March Basketball Tournaments & State Championships

Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus. Two weekends — 1A/2A first (March 11-14), then 3A/4A (March 18-21). NFHS Network livestreams every game. Branded as ASAA March Madness, hosted by ASAA and Anchorage School District.

Hot Springs. Arkansas Activities Association state finals, classes 1A through 6A boys and girls, all played at Bank OZK Arena over three days in mid-March. Free live streaming through Arkansas TV makes this one of the easiest state finals in the region to follow.

Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, two-day final weekend. The Open Division boys final is the most loaded state title game in the country most years — you have to win your CIF section first, and the Open bracket pulls eight teams from those section champs. Eastvale Roosevelt won the 2025 Open over Archbishop Riordan; Brayden Burries dropped 44 in the final.

Denver. Colorado state finals for both boys and girls, classes 1A through 6A. Great 8 round opens the week, all six championship games run on the final Saturday at Denver Coliseum. Every game streams on NFHS Network.

CIAC moved finals to Mohegan Sun Arena and runs both boys and girls D-I through D-IV champion games over a single weekend. Public + private all together (CT doesn't separate them). Ellington won D-IV 2025 — their first state title in 53 years. Greenwich girls took D-I.

The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association crowns boys, girls, and unified basketball champions each March. The 2025 boys final saw No. 6 Sanford School upset No. 1 Dover 37-34 — typical of a small-state bracket where seeding doesn't carry as much weight as program continuity.

Early-March national tournament hosted at FCP Sports in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Open to both high school and post-grad divisions, with applications taken through the fall. Designed for programs wanting a competitive early-March tournament without invitation-only barriers.

Georgia's state championship across all classifications. Held at Macon Centreplex in early March, with class finals played across two days.

Branded the Real Dairy Shootout. Six classifications (1A through 6A) play simultaneously across Treasure Valley venues — Ford Idaho Center, Idaho Center Arena, plus high school and college gyms in and around Boise. Owyhee won the 2025 6A title over Lake City, 77-46.

Illinois's boys' state series, presented by OSF Healthcare. The 2026 finals run March 12-14 at the State Farm Center in Champaign with all four classes packed into one weekend. The IHSA dates back to 1908, making it one of the oldest state series in the country.

Indiana's state championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Class finals (1A-4A) played across one weekend in late March. The Indiana state finals have run continuously since 1911 — one of the longest unbroken state-tournament traditions in American sports.

Iowa's girls' state series — the oldest girls' state high school tournament in the country, dating to 1920. Five classes, 40 teams, single-elimination at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Iowa PBS broadcasts every game live on statewide TV with free YouTube and iowapbs.org streams.

Iowa's boys' state series — eight teams from each of four classes converge on Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for a five-day single-elimination tournament. The event moves to Hilton Coliseum in Ames starting in 2027. Iowa PBS will broadcast championships starting 2025-26.

Kansas spreads its state finals across seven venues in five cities. 4A and 3A play at Hutchinson Sports Arena, 1A Division I in Dodge City. Quarterfinals March 10-11, semis and finals March 12-14. Total field of 112 teams across all classes.

Kentucky's all-class boys' state championship — 16 regional champions advance to Rupp Arena in Lexington for four days of single-elimination basketball. Multi-year venue deal with Rupp Arena was renewed in 2024.

Lake Charles. Louisiana boys state finals, branded 'Marsh Madness,' run six straight days at Burton Complex. Roughly 40 teams across all classifications, drawing about 18,000 attendees over the run. Southwest Louisiana holds hosting rights through at least 2027.

Maryland public-school state finals run by the MPSSAA. Four classifications (1A through 4A) play out from regional rounds into a state final weekend, traditionally at SECU Arena on the Towson University campus. The bracket is built off region tournaments seeded through the regular season.

Public-school state finals at UMass-Lowell's arena. 10 champions are crowned (5 boys, 5 girls divisions) over a Friday-Sunday window in mid-March. NFHS Network streams everything; tickets $20 per day. NEPSAC and Catholic Conference programs are not in this bracket — those are separate.

Class A is where smaller New England prep schools without post-grad rosters but with strong varsity programs land. Williston Northampton went undefeated in Class A play in the 2024-25 regular season as the No. 1 seed entering the tournament. Quarters early March, semis the next week at higher seeds.

Second tier of NEPSAC postseason below AAA. Worcester Academy swept boys and girls AA in 2025. The AA bracket is where programs that aren't quite at Brewster/Putnam Science budget compete — still legit prep talent, just one tier removed from the national-top-10 conversation.

The top division of New England prep school basketball. Eight programs qualify for the Class AAA bracket, played in early March. Most NEPSAC schools include a post-grad year, so the field mixes traditional senior-year HS players with PG athletes.

Michigan's boys' state series. Districts run February 22-26 in 2026, Regionals March 2 and 4, Quarterfinals March 9, Semifinals March 11-12 at Breslin Center, Finals March 13. Four divisions.

Minnesota's boys' state series. Quarterfinals at Target Center, semis split between Target Center and Williams Arena, finals at Williams Arena. The 2026 finals were March 28 with Totino-Grace beating DeLaSalle 72-70 in Class AAA.

Missouri's boys' and girls' state series, played over two weekends at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Smaller classes (1-3) play first weekend, larger classes (4-6) the second. MSHSAA.TV offers all 48 games for $15 or $10 per individual game.

MHSA runs four classification championships (AA, A, B, C) on the same March weekend across Bozeman, Billings, Missoula, and Butte. AA is the largest-school bracket, typically rotating between Worthington Arena (Bozeman) and Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Smaller classifications get their own host cities — Class C draws huge crowds because small-town Montana basketball travels.

Lincoln. Nebraska boys state finals, all classes A through D-2, run four days at Pinnacle Bank Arena (the Husker home floor). One venue, every class — rare for a state this size.

Four divisions, public-school only — prep schools (Brewster, Tilton, New Hampton) compete in NEPSAC, not here. Finals rotate among NH college venues. Hammond Lumber Co. has been the recent presenting sponsor across all four divisions.

Six group champions are crowned at Rutgers each March (Groups 1-4 public + Non-Public A and B). The old Tournament of Champions that crossed Non-Public A against the public groups has not returned — so 'state champion' in NJ now means group champion. Hillsborough won Group 4 in 2025; Don Bosco and Roselle Catholic still drive the Non-Public A field.

The deepest single-talent bracket in New Jersey. Don Bosco, Roselle Catholic, Paul VI, St. Peter's Prep, St. Joseph (Metuchen), CBA — all in one division, settled in two sectional brackets that meet at Rutgers. The 2024 final featured Dylan Harper and Don Bosco vs Paul VI; 2025 had Paul VI defending as top seed.

Albuquerque. New Mexico state finals, classes 1A-5A boys and girls, with the bulk of championship games at UNM's Pit on the final Friday and Saturday. Earlier rounds use the Pit and surrounding venues. Title sponsor is Nusenda Credit Union.

Catholic-school championship covering NYC, Long Island, Westchester and Buffalo dioceses. Stepinac and St. Raymond have owned recent finals; the 2025 game went to overtime. Realistically the highest level of New York high school basketball year over year — CHSAA-AA programs routinely beat PSAL champions in the annual Challenge.

After 38 straight years in Glens Falls, NYSPHSAA moved this to Binghamton starting 2025 on a contract through 2027. Six classes (AAA down to D) crown a champion across one weekend. Public-school only — the CHSAA, PSAL and NYSAISAA winners do not cross over since the Federation Tournament of Champions went on indefinite hiatus after 2024.

NYC public-school championship run by the Public Schools Athletic League. Borough playoffs feed into a city championship game played at a major NYC venue (historically Madison Square Garden, more recently rotating).

Rochester-area public-school sectional finals run on one floor over two days. Section V is one of NYSPHSAA's deepest pools in Class AAA and the AA splits — Rush-Henrietta, Fairport, Penfield and Webster Thomas are regulars. Winners advance to the NYSPHSAA state tournament.

North Carolina public-school championship week, with all eight title games (boys and girls across four classes) staged at Wake Forest's LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem. WCCB and the CW handle TV in the Charlotte market; NFHS streams the rest. Reidsville came in on a 60-game streak in 2025.

Bismarck. North Dakota's largest-class boys state tournament, eight teams over three days at the Bismarck Event Center. Class A and B finals run a week later in Fargo and Minot. The AA format is the cleanest of the three to attend.

OHSAA crowns champions across seven divisions. The Final Fours moved back to UD Arena in Dayton for the 2025-26 season after experimenting with split sites. Sectional, district, regional, and regional final games run February into early March; the state semifinals and finals fill the second and third weekends of March.

Ohio's girls' state series mirrors the boys' format with seven divisions. Final Four weekends moved back to UD Arena in Dayton for 2025-26 alongside the boys'. The girls' field finishes one week ahead of the boys' bracket.

Oklahoma's state finals across classes B through 6A. Larger classes (3A-6A) play at OG&E Coliseum in Oklahoma City and Lloyd Noble Center in Norman; smaller classes at Carl Albert HS in Midwest City. Class B-II tips off the first weekend, larger classes follow.

Oregon's largest-classification state title plays at Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus. 6A field is dominated by Portland-metro programs — Barlow, Jesuit, Tualatin, Central Catholic. Lower classifications (5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A) play at separate venues across the state during the same window.

Hershey hosts all 12 PIAA boys and girls finals across three days at the Giant Center. The 2025 boys 6A final was Father Judge vs Roman Catholic, both Philadelphia Catholic League. PCN broadcasts everything statewide. PIAA includes both public and private schools, which is why Catholic-league programs win at every classification level.

Rhode Island state finals at the AMP (formerly the Dunkin' Donuts Center) in downtown Providence. Three divisions, both boys and girls, run over a 3-day window in early March. Smaller state means tighter field, but the venue is legitimate — 12,000-plus seats, also home to Friars college basketball.

South Carolina High School League state finals returned to Colonial Life Arena in 2026 for the first time since 2020 — a five-year gap that ended with both boys and girls finals back on the SEC-sized floor March 5-7. Brackets seed off region tournaments through the regular season.

Rapid City. South Dakota's largest-class boys state finals moved to The Monument complex in 2026, ending Sioux Falls's 65-year hosting run for that one year. Returns to Sioux Falls in 2027. Class A also at The Monument (Summit Arena), Class B in Aberdeen.

South Dakota's play-in round between region champs and the state tournament. 16 teams per class play single-elimination games hosted by the higher seed; eight survive to the state tournament. Plays out the Tuesday before state weekend.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee — TSSAA boys state finals at MTSU's Murphy Center. Two division windows: Division I (March 11-15 in 2025) and Division II (March 18-22). Class 4A title went to Bradley Central 70-28 over Bartlett (Div I) and Hillsboro 57-42 over Oak Ridge (Div II) in 2025 — a first state title for Hillsboro.

San Antonio. The UIL public-school state tournament for boys and girls, all classifications 1A through 6A, played at the Alamodome in March. Earn your way through district and regional brackets to get here.

6A and 5A title weekends play at the Huntsman Center on the Utah campus. 4A goes to America First Event Center (SUU); 3A plays at the UCCU Center (Utah Valley University). Utah's 6A is loaded — Lone Peak, Corner Canyon, Herriman, Westlake, Riverton — and the Huntsman gives the title game a real college-arena setting.

VBCA's season-capping showcase — North vs. South, all four divisions, boys and girls — held annually at Windsor High School after state championships wrap. Doubles as the awards day for milestone scorers, scholarship winners, and coach honorees.

All four VPA divisions hold semifinals and finals at the Barre Aud. Montpelier beat U-32 81-48 in the 2025 D-II final. Smallest state in the region — field sizes per division are modest, but the Barre Aud is the spiritual home of Vermont basketball going back decades.

Virginia public-school state finals across six classes (1 through 6). The 2025 brackets produced John Marshall over Graham 107-81 (Class 2) and other class champions in mid-March. The Siegel Center has been a frequent host for finals weekend.

Tacoma Dome, first week of March. 3A and 4A boys (and girls) play simultaneously across multiple courts. Big building, big crowd, real atmosphere — the kind of state final venue most states would envy. Title sponsor is Gesa Credit Union; 1B/2B finals run separately at Spokane Arena.

West Virginia's boys state finals run March 18-22 at the Charleston Coliseum, with the girls bracket the week prior (March 11-15). All games stream on NFHS Network with championships also on the WV MetroNews app and statewide radio network.

Wisconsin's boys' state series, with the State Tournament played at the Kohl Center in Madison since the late 1990s. The 2025 event was the 109th edition. Five divisions, with all semis and finals at the Kohl Center on a single weekend.

Casper hosts both classification weekends — 1A/2A on the first weekend in March, 3A/4A the next. Ford Wyoming Center is the title floor; Casper College and Natrona County HS handle prelims. Laramie won 4A in 2025; Campbell County won 3A. Wyoming has a small basketball state but the title game atmosphere at the Ford is real.