A school from the state of North Carolina is headed to the Final Four today, as ACC rivals Duke and NC State battle it out in the Elite Eight. It’s the third time they’ve played this month, with Duke handedly winning the first one but NC State getting revenge en route to the ACC tournament title.
The game is starting very soon, at 5:05 p.m. ET today, and will be televised on CBS. But if you want to watch March Madness online, we have several different ways you can watch a live stream of the game for free.
Is There a Free Duke vs NC State Live Stream?
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
Paramount+ is the simplest way to watch a live stream of NC State vs Duke. Though it’s a streaming service mainly known for its library of TV shows and movies, you can also watch your local CBS channel live if you sign up for the “with SHOWTIME” option.
There are actually two different ways you can get Paramount+ with SHOWTIME for free. The first and most obvious is through the Paramount website or app. The second is through Amazon Prime Channels, which ultimately gives you all the same live and on-demand content, but you watch on the Amazon digital platforms instead. Both of these options come with a separate seven-day free trial.
Options No. 3 through 5 are all live-TV streaming services. YouTube TV (“Base Plan”), DirecTV Stream (“Entertainment” plan or above) and Fubo (“Pro” plan) all include CBS live in most markets (as well as ESPN and ABC if you also want to watch the women’s Elite Eight games today and tomorrow), and they all let you watch for free when signing up–Fubo for seven days, and YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream each for five days.
Our last option–the sixth different way you can watch NC State vs Duke for free–is the March Madness Live app/website. Every tournament game streams live here, and you can watch for free for three hours before you’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to keep watching.
How to Watch the Duke vs NC State Live Stream from Abroad
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
All of those streaming services are only going to work if you’re in the United States, unless you use them with a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN can hide your IP address/location and connect you to a digital server in the United States (or most other countries), making it seem as though you’re physically located there. This then lets you access content that would otherwise be blocked due to your location.
NordVPN would be our recommendation. It’s by far one of best VPN services you can get, and while there’s no free trial, you can still try it out risk-free thanks to their 30-day money-back offer.
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