You generally need to complete your NCAA March Madness bracket before the first game of the main tournament tips off (the Round of 64), not before the early “First Four” games. For the current 2026 tournaments specifically, widely cited schedules indicate:

  • Men’s NCAA bracket deadlines are around Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 12 p.m. ET , when the first Round of 64 game is scheduled to start.
  • Women’s NCAA bracket deadlines are around Friday, March 20, 2026, at 11 a.m. ET , aligning with the tipoff of the first women’s Round of 64 game.

A few extra things to keep in mind:

  1. Many bracket contests lock exactly at the published tipoff time of the first Round of 64 game, so if you’re late by even a few minutes, your entry can be rejected or frozen.
  1. The First Four games (the play‑in games on Tuesday and Wednesday) usually do not affect standard bracket deadlines; most mainstream contests only require picks starting from the Round of 64 and let you submit after the First Four, as long as you’re in before Thursday’s games.
  1. Each website or office pool (ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, NCAA.com, local pools, etc.) can set its own exact cutoff, so you should always double-check the rules and countdown timer where you’re playing.

If you just want a safe rule of thumb: have your bracket done no later than Wednesday night of tournament week, so you’re not sweating those Thursday‑morning minutes.