March Madness Basketball Party Ideas (Free Printables)

Who’s ready for all things March Madness fun? Now is the time to stock up on some great March Madness Basketball Party Ideas – and you’re in the right place! These basketball printables are great for gearing up to celebrate the entire March Madness week!

Basketball Party Ideas on basketball background.

The best part about this printable collection of basketball games is that they’re fun for all ages! You’ll find that these are great for March Madness spirit week ideas and are the perfect way to get people geared up for hoops and more.

Table of Contents

March Madness Basketball Themed Party Ideas

We’re huge basketball fans. And why not? It’s a lot of fun to see the teams battling it out on the court. But when March Madness rolls around every year, a whole new kind of competition takes place in our house.

Not only do we fill out our March Madness brackets, but we also use these entertaining printable games and activities to add even more fun and games to the house.

Call it a bit of “madness” taking over, but we really love to bring some friendly competition into the house. And since it can take a long time to get to the Final Four during March Madness, why not have some other fun games sprinkled in as well?

Here are some creative and fun basketball party ideas to take your March Madness basketball celebrations to the next level:

Themed Decorations: Deck out your space in your favorite team colors, or go neutral with a basketball-themed décor. You could consider items such as basketball balloons, banners, table runners, and wall decals. Don’t forget to include a big bracket board for everyone to see and update.
Basketball Cupcakes: Create fun and tasty basketball-themed cupcakes. Use orange icing to simulate the basketball and thin black licorice strings to draw the lines.
Team-Specific Beverages: To make the party more fun, you can serve drinks that match the colors of the competing teams. For the under-21 crowd, consider colored fruit punch or sodas.
Friendly Betting Pool: Organize a friendly betting pool where guests can predict the winner of each game. You could even have small prizes or bragging rights for correct predictions.
Halftime Entertainment: Plan some entertaining halftime games for your party guests. Shooting contests, basketball trivia, or a game of HORSE can keep the excitement level high even during breaks in the action.

Remember, the goal of a March Madness party is to have fun and enjoy the games, so focus on creating an atmosphere that invites excitement, camaraderie, and a little friendly competition!

Tips For Planning Your March Madness Party

When planning your March Madness party, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind.

Party Favors: Basketball party favors can be a fun way to get everyone in the game spirit. Consider handing out mini basketballs, team pennants, or even a personalized basketball jersey for everyone. These favors won’t just add to the atmosphere during the party but will also serve as a memento for your guests.

Games: In addition to watching the games, plan to have some basketball-related activities. You could have a free-throw contest in the driveway or set up a basketball video game competition for those who prefer indoors. If you’re looking for something less sporty but still basketball-themed, a trivia contest about past March Madness tournaments or famous basketball players can be a fun option.

Watching the Game: To ensure everyone can watch the game comfortably, consider setting up multiple viewing areas. If you have a large TV, arrange seating so that everyone can see clearly. For larger parties, it might be worth renting a projector and screen. Also, make sure you have a reliable cable or internet connection to avoid any game-day streaming issues.

Why These Printables Work To Plan Your Basketball Theme Party

These free party printables get everyone excited about the tournament!
Even those who don’t care about basketball can join in on this printable fun.
There are so many entertaining games and activities to choose from that it makes it easy and engaging to want to be a part of.

What’s Included

This March Madness printable packet includes a great selection of games and activities that can entertain your friends and family for hours! Here’s what you get:

Cover

Any great printable set should have a cover so you can easily find it in a binder. This one makes no exception!

March Madness Word Search

Who will find all the basketball-related words first? If your party has many guests, you can play this game in groups too.

March Madness Basketball Feud

This fun feud has 7 questions, and each player needs to fill in 3 popular responses. Can you get the highest score?

March Madness Basketball Predictions

Before the competition starts, have everyone make some predictions. This game will surely make the entire March Madness week more exciting!

March Madness Would You Rather

Once everyone circles their choices, it will be fun to see the different preferences of your guests.

March Madness Mascot Match-up

How well do you know the mascots for the most popular basketball teams? See how you fare against others with the mascot match-up game!

March Madness Word Scramble

How good are you at unscrambling words? This game is fun to play in a large group, and kids can join in too.

March Madness Trivia

With so many basketball fans in your house, one of them will surely be able to get all the answers right. Even if not, answer keys are included to satisfy everyone’s curiosity.

Basketball Around The World

11 languages, and 11 different ways to say “basketball.” Can you match them all?

March Madness Bingo

Bingo is so entertaining, and you get six bingo sheets to enjoy. Don’t forget to have your bingo markers on hand!

March Madness Brackets

Those who aren’t into playing games will surely enjoy filling in these brackets. Both men’s and women’s brackets are included!

March Madness Scattergories

What better way to pass the time on commercial breaks than with some scattergories games?

Equipment Needed

Printer
Paper
Pens/pencils/Markers
Bingo Markers
Snacks (because everyone always needs snacks!)

What better way to pass the time on commercial breaks than with some scattergories games?

How It Works

To get started, all you have to do is print off the packet of printables. The only thing that needs to be done ahead of time is to fill out the bracket and choose the teams. This needs to be done BEFORE the tournament starts so that there are no cheating or picking teams after they’ve already played! (No stacking the bracket here – only guesses will work!)

Basketball Party Ideas printables sitting on a wooden floor.

Creative Ways To Use These Printables

Have your own family March Madness tournament – Who says that the basketball players get to have all the fun? While they’re on the TV showing off their skills, use these March Madness party games as a way to have your own tournament. Make a winner for each game, and enjoy!
Create a fun trophy – Everyone wants a medal, right? Have everyone done their best at the games and then tally up who won! Whoever gets the most correct or has the most points wins the March Madness trophy!
Have the tiebreaker be the REAL March Madness bracket – Even though you might not be into the bracket, everyone still needs to fill one out. Because as we all know, there’s a reason that it’s called “madness”. Teams come out of nowhere to work their way up the bracket, sometimes knocking out some of the biggest teams! Use the brackets in this packet of games as a true tiebreaker in your own house.

Where To Get This March Madness Printable Packet

You know I like to make things as simple as possible for you. Just click the link and download the entire packet for March Madness party fun! Get the March Madness Printable 🖨️

Brackets Only?

🏀 Men’s Brackets Grab 🖨️

🏀 Women’s Brackets Grab 🖨️

March Madness Party Ideas FAQs

Is it free to download these printables?

Yes, it is free to download and print any printable from our site. Just know this is for personal use only. You can not sell these printables as your own.

When should you have a March Madness party?

I totally get it. March Madness goes on for several days! But the closer that it gets to the big game, the more that people are excited and pumped. For this reason, having parties for the Elite Eight, the Final Four, and the Championship game are going to be the best times to throw a college basketball party – and have these printables on hand, too! These make March Madness parties the best! But you can also use these fun ideas for a basketball birthday party for a keen basketball fan at any time of the year. Even adults would love a basketball-themed party – just make sure that you choose the basketball party decorations that match their team, or they might not have a great time!

We love printables and fun activities, so here are a few more that we thought you’d enjoy!