Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

March Madness, college basketball’s biggest tournament, starts Sunday.

State of play: The men’s tournament starts with Selection Sunday on March 16. The first round begins on March 18, with the championship game on April 7.

• The women’s tournament starts with Selection Sunday on March 16. The first round begins on March 19, with the championship game on April 6.

Catch up quick: The men’s championship game will start 8:50pm ET, 30 minutes earlier this year, the NCAA announced in January. The Monday night game traditionally began at 9:20pm ET — a late start for East Coast fans and a point of contention for many viewers.

Between the lines: Viewership for the last two men’s title games was historically low.

Flashback: The UConn Huskies won 75-60 against the Purdue Boilermakers in last year’s men’s championship game.

• In the women’s national championship game, which had an all-time high viewership, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75.

View the full men’s and women’s schedules.