The NCAA men’s tournament championship game is finally here, and by the end of the night on Monday, April 6, either the Michigan Wolverines or UConn Huskies will be crowned ultimate winner.
But, every year, the same complain arises on game day. This year isn’t any different, and people expressing that they aren’t happy about one aspect of the national championship game.
The No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines are up against the No. 2 seed UConn Huskies at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday night in the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball championship. But, those on the east coast may have to stay up past their bedtime to watch it.
Tipoff won’t be until 8:50 p.m. ET in Indianapolis, Illinois. That’s late for people who have to get up early the next day for work.
“If you’re an early riser, you might not be thrilled about yet another late NCAA men’s national championship game,” Cory Woodroof of For the Win states in a Monday feature about the event. He adds that the timing is “brutal for anyone with an early Tuesday wakeup time.”
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So, why is the game so late? As Woodroff states, “Unfortunately, we don’t have a good answer for this. The game has been scheduled at an annoyingly late time for years, and we don’t see that changing any time soon.” He adds that “somebody should at least bump this up by an hour.”
The same complaint arose last year and has pretty much every season. “Annual tweet that championship games start way too late,” one follower said on social media last year, according to Yardbarker. “I understand that start time is earlier this year than last year, but 9pm tip off for the National Championship game is still too late,” another added.
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So, get your strong coffee ready for the morning, because especially if this game goes into overtime, you’re in for a late night of college basketball action.
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