How To Get Free Food And Discounts During March Madness

It's March Madness, baby! Since we'll all be spending plenty of time in front of the TV in the coming weeks, it's no surprise that there are lots of deals on fast food right now designed to pair our brackets with a square meal.

We've rounded up some of the best looking deals for you in case your stomach starts growling while you're on the couch.

From March 20-26, Domino's is going big with its discount: the chain is offering 50% off all menu-priced pizzas when you place an online order. The discount applies whether you get your pizza via carryout or delivery, as long as the order is placed through either the Domino's website, the Domino's app, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Facebook Messenger, or Dom, the Domino's voice ordering system.

I don't know about you, but I get fidgety when I'm sitting in front of the TV for a while. To channel our game-related adrenaline, Pizza Hut is selling mini basketballs for $7 via its website and the Pizza Hut app, so you can shoot some of your own hoops after you've finished eating. Diehards might recall that these basketballs haven't been seen in a Pizza Hut promotion since the '90s.

No hoop? No problem. Participating Pizza Hut restaurants are also selling Big New Yorker Pizzas whose boxes are perforated to turn them into temporary basketball hoops.

We all know that chicken prices can fluctuate quite a bit, and that's why deals at Wingstop are especially worth checking out. The newest deal, the NCAA-specific Full Court Meal, features 12 bone-in wings, eight boneless wings, a large fry, and two dips for $20.99. That's a great bundle price for a meal that feeds 3-4 people.

Wingstop also has a trio of limited-time flavors on offer, designed to complement March Madness games:

• Pure Mayhem: This is Wingstop's sweet and savory fry seasoning (which can be a little polarizing) on your wings of choice
• Crunch Time: A mashup of hot honey rub and lemon pepper
• The Meltdown: Garlic tossed with Cajun seasoning and buttery parmesan

Ordering through DoorDash can get pricey, but if you're looking to shave a few bucks off your order, here's a list of discounts you can get at some fast food restaurants via the third-party delivery service throughout the tournament.

• Wingstop: $3 off an order of $30 or more, now until 3/26
• McDonald's: Free Sausage McMuffin (morning only) with an order of $15 or more from 3/23 through 3/26
• Wendy's: $3 off an order from 3/23 through 3/26

Wendy's sometimes puts out some pretty good deals via its mobile app. Here is the current March Madness-worthy lineup to feed you (and hopefully not your anxiety) during some nail-biters.

• $1 Dave's Single: You can order a Dave's Single for $1 through the app once a week until 4/5
• Free 6-piece nuggets with orders $10+: It's easy to hit $10 at a fast food restaurant (some combos at Wendy's easily surpass $10), so you can tack on a free 6-piece nugget while you're at it, through 4/9
• $3 off $15: If your order surpasses $15, you can get a few bucks off when you apply this coupon, through 4/16
• 50% off Kids Meal: Order through the app and you can get a half-off children's meal, through 4/16

Buffalo Wild Wings is offering two new flavors in honor of March Madness: Buffalo Ranch and Honey Garlic. We've sampled both, and they're both good, depending on your mood. The Buffalo Ranch is basically just buffalo sauce and a dill-forward ranch mixed together, and the Honey Garlic has a sweet and sour vibe to it with a touch of garlic.

Uber Eats has created a "bracket" of deals that correspond to each round of the tournament. Here's what you can nab during each round:

• Sweet 16 (March 23 – 25): Free 8-count nuggets at Chick-fil-A with a $15 purchase
• Elite Eight (March 26 – 27): 10 free wings at Wingstop with a $25 purchase
• Final Four (March 31 – April 1): Free Popeyes chicken sandwich with a $25 purchase
• Championship (April 2-3): Buy one Dave's Single® at Wendy's, get one free

The NCAA tournament runs now through April 3, and as in past years, the games will be aired across a number of network and cable TV stations. CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV will all broadcast various games throughout the tournament; see the full rundown here and check your local listings.

While the commercials during the NCAA broadcasts are never as good as what we get during the Super Bowl, we're still hopeful that we'll see some memorable ads for food and beverages this year. At the very least, we'll probably get to hear the Whopper song a whole bunch.