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Streaming the Zags, Eagles and Cougars: Watching the NCAA tournament even if you’ve cut the cord

Duke players celebrate on the court after their 68-63 victory over Wisconsin at Lucas Oil Stadium in the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament championship game in Indianapolis, in this April 6, 2015, file photo. Lucas Oil Stadium is one of six venues hosting NCAA Tournament games later this week, and will once again host the Final Four.  (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
By Kip Hill kiph@spokesman.com(509) 459-5429

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported which March Madness games would be available via the Paramount+ service. The story has been updated on March 18, 2021, to correct the error. 

Inland Northwest hoop fans who’ve made the decision to cut the cable cord still have options to watch the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Eastern Washington Eagles and Washington State Cougars this weekend.

The streaming landscape has changed since the last time the tournament was held in 2019. Games will still be broadcast on the CBS brand of networks, but neither the Bulldogs nor the Eagles are scheduled to play Saturday on broadcast TV, which means those who rely on an antenna are out of luck.

A subscription to SlingTV‘s blue plan will give viewers access to TBS, the channel airing Eastern’s game against Kansas at 10:15 a.m. Saturday and Gonzaga’s matchup against the winner of Norfolk State and Appalachian State, with a tip scheduled for 6:20 p.m. Pacific time.

The blue plan, which costs $35 per month, will also give you access to TNT and TruTV, the other two stations airing NCAA games. The orange plan, which costs the same amount, will give you access to three channels of ESPN, along with TBS and TNT. The women’s tournament games, including tilts from the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 1 p.m. Monday and the Washington State University Cougars at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, will air on ESPN.

The orange plan does not include TruTV, so choose wisely.

The other option for cord cutters is Hulu, which provides all four stations the games are airing on for $64.99 a month. YouTube TV also includes CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV for $64.99 a month. 

The new Paramount+ service, which launched March 4, will give you access to the CBS games only, which does not include games airing on TBS, TNT or TruTV. CBSViacom is running a free trial of the service through the end of this month, though you’ll have to set up a payment option that you can cancel before April 16 without charge.

Monthly plans start at $5.99 for Paramount+.

With Paramount+, can also stream programming from its family of networks, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. The service will also stream the Master’s golf tournament that concludes April 11, allowing you to watch the golf major before having to pay a subscription fee.

Games that air on CBS will also be streaming on the NCAA website for free. However, if you want to watch a game that is airing on TBS, TNT and TruTV, you’ll need to enter cable subscription information.

KREM-TV is channel 2.1 on antenna, and channel 2 on Comcast, Dish Network and DirecTV in Spokane. TBS is channel 55 on Comcast, 139 on Dish Network and 247 on DirecTV in Spokane. TNT is channel 54 on Comcast, 138 on Dish Network and 245 on DirecTV in Spokane. TruTV is channel 49 on Comcast, 242 on Dish Network and 246 on DirecTV in Spokane.