The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness officially kicks off with its field of 64 teams today. The tournament technically began on Tuesday with play-in games. There were more play-in games last night. And now the field has officially been locked at 64 teams.

Family in living room watching TV
Catherine Yeulet, ThinkStock
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In Louisiana, we actually have more teams that are participating in the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament but despite the caliber of play the ladies bring to the court, the prime focus of most sports fans will be on the men's brackets. No, we're not being sexist, we are being realistic.

The first round of the tournament begins this morning at 11:15 Louisiana time when West Virginia meets Maryland. A few minutes after that game starts another game will begin, and then another, and then another after that. It's basically wall-to-wall basketball today, tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday.

Sports betting (flickr.com)
Sports betting (flickr.com)
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With the introduction of sports wagering to Louisiana a little over a year ago interest in March Madness has continued to grow. And under the radar of law enforcing eyes many companies, co-workers, and friends will pay to play a bracket challenge throughout the course of the tournament.

If you were wondering, Las Vegas oddsmakers like the Houston Cougars to win it all. Then then bookmakers in the desert like Kansas, Alabama, Purdue, and UCLA. Naturally, if you have money "on" a game then you'll want to be able to watch that game. This is where the "real madness" of March Madness comes in as you attempt to figure out what channel the game you want to watch is on.

Dave Wetherall via Unsplash.com
Dave Wetherall via Unsplash.com
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What TV Channels are Showing NCAA Tournament aka March Madness?

The bigger and better games will be televised on CBS. For those in the Lafayette area that is KLFY TV 10. They will show tonight's Ragin Cajuns versus Tennessee matchup at about 8:40 this evening. If you want to hear Jay Walker, the voice of the Cajuns play-by-play call, you can hear that on Newstalk 96.5 KPEL.

That is on the FM dial. Cajun fans should know this, because of contractual obligations and agreements with the NCAA Newstalk 96.5 KPEL will not be allowed to stream the game online or on its app for smartphones.

Photo Credit: Twitter/Ragin Cajuns Basketball
Photo Credit: Twitter/Ragin Cajuns Basketball
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The other TV channels that will be showing March Madness games are TBS and TNT, you probably know them more for Atlanta Braves Baseball, reruns of Andy Griffith, and the NBA. The fourth channel that should be included in your planning is Tru TV. No, it's not normally a sports station but then again March Madness is not a normal sporting event.

Just to make sure you've got it, CBS, TBS, TNT, and Tru TV are the four channels you'll want to be programmed into your remote control so you can bounce around between games during the height of all the action. Ragin Cajuns vs Tennesse on KPEL-FM that's 96.5 tonight and there will be no streaming of the Cajuns' home team coverage.

Credit: Ragin' Cajuns/Twitter
Credit: Ragin' Cajuns/Twitter
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If you're not sure what number you need to tune to for those channels. Here are some channel guides for COX, LUS, Direct TV, Dish NetworkSpectrum Television Service, and some other apps you might peruse to find the game you're looking for.

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