March Madness 2016 Schedule: Known TV Info, Round-by-Round Dates

Tournament time is already off to a raucous start in March.

There have been buzzer-beaters, overtime thrillers and even a triple-overtime classic where the winning team had to play two walk-ons along with three remaining scholarship players. March Madness has come early, so to speak.

But the reality is March Madness is still a week away; however, the television info has been released. So mark these dates down on your calendars and get ready for the NCAA tournament. Here's the info you need to know heading into next week.

Round	Channels	Dates
First Four	truTV	March 15-16
First Round	TBS, CBS, TNT, truTV	March 17-18
Second Round	CBS, TNT, TBS	March 19-20
Sweet 16	CBS, TBS	March 24-25
Elite Eight	CBS, TBS	March 26 (CBS) March 27 (TBS)
Final Four	TBS	April 2
National Championship	TBS	April 4

Early National Championship Prediction

The national title game will be broadcast on cable for the first time in history, according to NCAA.com. Giving that much access to viewers could mean an all-time spike in ratings.

Because of that, the NCAA will attempt to push as much advertising as possible for a title game that could be one of the best in recent memory. Of course, the brackets have yet to be released, and this matchup could be impossible to predict by the time Selection Sunday takes place.

We're going to use Joe Lunardi's Thursday bracketology update on ESPN.com to predict a potential championship matchup.

The final two will come from the Midwest and East Regions. Out of the Midwest will be the squad that's been the top team all year, the Kansas Jayhawks. Led by Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden, the veteran-laden Jayhawks are the team to beat because there's some unfinished business to tend to.

Kansas has been an early exit over the last two years, losing in the first weekend. But the Jayhawks have made it a priority this year to get out in transition more often, with plays like this from Ellis, via Kansas Basketball:

In the East, the Villanova Wildcats are the top seed, according to Lunardi. They won't make it to the Final Four, though. That distinction belongs to the Michigan State Spartans, who will face Kansas in the title game.

Spartans forward Denzel Valentine may be the best all-around player in the country outside of LSU freshman Ben Simmons. Valentine's senior leadership, while providing a unique skill set to Tom Izzo's squad, is a trait most teams don't possess. Few players can average close to 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while shooting 45 percent from three-point range. Valentine does.

It's those numbers that have Valentine in the National Player of the Year discussion along with Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com noted:

This would be a matchup of two historic programs each with star power at its disposal. It's too early to predict who wins, but these two teams should be considered the favorites to make it to the title game.