Food deals for March Madness: Get freebies, discounts at Buffalo Wild Wings, Wendy's, more

March Madness has arrived and to celebrate, restaurants and fast food chains across the country are offering customers food deals.

National chains such as Buffalo Wild Wings, TGI Fridays and Wendy's are offering freebies and discounts on items such as cheeseburgers and chicken wings.

The first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament kicks off Thursday, while the first round of the women's tournament begins Friday. The men's championship game is scheduled for Monday, April 8 and will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The championship game for the women's tournament is scheduled for Sunday, April 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Here's what you need to know about which restaurants are offering deals and how to get them.

Wendy's offering $1, $2 cheeseburgers for March Madness

Wendy's is celebrating March Madness by offering customers a $1 Dave's Single or a $2 Dave's Double exclusively via the Wendy's app from now through Wednesday, April 10, the company said in a news release.

According to Wendy's, customers who visit the Wendy's app can add a Dave's Single or Dave's Double to your cart and then visit the Wendy's offers page to add the discount to your order.

Buffalo Wild Wings offering a slew of March Madness deals

Buffalo Wild Wings is celebrating this year's NCAA basketball tournaments by having a real buffalo named Jack pick a bracket for both the men's and women's tournaments in a promotion the company is calling "Beat the Buffalo."

On March 19, the company will release the buffalo's completed brackets and fans can submit their own brackets to BeatTheBuffalo.com to see how their brackets stack up against Jack's brackets. Submissions for both the men's and women's brackets will close at noon ET on Thursday, March 21, the company said in the news release.

"As the tournament goes on, 10% of the challengers with a better bracket than the buffalo will have a chance to win bragging rights and some amazing prizes – a year's worth of free wings and tickets to next year's Final Four," the news release reads.

On March 21, the company is offering customers a buy one, get one free order of boneless wings for dine-in, takeout or delivery. The offer is not valid with other discounts or offers and size exclusions apply.

Additionally, when a March Madness men's or women's game goes into overtime, the restaurant chain will give free boneless wings to Blazin' Rewards members. To qualify for the offer, Blazin' Rewards members just need to check in or order via Blazin' Rewards on the same day a game goes to overtime before the end of regulation.

"If you’ve checked in or placed an order via Blazin’ Rewards and an NCAA tournament matchup goes to overtime, six free boneless wings will be delivered to your Blazin’ Rewards account within 72 hours," according to the news release.

Unused rewards will be valid for 30 days after the NCAA championship game on Monday, April 8.

TGI Fridays offers consolation prize for busted March Madness brackets

TGI Fridays is giving basketball fans a consolation prize if they don't achieve the elusive goal of picking a perfect March Madness bracket: free wings.

The restaurant chain is giving away free wings to every fan with a busted bracket, starting Tuesday, March 19, through April 8, the company announced in a news release last week.

Customers who show their busted brackets will receive six free boneless wings with their choice of sauce, alongside any food or nonalcoholic beverage purchase.

The restaurant chain also announced it is offering 50-cent traditional and boneless wings on men's and women's tournament game days at participating locations.

Hooters offers customers chance to win free wings for life

Hooters is inviting customers to participate in the Hooters Baller Bracket Challenge this year during March Madness, the company said in a news release.

Customers can register online at www.HootersHoops.com to complete their 2024 bracket predictions. Submissions are open through noon ET on Thursday, March 21, according to the company. Upon submission, customers will receive a "Hooky Day" coupon for a free appetizer with beverage purchase. Customers can pick between cheese sticks, lots-a-tots or chips and queso. These coupons can be redeemed for dine-in purchases during the first round of the tournament on March 21-22.

The overall best bracket winner will be awarded a trip for two to Cancun, Mexico, in addition to free wings for a year, Hooters said in the news release. In addition, the participant with the top bracket at each Hooters location will win a $50 Hooters gift card.

Customers who predict a perfect bracket will win free wings for life, the company said.

Also, the restaurant chain is offering customers $4 Corona Extra beers and $16 Baller Bundles including 16 boneless wings and fries now through April 8.

Potbelly offers free original sandwich with purchase in honor of March Madness

Potbelly is offering Perks Members a free original sandwich on their next purchase within 14 days when they buy any two original or big-size meatball sandwiches through Sunday, March 31, the company said in a news release.

The perk can be earned multiple times, without limit, throughout the promotional timeframe, the company said.

Dave & Busters customers can win up to 1 million game chips during March Madness

Dave & Buster's is giving fans who submit their busted bracket to the company via social media the chance to win up to 1 million game chips, the company told USA TODAY.

Additionally, the company is offering a $5 all-day happy hour on Thursday, March 21 and also a promotion featuring $2 beers and $5 shots from March 22 through April 8.

To celebrate the national championship game, customers can get All You Can Eat Wings on April 8, paired with a $10 Power Card for $22.99 after 4 p.m., the company said.

Marco's Pizza offers free Pizzoli through March

Marco's is offering customers a free pizzoli with the purchase of any large or extra-large menu-price pizza through the end of March, the company said in a news release. Limit 2 per order using code FPMPP.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse partners with non-profit for promotion

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse has partnered with non-profit Hav A Sole on a campaign to help provide shoes to kids in need.

From now though April 8, customers at BJ's restaurants across the country who donate $1 or more on their checks will not only be donating directly to provide shoes, but will also receive a coupon for a free Pizookie dessert, the company told USA TODAY.

A Pizookie is a large chocolate chip cookie in a pan topped with ice cream.

Red Robin shows off burger lineup to celebrate March Madness

Each week from March 18 through April 14, customers can get a specialty burger for $12.

The burger lineup includes:

• March 18-24: Scorpion Burger
• March 25-31: Whiskey River BBQ Burger
• April 1-7: Smashed Avocado 'N Bacon Burger
• April 8-14: Banzai Burger

The promotion is available for dine-in and to-go, but is not available for delivery, the company told USA TODAY.

Customers can mention the "MVP burger lineup" to their server to redeem or use promo code MVBBGR for online orders. The offer is only valid for the featured burger and bottomless side during its promotional window, according to Red Robin.

California Pizza Kitchen offers deal on take & bake pizzas

From March 19 to April 8, California Pizza Kitchen is offering customers five Mix & Match Take & Bake pizzas for $50. Eligible pizzas include Pepperoni, Mupesa, BBQ chicken, Thai, Cal Veggie and Five Cheese, the company told USA TODAY.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.