Watch every NCAA Tournament game online for FREE
Samuel Van Eerden
March 21, 2008
Yes, you're reading that correctly; and no, it's not a gimmick. This year, the NCAA is streaming every single game of the big dance online to ncaasports.com where anyone can watch. Additionally, the games are available to watch on demand, so if you missed your favorite team play because you were working, you can log on later and catch the game in its original, uncut entirety. (For those of us who didn't even bother watching the Duke/Belmont game because we figured it'd be over in the opening minutes, it's now online for anyone who wants to see how Goliath was almost felled by David.)
All it takes is a quick sign up at ncaasports.com. You'll have to fill out some personal information, but not much, and hey, did I mention registration will let you watch ANY game throughout the tournament for free?! Once you're signed up and want to watch a game, you'll be put into a virtual waiting line until a spot opens for you to watch the game you want. Even if you're being told you have several hundred people in front of you, it usually only takes about 25 or 30 seconds to be admitted. The wait may lengthen as this free service gains popularity, but the NCAA website has been steadying itself in anticipation of heavy traffic, so the availability to watch games at your leisure should continue to hold up.
There are commercial breaks during TV timeouts, and every so often the streaming will halt as a message pops up just to make sure you're still there. Once you click the button to notify that you are in fact, still watching, it goes back to the broadcast. If you don't click the button within a certain amount of time, you get "bumped" from the game and have to re-enter the line so you can begin watching again.
The broadcast's quality and clarity is, of course, limited to your internet connection and browser speed, but if you are able to load and watch videos on youtube without having to wait for them to buffer every ten seconds, then your computer should be able to handle streaming these games.
Go to this site to log in and start watching:
http://www.ncaasports.com/mmod/welcome
All it takes is a quick sign up at ncaasports.com. You'll have to fill out some personal information, but not much, and hey, did I mention registration will let you watch ANY game throughout the tournament for free?! Once you're signed up and want to watch a game, you'll be put into a virtual waiting line until a spot opens for you to watch the game you want. Even if you're being told you have several hundred people in front of you, it usually only takes about 25 or 30 seconds to be admitted. The wait may lengthen as this free service gains popularity, but the NCAA website has been steadying itself in anticipation of heavy traffic, so the availability to watch games at your leisure should continue to hold up.
There are commercial breaks during TV timeouts, and every so often the streaming will halt as a message pops up just to make sure you're still there. Once you click the button to notify that you are in fact, still watching, it goes back to the broadcast. If you don't click the button within a certain amount of time, you get "bumped" from the game and have to re-enter the line so you can begin watching again.
The broadcast's quality and clarity is, of course, limited to your internet connection and browser speed, but if you are able to load and watch videos on youtube without having to wait for them to buffer every ten seconds, then your computer should be able to handle streaming these games.
Go to this site to log in and start watching:
http://www.ncaasports.com/mmod/welcome
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