2025 Denver March Madness Schedule: NCAA Games, Times

Ball Arena is hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament.

March 21, 2025

Image: Ball Arena lit up at night in Denver

Ball Arena will host NCAA Tournament games on March 20 and 22. Ball Corporation

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March Madness continues to infect Denver, with Ball Arena hosting games for the first and second rounds of the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

Ball Arena will host six games in total for the NCAA Tournament: the four games played March 20 and two more on Saturday, March 22. Other locations for first-round games on Thursday and Saturday include Providence, Lexington and Wichita.

Denver will be seeing some of the most dedicated fanbases in college sports as the city plays host to Texas A&M University, the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin, a state from which many Colorado transplants hail, is the highest-seeded team to play in Denver as a 3-seed; Wisconsin beat the University of Montana, a 14-seed, on Thursday. Texas transplants rooting for the Aggies enjoyed a Texas A&M win against Ivy League champion Yale the same day. Now Texas A&M will face 5-seed Michigan.

Another group of fans who show up strong are those who root for Brigham Young University in neighboring Utah. BYU earned a 6-seed and defeated 11-seed Virginia Commonwealth University in the first round. Next BYU will face Wisconsin.

Denver didn’t see any upsets on March 20, so Saturday will be a day of big-name battles.

Schedule for NCAA Games at Ball Arena

Thursday, March 20
Session One:
(14) Montana vs. (3) Wisconsin, 11:30 a.m.
(11) VCU vs. (6) BYU. 2:05 p.m.

Session Two:
(13) Yale vs. (4) Texas A&M, 5:25 p.m.
(12) UC San Diego vs. (5) Michigan, 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 22
Michigan (5) vs.Texas A&M (4), 3:15 pm
BYU (6) vs Wisconsin (3), 5:45pm

click to enlarge

The complete NCAA bracket.

NCAA

How to Attend NCAA Games in Denver

Plenty of tickets are still available on the resale market through Ticketmaster. The cheapest tickets are over $100, though.

Ball Arena has several parking lots, but those traveling without cars may want to check out our guide for getting to Ball Arena using public transportation.

And for those who aren’t willing to cough up the $110-plus price for tickets, Westword’s list of the best sports bars in town will get you in on the action for cheaper. One addition: Wisconsin fans can head to Swanky’s in downtown Denver at 1938 Blake Street, which is an official Badgers watch bar.

The Bracket is Set! We welcome 8 of the 68 teams to Denver this week for an unforgettable showdown! Catch the excitement LIVE on March 20 & 22 at Ball Arena!

🎟️:https://t.co/2iOW3knL06 pic.twitter.com/vzCGL1wgdc
— Ball Arena (@ballarenadenver) March 17, 2025

Colorado State Shines in March Madness

The Colorado State University men's team was the only Colorado program in both men's and women's college basketball to earn an NCAA Tournament invite. The 25-9 Rams were given a 12-seed after winning the Mountain West Conference tournament, and upset 5-seed Memphis on Friday, March 21.

The Rams are currently playing in Seattle and will play Maryland at 5:10 p.m. MDT on Sunday, March 23.

In Denver, CSU recommends watch parties at Blackbird Public House and DNVR Bar..

Catie Cheshire is a staff writer at Westword, where she has primarily reported on news since September 2021. Her prior work experience includes contributing to Cronkite News, Arizona PBS, the Regis University Highlander and AZ Big Media. Catie holds a master's degree from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and an undergraduate degree from Regis University in Denver.

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