The NCAA has moved up the start of the NCAA men's basketball championship game, beginning with the 2025 title game

Gone is the 9:20 p.m. tip-off time that challenged all but the biggest fans to remain awake for “One Shining Moment.” This year’s championship game in San Antonio will start at 8:50 p.m. Eastern on April 7 and perhaps may head off a bit of the deluge of social media criticism that comes like clockwork every year.

The NCAA announced Tuesday that the March Madness game’s tip-off time had been moved up to 8:50 p.m. ET from its traditional start time of 9:20 p.m. It’s a welcome move for many after the game has long taken more than two hours to complete and pushed up against midnight in the Eastern time zone.