will also have plenty of key 2024 March Madness coverage — and they have exclusive rights to the Final Four and National Championship.
If you don’t mind ads, you can watch NCAA basketball coverage from the CBS Sports Network for as low as $5.99 a month. You can jump to their $11.99 per month plan if you can’t stand the commercials.
Another one of Paramount Plus’s biggest advantages is that it offers a seven-day free trial. If you’re not in the US, you can still use Paramount+ to watch NCAA basketball streams by following the steps below:
Watch college basketball games with Paramount Plus from anywhere with a VPN
- When it comes to Paramount+, we can also recommend NordVPN. We’ve been using it to stream plenty of CBS Sports this year.
- Install your VPN on the device of your choice.
- Open the NordVPN app and connect to a US server using their handy interactive map.
- Go to Paramount+.
- Enjoy a wide range of NCAA and other college basketball coverage!
How to Watch College Basketball for Free in the USA
Believe it or not, your best bet to watch NCAA basketball for free is to buy a digital antenna that can pick up over-the-air broadcasts. Major broadcasters like FOX, NBC, and ABC — which broadcast many a college basketball game — still offer over-the-air signals that you can pick up with an antenna.
One antenna that we recommend in particular and that worked very well when we tested it, is the Gesobyte HD digital TV antenna. This old-school trick still works and lets you watch regional sports networks for free.
Reddit college basketball streams
There used to be some Reddit college basketball streams. In fact, several uploaders provided free access to free streams of pretty decent quality.
Since Reddit doesn’t seem like an option anymore, you can check out the best free sports streaming sites that we compiled if you want to watch basketball and other sports for free. However, these sites can contain excessive ads, pop-ups, and malware. These kinds of sites also don’t usually host the actual content, so you can wind up on illegal or unsecured streams.
Hackers and other nosy third parties can use these kinds of domains as a malicious playground. Unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder to watch college basketball on Reddit, especially after the subreddit with the most popular Reddit NCAA streams, ncaaBBallStreams, got taken down.
We weren’t able to find any alternative Reddit college basketball streams. Per the suggestion of a Reddit user, we checked out Streamendous. This site offers plenty of basketball games, but it’s unclear to us if it also offers college basketball. We suggest using the legitimate streams below.
Where to Watch Live College Basketball Games (Paid Streams)
Using an antenna might be a great option to watch ballgames when you’re in the US. However, if you’re abroad, or you long for more complete coverage, we suggest using a subscription-based basketball and sports stream. These are some of your options:
| Service | Includes |
|---|---|
| Sling TV (with full Sports add-ons) | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, FOX Sports 1 and 2, NBC Sports, TBS, TNT, USA Network, ACC Network, SEC Network, SEC Network+, Pac-12 Networks, ESPN U and the Longhorn Network |
| Hulu + Live TV | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ABC, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, TBS, TNT, FOX Sports 1 and 2, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, FS1, and SEC Network |
| Fubo | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS, CBS Sports, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBC, ABC, TBS, TNT ACC Network, Big Ten Network, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network |
| DirecTV Stream | ABC, NBC Sports, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPNU, FOX Sports 1 and 2, SEC Network, TNT, TBS, |
| Paramount+ | CBS Sports Network, plus on-demand sports content |
| Peacock | NBC Sports coverage of Big Ten Conference games |
| YouTube TV | Big Ten Network, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, TNT, TBS, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, FOX College Sports add-on, SEC Network |
| ESPN+ | Games that aren’t broadcast on ESPN’s channel, such as non-conference games between SEC and Big 12 teams, and NJCAA games. |
The Best VPNs to Watch College Basketball Online
If you’re looking to watch college basketball outside of the US, you’ll need a solid VPN. Most VPN services don’t have the unblocking capabilities and the streaming speeds that you need to watch your favorite team compete.
That’s why we created a list of the very best VPNs to watch college basketball with. All of the VPNs on this list fulfill these important criteria:
- Plenty of good US servers: All of the VPNs on this list have tons of US servers of outstanding quality. This greatly ups your chances of always finding a server that’s compatible with your college basketball stream.
- Great streaming speeds: It’s crucial to use a VPN with good speeds. If you use a slow VPN, you’ll likely run into a lot of interruptions and buffering. This is the last thing you want when enjoying a live sports stream.
- Good unblocking and streaming options: Sometimes, a subpar or free VPN server just doesn’t cut it and gets you blocked from your favorite streaming service. They’re easy to spot by websites, which is why all the VPNs on this list have special features to bypass VPN blocks.
- Price: We made sure only to include VPNs on this list that are reasonably priced.
Let’s kick off the game and our list of the best college basketball VPNs.
1. NordVPN: The fastest VPN to stream college basketball
NordVPN is currently the best VPN for Sling TV and offers flawless streaming. As such, you won’t have to miss a single dribble, dunk, or block. This provider also offers close to 2,000 servers all over the US. This way, you can use your favorite basketball stream wherever you are.
Here’s why we recommend NordVPN for college basketball:
- 1,970+ US servers.
- Unblocks plenty of college basketball streams, among which are Sling TV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and others.
- Outstanding streaming speeds. This is currently the fastest VPN in our speed tests.
- Offers dedicated IPs to circumvent stubborn VPN blocks.
- Stream college basketball on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Firestick, Chromecast, Smart TVs and others.
NordVPN also offers a very user-friendly interface and excellent security. The latter comes by virtue of its outstanding 256-bit AES encryption and strict no-logs policy. These are essential cybersecurity features for any VPN we recommend.
If you have any other questions about NordVPN, be sure to check out our complete NordVPN review. You can try out NordVPN risk-free thanks to their 30-day money-back guarantee with the button above.
2. CyberGhost: Watch college basketball with dedicated streaming servers
CyberGhost holds the number two spot for the fastest VPNs we’ve tested. This will offer you great basketball streaming. It also helps that CyberGhost has excellent servers in 11 US cities, dedicated streaming servers, and dedicated IPs to bypass VPN blocks.
Why we recommend CyberGhost for college basketball:
- Excellent US servers in 11 cities all over the country. With 11500+ worldwide, you know there’s plenty to choose from in the States.
- Offers dedicated streaming servers for Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, Paramount+, and other college basketball streams.
- Excellent streaming speeds. CyberGhost came in at No. 2 in our streaming speed tests.
- Offers dedicated IPs to get around VPN blocks.
- Stream NCAA basketball and college basketball on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Firestick, Chromecast, and others.
CyberGhost also scores very high on user-friendliness, and it’s easy to select any server of your choice. Moreover, CyberGhost’s security is top-notch, thanks to its excellent encryption and no-logs policy.
Check out our CyberGhost review for more information about this great provider. Alternatively, click on the button above to try out CyberGhost, thanks to its 45-day money-back guarantee.
3. PIA: College basketball streaming VPN with servers in all 50 states
PIA is another outstanding option if you want to watch college basketball. They’ve got more US server locations than any other provider, and as an added bonus — it’s also one of the lowest-cost VPNs available. You see, despite being one of the only VPNs without a device limit, PIA is one of the greatest VPN bargains at only $ 2.03.
Why we recommend PIA for college basketball:
- Offers servers in every US state.
- No device limit means you can stream college basketball on as many devices as you want.
- Great streaming speeds. It reached the Top 5 in our VPN speed tests.
- Offers dedicated IPs to bypass VPN blocks.
- Stream college basketball on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Smart TVs, Firestick, Chromecast, and others.
PIA also performs great when it comes to security, thanks to its 256-bit AES encryption and no-logs policy.
For more information about PIA, you can check out our complete PIA review. You can also try out PIA thanks to its 30-day trial using the button above.
Why Should You Use a VPN to Stream College Basketball Games?
In certain situations, you’ll need a VPN to watch your favorite college basketball team. Any time you’re outside of the US, your regular US-based sports streams, including basketball streams, will most likely block you.
The reason they block you when you’re abroad — despite the fact you’re a paying subscriber — is because of content licensing rules. These prevent them from showing events and content in countries other than the ones they’ve paid for. While college basketball is mainly popular in the United States, chances are you’d have trouble finding a game via local broadcasters and streamers anyway.
Fortunately, you can get around these geo-restrictions very easily by using a VPN. A solid VPN will change your IP address to an IP from the US or any other country and get you access to your favorite college basketball stream.
It also does this while keeping your connection encrypted and secured and your true location anonymous, adding an additional layer of cybersecurity.
The 2023-2024 NCAA Basketball Season
The 2023-2024 NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball season officially starts on November 6, 2023, and wraps with the conference finals in mid-March.
The 2024 NCAA March Madness tournament will then kick off on March 19, 2024, with the championship game taking place on April 8, 2024. Don’t worry. If you’re looking for broadcasters for specific games and a complete schedule, we’ll keep you up to date with our guide on How to Watch March Madness Online.
Even with the season just getting underway, oddsmakers at Caesar’s Sportsbook have already set their favorites for 2023/2024 National Championship winners. Of course, there’s not a lot of surprises here, and you’ll likely see the usual suspects in the Top 15:
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Kansas Jayhawks | +1100 |
| Michigan State Spartans | +1200 |
| Duke Blue Devils | +1200 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | +1200 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | +1400 |
| Arizona Wildcats | +1800 |
| Connecticut Huskies | +2000 |
| Marquette Golden Eagles | +2500 |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | +2500 |
| Houston Cougars | +2800 |
| Gonzaga Bulldogs | +2800 |
| Tennessee Volunteers | +3000 |
| UCLA Bruins | +3000 |
| Creighton Bluejays | +3000 |
| Villanova Wildcats | +3000 |
| North Carolina Tar Heels | +4000 |
Conclusion: How to Watch College Basketball Online From Anywhere
If you’ve become frustrated with traditional cable providers, an online streaming service is your best bet for catching all your favorite college basketball games, be it NCAA or smaller conferences and divisions. While you’ve got plenty to choose from, we’ll give you a quick reminder of our top three picks.
- Sling TV: Best value for popular college basketball channels, with add-ons available.
- Hulu + Live TV: Best all-around college basketball coverage with bonuses like ESPN+.
- Paramount Plus: Cheapest route to exclusive CBS Sports coverage, including the NCAA Final Four and National Championship.
College sports fans who aren’t in the US will need to change their virtual location by getting an IP address from the US. This is a necessary step to get access to the streams mentioned above and other US-based streams. The best way to do this is with a good streaming VPN, such as NordVPN.
If you enjoy streaming NCAA basketball and college hoops in general, you might also want to read the following guides on how to watch other sports events:
- How to Watch EuroLeague Basketball Live From Anywhere
- How to Watch NBA Games Online From Anywhere in 2023
- The 13 Best Free NFL Streaming Sites
Do you have a specific question about how to watch college basketball worldwide? Check out our FAQ below to see if we’ve already answered your question. If we haven’t, feel free to leave us a comment below.
Your best bet to watch college basketball for free in the US is by getting a digital antenna. You can connect this antenna to any device with an HDMI port and it will help you to pick up over-the-air college basketball broadcasts. You can also check out our list of free sports streaming sites.
Yes, you can watch college basketball on Amazon Prime, but you’ll have to get the Paramount+ channel as an add-on. You can also download the Turner Sports app to get TBS and TNT for March Madness coverage. Note that you’ll need a VPN if you’re outside of the US.
The cheapest way to watch college basketball is by getting a Paramount Plus subscription. This way, you can watch all CBS Sports coverage for just $5.99 with ads. $11.99 if you want to go ad-free. For the cheapest, best all-around NCAA basketball coverage and other major conferences, go with Sling TV’s Orange + Blue plan for $55 per month. This gets you your major ESPN channels, plus TBS and TNT for some NCAA March Madness.
