Fang's Bites

Sweet 16 Tip Times and Announcing Assignments for 2013 NCAA Tournament

Here we go for the tip times and announcing assignments for the Regional Semifinals on Thursday and Friday for the 2013 NCAA Tournament. CBS and TBS will share the games.

Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery and Rachel Nichols are assigned to the East region.

Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, Reggie Miller and Lewis Johnson are out West.

Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson are in the Midwest.

And Marv Albert, Steve Kerr along with Craig Sager and his loud wardrobe are in Arlington, TX.

Oh, and Doug Gottlieb who tormented America on a total of six games on Thursday and Saturday will get to torment America in the studio for the Regional semis and finals. This won’t end well.

Without further delay, here’s what you are looking for.

CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS ANNOUNCE TIP TIMES AND ANNOUNCE TEAMS FOR REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

Exclusive Coverage Continues with Regional Semifinals on Thursday, March 28, and Friday, March 29

Turner Sports and CBS Sports announce tip times, match-ups and announce teams for its exclusive coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Regional Semifinals on Thursday, March 28, and Friday, March 29 (7 p.m.-Midnight ET), with all games available in their entirety on TBS and CBS.  Coverage will begin both nights with the NCAA Tip-Off pregame show at 6 p.m. on TBS.

The announce teams for the Regional Semifinals and Finals are as follows:

Play-By-Play/Analyst//Reporter

Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols
Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson

Studio coverage will continue with Greg Gumbel hosting along with analysts Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith and Doug Gottlieb from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Ernie Johnson will host studio coverage from Turner Studios in Atlanta with analysts Seth Davis and Steve Smith.

Tip times for the Regional Finals on Saturday will be announced after the conclusion of Thursday’s games. Sunday’s tip times will be released after the conclusion of play on Friday.

NCAA March Madness Live® will continue to provide college basketball fans unparalleled multi-screen digital access to the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship including live streaming of every game.  The digital suite of products will also feature video highlights, full game replays, real-time game alerts, live game scoring, real-time tournament brackets, personal channel lineup features, live stats, robust social media integration and more.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28 (7 p.m.-Midnight ET)
Tip (ET)	Network	Site	Game	Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
7:15 p.m.	CBS	Washington, D.C. I	Marquette vs. Miami	Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols
7:47 p.m.	TBS	Los Angeles I	Arizona vs. Ohio State	Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore//Lewis Johnson
9:45 p.m.	CBS	Washington, D.C II	Syracuse vs. Indiana	Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols
10:17 p.m.	TBS	Los Angeles II	La Salle vs. Wichita St.	Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore//Lewis Johnson

 

FRIDAY, MARCH 29 (7 p.m.-Midnight ET)
Tip (ET)	Network	Site	Game	Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
7:15 p.m.	CBS	Indianapolis I	Oregon vs. Louisville	Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
7:37 p.m.	TBS	North Texas I	Kansas vs. Michigan	Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
9:45 p.m.	CBS	Indianapolis II	Michigan State vs. Duke	Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
10:07 p.m.	TBS	North Texas II	Florida Gulf Coast vs. Florida	Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager

That’s it.

The Fang’s Bites College Basketball TV Awards

It’s been a while since I’ve written a College Basketball TV Awards post. It’s been so long, that I’ve lost the archive for it. That transition from Blogger to WordPress a few years back did it. This is mostly for the regular season. I’ll do a bonus TV Awards for the NCAA Tournament after the Elite Eight.

Anyway, let’s provide you with the best and the worst in college basketball.

Best Play-by-Play – Sean McDonough, ESPN. Sean had a very good year working with Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery in closing out the Big East Conference as we know it. From the start of the season in Maui to the last Big East Tournament in New York on ESPN, McDonough called some great games. He also had to overcome a rare condition that made him sensitive to noise, but once that was all said and done, McDonough, Bilas and Raftery have been working well together and holding them together is McDonough who knows when to keep it light and when to keep it serious. Sean is our winner for Best Play-by-Play this season

Honorable mentions: Andrew Catalon (CBS Sports Network), Ian Eagle (CBS), Dave Flemming (ESPN), Dave Pasch (ESPN), Dan Shulman (ESPN)

Best Game Analyst – Fran Fraschilla, ESPN. He may not work Duke-North Carolina or the other glamor conferences, however, Fran knows the nuances of basketball. He mainly works the Big 12 and was rightly returned to Big Monday games. He meshed well with his old partner, Ron Franklin when they used to work Big Monday and did well with Brent Musburger this season. Fraschilla is also utilized by ESPN on international games and he knows the in’s and out’s of what could be very ugly basketball, but he knows all of the players. Giving Fran some love here. He deserves it.

Honorable mentions: Jay Bilas (ESPN), Doris Burke (ESPN), Mike Gminski (ACC Network), Clark Kellogg (CBS), Shon Morris (Big Ten Network), Bill Raftery (CBS/ESPN), Stan Van Gundy (NBC Sports Network), Bill Walton (ESPN)

Best Reporter – Holly Rowe, ESPN. She’s usually on the Big 12 broadcasts with Brent Musburger and Fran Fraschilla, Holly finds some nuggets that other sideline reporters don’t. Yes, she has a reputation of being tough and unwilling to budge, but you want that in a reporter. And she can also call play-by-play as she’s been doing for the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

Honorable mentions: Shelley Smith (ESPN), Stephanie White (Big Ten Network)

Best Studio Host – Rece Davis, ESPN. Ever since taking over as main college basketball host for Chris Fowler in 2006, Davis has shined in this role. He hosts the basketball version of College GameDay and while it pales in comparison to its football brethren, Davis still keeps the show together. Davis does well in his role as traffic cop handing off to various analysts including Digger Phelps. Very good host and easily could host the football version of GameDay in a heartbeat.

Honorable mentions: Dave Revsine (Big Ten Network), John Saunders (ESPN), Adam Zucker (CBS Sports Network)

Best Studio Analyst – Bruce Pearl, ESPN. In his first year, Pearl has become a very good analyst. He’s shown some humor. He’s provided some decent thoughts on teams and plays. Yes, Pearl has a checkered past, but he has shown he knows the game. There’s no doubt he’s using the ESPN platform to rehabilitate his reputation and far as his analysis is concerned, it’s been solid. And let’s hope Pearl has learned his lesson should he ever get back into coaching.

Honorable mentions: Seth Greenberg (ESPN), Jim Jackson (Big Ten Network), Wally Szczerbiak (CBS Sports Network)

Best Studio Show – Inside College Basketball, CBS Sports Network. This solid show is usually aired after CBSSN’s college basketball games. We get highlights of the games, no silly debates, solid analysis and some decent humor. CBS Sports Network needs some better distribution because not everyone can see the network. Next season, take a moment to watch the show. It’s quite good.

Honorable mentions: College Basketball Live (ESPN2/ESPNU), Katz Korner (ESPNU)

Best Move – Bill Walton on Pac-12 games, ESPN. In its infinite wisdom, ESPN signed Bill Walton for Pac-12 games, returning Big Red to national television after a prolonged absence. Viewers were treated to various insights, rants and exchanges with regular partners Dave Flemming and Dave Pasch. There was one night in which Walton was teamed with Brent Musburger and it was pure TV gold. It all climaxed with Walton on the Pac-12 Tournament for both the Pac-12 Networks and the ESPN family. It was tremendous. Here’s hoping ESPN will sign Walton for another season.

Honorable mentions: Fox Sports signing the New Big East, Teaming Bruce Pearl and Seth Greenberg in the studio (ESPN)

Most Valuable Network – ESPN. ESPN has contracts all of the major conferences. It has the most inventory. And it has most of the conference championship games. This won’t change for a while.

Worst Analyst – Doug Gottlieb, CBS. The Tiffany Network brought Gottlieb in from ESPN and mostly teamed him in the studio with Seth Davis. Gottlieb comes off as angry, a know-it-all, abrasive, argumentative and overbearing. During his feigned debate segments with Davis, Gottlieb has overpowered him and also looked smug. In addition, Gottlieb points at the American people and doesn’t stop from letting us know that his opinion is the correct one. Horrible analyst.

Worst Move – CBS adds Gottlieb to the Studio. See above.

I’m saving some material for the NCAA Tournament Edition. That’s coming next week.

College Basketball Viewing Picks for 03/23 & 03/24/2013, All Times Eastern

Saturday, March 23

Pregame & Studio Shows
NCAA March Madness 360 — CBS Sports Network, 2 p.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — TNT, 5 p.m.
College GameDay Scoreboard — ESPN2, midnight
Inside March Madness — TBS, midnight
NCAA March Madness Bracket Breakdown — CBS Sports Network, 1 a.m. (Sunday)

Men’s
NCAA Tournament
3rd Round
East Region
Lexington, KY
Butler vs. Marquette — CBS, 7:45 p.m. (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce)

San Jose, CA
Cal vs. Syracuse — TBS, 9:40 p.m. (Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Marty Snider)

Midwest Region
Auburn Hills, MI
Memphis vs. Michigan State — CBS, 2:45 p.m. (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols)

Lexington, KY
Colorado State vs. Louisville — CBS, 5:15 p.m. (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce)

San Jose, CA
Oregon vs. Saint Louis — TBS, 7:10 p.m. (Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Marty Snider)

South Region
Auburn Hills, MI
Virginia Commonwealth vs. Michigan — CBS, 12:15 p.m. (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nicols)

Salt Lake City, UT
Harvard vs. Arizona — TNT, 6:10 p.m. (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio!!!)
Wichita State vs. Gonzaga — TNT, 8:40 p.m. (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio!!!)

National Invitation Tournament
2nd RoundStanford at Alabama — ESPN, 11 a.m. (Rich Hollenberg/Miles Simon)

Women’s
NCAA Tournament
1st Round

11 a.m
All Games on ESPN2
Quinnipiac vs. Maryland (Mark Kestecher/LaChina Robinson)
Central Michigan vs. Oklahoma (Clay Matvick/Swin Cash)
Creighton vs. Syracuse (Bob Wischusen/Nell Fortner)St. Joseph’s vs. Vanderbilt (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke)

1:30 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
Marist vs. Michigan State (Mark Kestecher/LaChina Robinson)
Stetson vs. UCLA (Clay Matvick/Swin Cash)
Oral Roberts vs. Tennessee (Bob Wischusen/Nell Fortner)
Idaho vs. UConn (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke)

4 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
South Dakota State vs. South Carolina (Mark Jones/Fran Fraschilla)
Wichita State vs. Texas A&M (Carter Blackburn/Maria Taylor)
Fresno State vs. Cal (Cara Capuano/Stephen Bardo)
Gonzaga vs. Iowa State (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)

6:30 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
Kansas vs. Colorado (Mark Jones/Fran Fraschilla)
Chattanooga vs. Nebraska (Carter Blackburn/Maria Taylor)
South Florida vs. Texas (Cara Capuano/Stephen Bardo)
Montana vs. Georgia (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)

Sunday, March 24

Pregame & Studio Shows
NCAA March Madness 360 — CBS Sports Network, 2 p.m.
NCAA Basketball Tournament Press Conferences — Big Ten Network, 5 p.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — TNT, 5 p.m.
NCAA March Madness 360 — CBS Sports Network, 10 p.m.
College GameDay Scoreboard — ESPN2, midnight
Inside March Madness — TBS, midnight
NCAA March Madness Bracket Breakdown — CBS Sports Network, 12:30 a.m. (Monday)

Men’s
NCAA Tournament
3rd Round
East Region
Dayton, OH
Temple vs. Indiana — CBS, 2:45 p.m. (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson)

Austin, TX
Illinois vs. Miami — TNT, 8:40 p.m. (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston)

Midwest Region
Philadelphia, PA
Creighton vs. Duke — TBS, 9:40 p.m. (Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson)

South Region
Kansas City, MO
North Carolina vs. Kansas — CBS, 5:15 p.m. (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager)

Austin, TX
Minnesota vs. Florida — TNT, 6:10 p.m. (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston)

Philadelphia, PA
Florida Gulf Coast vs. San Diego State — TBS (Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson)

West Region
Dayton, OH
Iowa State vs. Ohio State — CBS, 12:15 p.m. (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson)

Kansas City, MO
La Salle vs. Mississippi — truTV, 7:45 p.m. (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager)

National Invitation Tournament
2nd Round
St. John’s at Virginia — ESPN, noon (Mike Crispino/Derek Whittenberg)

Women’s
NCAA Tournament
1st Round

Noon
All Games on ESPN2
West Virginia vs. Delaware (Pam Ward/Rebecca Lobo)
Hampton vs. Duke (Joe Davis/Debbie Antonelli)
Liberty vs. Purdue (Melissa Lee/Brooke Weisbrod)
Navy vs. Kentucky (Bob Picozzi/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude) (also on ESPNU)

2:30 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
Albany vs. North Carolina (Pam Ward/Rebecca Lobo)
DePaul vs. Oklahoma State (Joe Davis/Debbie Antonelli)
Middle Tennessee vs. Louisville (Melissa Lee/Brooke Weisbrod)
St. John’s vs. Dayton (Bob Picozzi/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude)

5 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
Cal Poly vs. Penn State (Tom Hart/Krista Blunk)
Tennessee-Martin vs. Notre Dame (Holly Rowe/Brenda VanLengen)
Tulsa vs. Stanford (Dave Pasch/Mary Murphy)
Princeton vs. Florida State (Beth Mowins/Stephanie White)

7:30 p.m.
All Games on ESPN2
Green Bay vs. LSU (Tom Hart/Krista Blunk)
Iowa vs. Miami (FL) (Holly Rowe/Brenda VanLengen)
Villanova vs. Michigan (Dave Pasch/Mary Murphy)
Prairie View A&M vs. Baylor (Beth Mowins/Stephanie White)

Tip Times for Sunday of 3rd Round of 2013 NCAA Tournament

Ok, the tip times are in for the final day of the opening weekend of the 75th NCAA Tournament.

CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS ANNOUNCE TIP TIMES AND MATCH-UPS FOR THIRD ROUND GAMES ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24

Turner Sports and CBS Sports announce tip times and match-ups for exclusive third round coverage of the 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 24 (Noon-Midnight ET) with all games available in their entirety across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

Studio coverage will feature Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson sharing hosting duties. Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Kenny Smith will provide analysis throughout the tournament alongside Gumbel or Johnson from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Matt Winer will host studio coverage from Turner Studios in Atlanta with analysts Seth Davis and Steve Smith and Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon as an in-studio guest analyst.

Following are the tip times for Sunday’s third round games, as well as the announce and production team assignments. Tip times for the Regional Semifinals (Thursday, March 28, and Friday, Mach 29) will be announced after the conclusion of the games on Sunday, March 24. For a complete channel guide see the “Channel Finder” feature at NCAA.com/MyChannels.

NCAA March Madness Live® will continue to provide college basketball fans unparalleled multi-screen digital access to the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship including live streaming of every game. The digital suite of products will also feature video highlights, full game replays, real-time game alerts, live game scoring, real-time tournament brackets, personal channel lineup features, live stats, robust social media integration and more.

 

THIRD ROUND GAMES SUNDAY, MARCH 24 (Noon-Midnight ET)
12:15 p.m.	CBS	Dayton I	Iowa State vs. Ohio State	Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
2:45 p.m.	CBS	Dayton II	Temple vs. Indiana	Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
5:15 p.m.	CBS	Kansas City I	North Carolina vs. Kansas	Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
6:10 p.m.	TNT	Austin I	Minnesota vs. Florida	Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
7:10 pm	TBS	Philadelphia I	Florida Gulf Coast vs. San Diego State	Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson
7:45 p.m.	truTV	Kansas City II	La Salle vs. Ole Miss	Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
8:40 p.m.	TNT	Austin II	Illinois vs. Miami	Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
9:40 p.m.	TBS	Philadelphia II	Creighton vs. Duke	Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson

That will do it.

CBS/Turner Deliver Most Viewers to 1st Thursday of NCAA Tournament Since 1991

This from CBS/Turner Sports. The final ratings are in for the first Thursday of the 2013 NCAA Tournament and they are good. This CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV combination combined for an overall 5.5 household rating with a 12 share. That is up 4% from 2012 and it’s the highest rating dating back to 1994 when CBS was in the early days of airing the Tournament solo.

The viewership numbers are also good. CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV received an average viewership of 8.1 million which is the highest since 1991.

The NCAA Tournament is averaging a 5.0/11 thus far.

Here’s what CBS/Turner want you to know about all this.

2013 NCAA^® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTv is Most-Watched First Thursday Since 1991

Thursday’s NCAA Tournament Coverage Delivers a 5.5 U.S. HH Rating and 8.1 Million Total Viewers
NCAA Tournament to Date is Most Watched in 20 Years

CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ exclusive second round coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 21, combined to deliver the most viewed (8.1 million total viewers) first Thursday of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.

Thursday’s coverage earned a Fast National U.S. household rating/share of a 5.5/12, +4% vs. 2012, 5.3/13, the highest average rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in 19 years (5.6/14, 1994).

The 2013 NCAA Tournament to date, including the First Four, is averaging a 5.0/11, +6% from last year’s 4.7/11, and is tied with the highest-to-date rating since 2006 (5.0/11).

Overall, the 2013 NCAA Tournament to date is the most-watched in 20 years (1993). The First Four and Thursday’s coverage averaged 7.4 million viewers, +7% vs. 6.9 million viewers last year.

• The first telecast window of the day combined to earn a 4.0/13, +14% vs. last year’s 3.5/13.
• The second telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.1/13, +6% vs. last year’s 4.8/13.
• The third telecast window of the day combined to earn a 7.1/12, +11% vs. last year’s 6.4/12.
• The fourth telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.9/11 vs. last year’s 6.4/12.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Fast National Data, Live +SD data stream. 3/19/13 to 03/21/13 vs. 03/13/12 to 03/15/12. 2013, 2012 and 2011 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2012 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS/ESPN average of First Round.

There it is.

NCAA Tournament Overnight Ratings for 1st Thursday Best in 22 Years

The CBS/Turner Sports partnership for the NCAA Tournament is working. Having all of the games available nationally and no regionalization has led to higher ratings for the first Thursday of the Big Dance. CBS/Turner says the Tournament garnered a 5.8 overnight rating and a 14 share for the 16 games played last night. That’s up 4% from last year’s 5.6/13. And yesterday’s numbers were the highest for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament dating back to 1991. That’s quite impressive.

Here’s what CBS/Turner has to tell us about the Thursday overnight rating for the NCAA Tournament on CBS/TBS/TNT/truTV. Check it all out below in black and white.

2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV Scores Highest Rating for First Thursday of Tournament in 22 Years

Thursday’s NCAA Tournament Coverage Earns 5.8 Overnight Rating, Up 4% vs. 2012

CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ exclusive second round coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 21, averaged an overnight household rating/share of 5.8/14, the highest rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in 22 years.  The 5.8/14 is up 4% compared with a 5.6/13 in 2012.

Thursday’s coverage showed significant audience increases in three of the four telecast windows, including several record setters.

• The first daytime telecast window (12-4:15 p.m. ET) averaged a 4.1/14 to deliver the second highest rating for the time slot since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day (trailing only 2011’s 4.4/15).  The telecast window is up 5% compared with a 3.9/13 last year.
• The second daytime telecast window (2:30-7:15 p.m.) averaged a 5.5/15 to garner the highest rating ever for the time slot.  The window is up 6% over last year’s 5.2/14.
• The first primetime telecast window (7-10:15 p.m.) averaged a 7.4/14 to register the highest rating ever for the time slot.  The window is up 9% over a 6.8/13 in 2012.
• The second primetime window (9:30 p.m.-12:45 a.m.) averaged a 6.4/11, which included a pair of lopsided victories (VCU’s 46-point win vs. Akron and Syracuse’s 47-point triumph vs. Montana), vs. a 6.8/12 in 2012.

Tournament to date, including the NCAA First Four, the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship is averaging a 5.2/12, up 2% compared with a 5.1/12 at this same time last year. For the third consecutive year, Turner Sports and CBS Sports are providing exclusive live coverage of all 67 games from the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across the four national television networks.

Source:  Nielsen Media Research, based on Metered Market data, Live +SD data stream.  3/19/13 to  03/21/13 vs. 03/13/12 to 03/15/12.  2013 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.  Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data.  2006 through 2010 based on Live + SD.  2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round. 

That’s it.

2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV Scores Highest Rating for First Thursday of Tournament in 22 Years

Thursday’s NCAA Tournament Coverage Earns 5.8 Overnight Rating, Up 4% vs. 2012

CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ exclusive second round coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 21, averaged an overnight household rating/share of 5.8/14, the highest rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in 22 years.  The 5.8/14 is up 4% compared with a 5.6/13 in 2012.

Thursday’s coverage showed significant audience increases in three of the four telecast windows, including several record setters.                               

§  The first daytime telecast window (12-4:15 p.m. ET) averaged a 4.1/14 to deliver the second highest rating for the time slot since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day (trailing only 2011’s 4.4/15).  The telecast window is up 5% compared with a 3.9/13 last year.

§  The second daytime telecast window (2:30-7:15 p.m.) averaged a 5.5/15 to garner the highest rating ever for the time slot.  The window is up 6% over last year’s 5.2/14.

§  The first primetime telecast window (7-10:15 p.m.) averaged a 7.4/14 to register the highest rating ever for the time slot.  The window is up 9% over a 6.8/13 in 2012.

§  The second primetime window (9:30 p.m.-12:45 a.m.) averaged a 6.4/11, which included a pair of lopsided victories (VCU’s 46-point win vs. Akron and Syracuse’s 47-point triumph vs. Montana), vs. a 6.8/12 in 2012.

Tournament to date, including the NCAA First Four, the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship is averaging a 5.2/12, up 2% compared with a 5.1/12 at this same time last year. 

For the third consecutive year, Turner Sports and CBS Sports are providing exclusive live coverage of all 67 games from the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across the four national television networks. 

-30-

Source:  Nielsen Media Research, based on Metered Market data, Live +SD data stream.  3/19/13 to  03/21/13 vs. 03/13/12 to 03/15/12.  2013 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.  Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data.  2006 through 2010 based on Live + SD.  2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round. 

truTV Sees Higher Ratings For NCAA First Four

We’re still getting used to the concept of the four NCAA Tournament play-in games. And while the NCAA tries to make it sound nice with “First Four™”, they still have a long way before they’re engrained into the national consciousness. However, truTV which airs the games can hang its hat on higher ratings from the year before.

Total viewership reached 4.477 million people. That’s up from 3.937 million last year. Average rating for the four games was a 2.9 household rating up 12% from last year.

In addition, Wednesday night’s doubleheader saw a 22% hike in viewership from 2012.

Let’s take a look at what CBS/Turner is saying about the First Four™ numbers.

NCAA First Four™ on truTV Delivers 14 Percent Audience Growth

The NCAA First Four™ on truTV grossed 4,477,000 total viewers, an increase of 14 percent over 3,937,000 total viewers for last year’s comparable telecasts, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals. The corresponding 2.9 U.S. HH rating for the four telecasts this year is up 12 percent over a 2.6 U.S. HH rating in 2012.

Wednesday night’s doubleheader on truTV (March 20) grossed 2,250,000 total viewers to become the most-watched second day of the First Four™. Wednesday’s coverage – LIU-Brooklyn vs. James Madison at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by  Boise State vs. La Salle at 9:15 p.m. – grossed a 1.5 U.S. HH rating, up 25 percent compared with last year’s 1.2 U.S.HH rating. Viewership was up 22 percent when compared with last year’s 1,840,000 total viewers.

Tuesday’s First Four™ doubleheader on truTV (March 19) grossed 2,227,000 total viewers, up six percent when compared with an average of 2,097,000 total viewers for last year’s comparable telecasts. The Tuesday night doubleheader – North Carolina A&T vs. Liberty at 6:30 p.m., followed by Middle Tennessee vs. St. Mary’s (Calif.) at 9:15 p.m. – grossed a 1.5 U.S. HH rating, which was even with last year’s first two telecasts.

For the third consecutive year, Turner Sports and CBS Sports are providing live coverage of all 67 games from the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Based on Live+SD.  2013 NCAA First Four on truTV based on Nielsen Fast National data (03/19/2013 to 03/20/13) compared 2012 and 2011 game dates of the First Four on truTV . 

That’s all.

Tip Times for Saturday of 3rd Round of 2013 NCAA Tournament

CBS/Turner has sent out the tip times for Saturday.

TURNER SPORTS AND CBS SPORTS ANNOUNCE TIP TIMES AND MATCH-UPS FOR THIRD ROUND GAMES ON SATURDAY, MARCH 23

CBS Sports and Turner Sports announce tip times and match-ups for third round coverage of the 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 23 (Noon-Midnight ET) with all games available in their entirety across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

Studio coverage will continue with Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson sharing hosting duties. Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Kenny Smith will provide analysis throughout the tournament alongside Gumbel or Johnson from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Matt Winer will host the studio coverage from Turner Studios in Atlanta with analysts Seth Davis and Steve Smith on Saturday and Sunday.

Following are the tip times for Saturday’s third round games, as well as the announce team assignments. Tip times for the third round games on Sunday will be announced on Friday after the conclusion of the day’s games. For a complete channel guide see the channel finder at NCAA.com/MyChannels.

NCAA March Madness Live^® will continue to provide college basketball fans unparalleled multi-screen digital access to the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship including live streaming of every game.  The digital suite of products will also feature video highlights, full game replays, real-time game alerts, live game scoring, real-time tournament brackets, personal channel lineup features, live stats, robust social media integration and more.

THIRD ROUND GAMES SATURDAY, MARCH 23 (Noon-Midnight ET)
12:15 p.m.	CBS	Auburn Hills I	VCU vs. Michigan	Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols
2:45 p.m.	CBS	Auburn Hills II	Memphis vs. Michigan St.	Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols
5:15 p.m.	CBS	Lexington I	Colorado State vs. Louisville	Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce
6:10 p.m.	TNT	Salt Lake City I	Harvard vs. Arizona	Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio
7:10 pm	TBS	San Jose I	Oregon vs. St. Louis	Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Marty Snider
7:45 p.m.	CBS	Lexington II	Butler vs. Marquette	Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce
8:40 p.m.	TNT	Salt Lake City II	Wichita St. vs. Gonzaga	Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio
9:40 p.m.	TBS	San Jose II	California vs. Syracuse	Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Marty Snider

That is all.

Fox Sports and the New Big East Announce Long-Term Partnership

Fox Sports and the seven basketball breakaway schools from the old Big East Conference along with Butler, Xavier and Creighton have signed a new 12 year agreement. Over 100 conference games will be aired starting in the 2013-14 season. Fox will have control of all men’s basketball games, selected women’s basketball games and various Olympic sports.

Fox also gets “TV Everywhere” rights and will have the ability to stream games on computers, mobiles and tablets.

Here’s the announcement.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE & FOX SPORTS REACH EXTENSIVE, MULTI-PLATFORM MEDIA RIGHTS AGREEMENT

Rights Commence in 2013-14 Academic Year
Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament Coming to FOX Sports 1

New York – The Big East Conference, boasting ten institutions with tradition-rich athletics programs and FOX Sports have entered into a landmark 12-year multi-platform media rights agreement beginning with the 2013-14 academic year. The announcement was made today during a press conference held in New York City attended by the presidents of the Big East’s member institutions, along with FOX Sports Co-President and COO Randy Freer and FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Larry Jones. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The reconstituted Big East Conference now features Butler University, Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University and Xavier University beginning with the 2013-14 academic year. Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s and Seton Hall are all founding members of the Big East, which began conference play in 1979. Villanova was added in 1980, while DePaul and Marquette joined in 2005. The official addition of Butler, Creighton and Xavier universities was also announced during the press conference today.

The agreement grants FOX Sports rights to all conference-controlled men’s basketball games, select rights to women’s basketball, all Olympic sports and extensive rights for highlights and to produce ancillary programming.

FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports’ newly minted national multi-sport channel which launches this summer, is slated to televise over 100 men’s regular-season basketball games next season. The network is also scheduled to carry the entire Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament each season, live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, the tournament’s home since 1983, and the longest-running conference tournament played at one venue.

“We applaud all the Big East schools for taking responsibility for their own destiny and forming what is clearly one of the top college basketball leagues in the country,” said Freer. “The quality of the competition is obvious. Five teams who will play in the renewed Big East next season are playing in this year’s NCAA tournament, and seven qualified for postseason play overall. We’re extremely proud and fortunate to offer college basketball of this caliber on FS1 next season and for many seasons to come.”
Added Father Dennis Holtschneider, President of DePaul University: “The New Big East is fortunate to have found a partner such as FOX Sports, which shares our intense passion for college basketball, and is committed to celebrating the student-athletes and the natural rivalries that make college athletics so unique and appealing for fans across the nation.”

In addition to this season’s men’s basketball success, schools in the new Big East are a basketball force annually, with a long tradition of NCAA tournament play. Over the years, the new Big East’s 10 member institutions have combined for well over 200 NCAA tournament appearances.

Also included in the agreement is a full array of “TV Everywhere” rights which adds to the robust content already available on FOXSports.com, one of the nation’s leading sports Internet sites and FOX Sports GO, a groundbreaking mobile sports experience for iPhone, iPad and Android devices launching this August in conjunction with FS1. FOX Sports GO offers more than 1,000 live games and events from across FOX Sports, FS1 and FOX Sports’ 22 regional sports networks, as well as scores, highlights, news, stats, and analysis. Live games and events are available to subscribers of participating cable, satellite, and telco providers at no additional cost.

Today’s announcement with the Big East Conference reaffirms FOX Sports’ long-term commitment to college sports programming. In the last two-and-a-half years, FOX Sports has procured multi-platform media rights associated with five major collegiate conferences: Big East; Big Ten (http://bit.ly/WIfGJL); Big 12 (http://bit.ly/U0xKaA); Conference USA (http://bit.ly/WIg0Z5); and Pac-12 (http://bit.ly/WIg4b5).

FOX Sports now boasts a comprehensive portfolio of college product, with approximately 2,000 marquee events showcased through national and regional platforms, including FOX Sports broadcasts, FS1, FSN, Big Ten Network and FOX College Sports. In addition to the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA and Pac-12, FOX Sports’ impressive roster of other conference partners includes the local rights with the ACC and SEC. FOX Sports also has multimedia third-tier rights agreements with Baylor, Florida, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, which include football, men’s and women’s basketball, Olympic sports and additional non-game programming.

We’ll have more on this as it becomes available.

Bill Walton is a Verbal Acid Trip: NIT Stephen F. Austin-Stanford Edition

Bill Walton was back on the ESPN Family of Networks on Tuesday, calling the NIT First Round game between Stephen F. Austin and Stanford with Dave Flemming.

He was on for the entire game. Here’s the quotage.

Courtesy Matt Yoder, Awful Announcing

(About mixing up players and schools)
“I want to apologize right off the bat, because I know I’m going to make a mistake tonight and say ‘Taylor Swift’ instead of ‘Taylor Smith.’ It’s not intentional. I’m also going to say ‘Stephen A. Smith’ instead of ‘Stephen F. Austin.’ so please bear with me.”

(On Stanford’s substituting all five players)
“Mark this down in NCAA history! Five substitutions at once!”

(On Taylor Smith of Stephen F. Austin)
“Taylor Smith’s anticipation. He’s not a tall guy. Maybe 6’6″. Got really long arms. Got really powerful broad shoulders. Fabulous footwork … But that posture he has, that regal center, yeah! ‘I’m Paul Bunyon! I’m coming to California to chop these trees down!’”

(On few fouls called)
Dave Flemming: “We’ve had very few whistles in this first half.”
Bill Walton: “Good! Let them play!”
Dave Flemming: “Free flowing game.”
Bill Walton: “But you can’t just push a guy out of the way!”

(On Stanford and California)
Walton: “Why would you ever want to leave Stanford? Oh my gosh! Driving through the campus today with the light rain coming down. Everyone on their bikes, it’s just absolutely fantastic. All the new buildings, the new construction.”
Flemming: “Smell the eucalyptus groves.”
Walton: “Ah… I remember wandering through the forest here at Stanford. Those of us who live in California, what a day it was before the rain came in! Flying up over Big Sur, Monterrey, Carmel, and on 17. Boy, everybody on the plane flying Southwest, just grinning broadly! California, meet me on the burning shore!”

(On the college basketball postseason)
“What a perfect time of year, basketball all day, everyday!”

(After an offensive foul by Stanford)
“You have the treat the opposition even if they are from Texas with a little more respect”

(After a Stanford run)
“Timeout on the court here. The Lumberjacks are to sharpen those teeth on the chainsaws.”

(On the 5 second rule, the shot clock and other rules)
Walton: “A rule that must be done away with when they finally get around to modernizing and logicalizing and rationalizing the rules! But the shot clock…”
Flemming: “Let’s start with the shot clock.”
Walton: “The shot clock should be 30.”
Flemming: “Should be 30.”
Walton: “You shouldn’t be able to score and commit an offensive foul at the same time! You shouldn’t be able to call time out when the other team has the ball!”
Flemming: “We’ve got some work to do, Bill.”

(At halftime)
“We’ve got a game here! The Lumberjacks have cut down the trees in the first half! Oh my gosh! The Pac-12 had better wake up! Washington has already gone down tonight! A lot of tough games! Time for the locals to shine here in California through the rain!”

(On Stephen F. Austin)
“All the way from Texas, they have come here to take down the California tree and it has worked magnificently!”

(On Stanford)
Walton: “They’re Stanford University! They have a $17 billion endowment! You know how much is Stephen F. Austin’s?
Flemming: “I don’t.”
Walton: “$18 million!”

(On the Apple Store in Palo Alto, CA)
Walton: “University Avenue here in Palo Alto? What more can you ask for? The new Apple Store! Have you seen it?
Flemming: “It’s pretty slick.”
Walton: “All glass! Palo Alto Cycles just up the road as well!”

(On Robert Morris upsetting Kentucky in the NIT)
“Robert Morris standing tall. Walking like a giant signing the Declaration of Independence taking down the Kentucky Wildcats.”

(On storming the court)
“That should also be outlawed! It’s so dangerous! For those of you at home… Do not storm the court! Big mistake!”

(On a Stephen F. Austin dunk)
“Throw it down, big man! Big time! Chop it down!”

(On Taylor Smith)
“The Paul Bunyon out there, Taylor Smith”

(About SFA coach Danny Kaspar and a First Take reference)
“I want Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless to give Danny Kaspar some love tomorrow.”

(On Nacogdoches, Texas where Stephen F. Austin is located)
“So much going on there in Nacogdoches! Oh my gosh! Don Henley! Started his dream right there so many years ago! Don Henley, one of the most brilliant songwriters, musicians, performers ever! Now with The Eagles, along with Joe Walsh, Glenn Frye, Timothy Schmidt! They have a fabulous documentary on them right now, ‘The History of The Eagles.’ The Eagles are playing this Saturday night, the 23rd at the MGM Grand where we just were for the Pac-12 Conference. The Age of Innocence is over! Oh my gosh! Hotel California! Thank you, Don Henley! Thank you, Glen, Joe, Timothy! Incredible contribution here!”

(A Sierra Club reference)
“The Sierra Club has to be breathing a little easier, worried about the trees just being cut down here in California.”

(Giving the Pac-12 some love)
“The Pac-12, the world’s greatest conference!”

(As Stephen F. Austin kept the ball game close)
“This is where dreams come true, where legends are made!”

(Giving SFA coach Danny Kaspar love)
“Thank heaven for Danny Kaspar. He’s saving the game of basketball.”

(On a Stanford timeout)
“Stanford’s calling timeout??? They’re in control!! The other team’s in desperate straits!”

(After Stanford wins following an SFA miss)
“One more pass to a wide open guy! Oh my gosh! What a game! What a finish! Tough! Fierce! Competitive! Intense! Tenacious! All the things you love about basketball!”

(Concluding the game)
“We’re the luckiest people on earth!”

(Finally)
“Dave, you’re a genius! Thanks for your patience.”

Tremendous stuff as usual.

What We Know About The New Big East/Fox Contract

On Wednesday, the TV deal between “The Catholic 7,” those basketball schools that broke away from The Big East and took the conference name with them, and Fox Sports will be announced.

Along with the announcement, three additional schools, Xavier, Creighton and Butler, will be unveiled as those joining the Catholic 7.

So before the press conference at the News Corp. World Headquarters in New York takes place, let’s take a look at what we know about the new Big East contract with Fox:

• The TV rights deal will reportedly be a 12 year, $500 million contract with Fox. It could grow to $600 million if the conference expands to 12 teams.
• Games will carried on Fox Sports 1 joining the Big 12, Conference USA and the Pac-12.
• The new Big East will carry on the tradition of Monday night games. A source says that Fox Sports 1 will spread the new Big East to other nights as well.
• Fox is expected to sublicense games to other networks, most likely ESPN, however, this has not been finalized.
• The conference tournament will be played at Madison Square Garden as part of another long-term deal.
• No word yet on who will call the Big East on Fox Sports 1, however, it would most likely be Gus Johnson as the lead announcer for the Monday games and possibly the new Big East Tournament at MSG.

We’ll know more when the contract is made official on Wednesday.

ESPN and Whatever The Old Big East Will Be Named Announce New Agreement

This was the conference that NBC wanted and lost. ESPN and what’s left of the old Big East have announced a new agreement spanning from 2013-14 to the 2019-20 season. The 2013-14 season will be a transition year as Louisville will play its final season in Whatever The Big East Will Be Named, then the contract really kicks in for 2014-15.

Brett McMurphy of ESPN says the payout to the conference will be $126 million/year down $4 million from the original agreement as the Catholic 7 leaves and takes the Big East name with it.

Under the contract, ESPN gets the rights to all conference football and men’s basketball games. The basketball conference championship game will be aired either on ESPN or ABC. Women’s basketball games fall under a similar scope under the control of various ESPN platforms.

Other sports like baseball and softball can be aired on an ESPN platform.

Here’s the press release.

ESPN and Current Big East Conference Agree to Multiyear Rights Agreement

ESPN and the current Big East Conference, soon to be renamed, will continue their relationship of more than three decades with a multiyear, multimedia rights agreement. The agreement grants ESPN exclusive worldwide distribution rights across all media and will continue ESPN’s coverage of the conference’s football, basketball and more through 2019-20. In addition, video subscribers of ESPN will have access to the games via digital and mobile devices.

ESPN’s existing football agreement with the conference runs through 2013 while the 2013-14 season will act as a bridge year for the conference’s basketball rights. Commencing in 2014-15, football, basketball and other sports will be under one agreement through 2019-20 granting ESPN rights to all conference contests (not included in CBS’s basketball rights package) including at least 66 football games and 170 men’s basketball games which will be made available annually across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3, and via limited regional and national sublicense. In addition, select women’s basketball regular-season and postseason contests as well as other conference-sponsored sports will be presented throughout the year.

“This agreement signifies our commitment to ensuring superior content across any device for many more years,” said John Skipper, ESPN President. “Sports fans everywhere, including the schools’ most passionate followers, will enjoy our extensive multi-sport offerings.”

Commissioner Mike Aresco said, “I am delighted that the current Big East Conference, which will be renamed and rebranded, will be partnering with ESPN well into the future,” said Aresco.  “The extraordinary exposure provided by the ESPN networks will give viewers the opportunity to see the exciting competition and intense rivalries that will characterize our Conference.”

Included in the new agreement:

FOOTBALL

Complete coverage: Every conference-controlled football game will be available via a television or digital platform.

BASKETBALL

Complete Coverage: Every conference-controlled men’s basketball game will be available via a television or digital platform.

Conference Championship: The conference championship will be televised on ABC or ESPN.

Women’s Basketball: Conference-controlled women’s basketball regular-season games will appear on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and/or ESPN3.  The championship of the conference tournament will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2, with the semifinals on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

OTHER SPORTS

ESPN will have the rights to action from other conference-sponsored men’s and women’s sports such as baseball and softball.

ESPN OUTLETS: Rights include conference content featured across ESPN entities including exclusive live games on ESPN3. In addition, fans will be able to find select action on ESPN Deportes, ESPN International and more. All conference programming on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater will be available online via ESPNnetworks.com and on mobile devices via the Watch ESPN app to fans who receive their video subscription through an affiliated provider.

LIMITED SUBLICENSING

ESPN can sublicense conference games across all sports for regional and national distribution.

That is all.

NIT Returns to ESPN on Tuesday; Bill Walton Assigned to Stanford

The National Invitation Tournament is back to allow 32 teams that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament an opportunity to have some postseason play.

The ESPN family of networks will air the entire tournament culminating with the semifinals and finals at Madison Square Garden on April 2 and April 4, respectively. Bob Wischusen will call the games at MSG. He’ll be joined by Bill Raftery for the semis and Bob Knight on the final.

In addition, we have more Bill Walton. His assignments for ESPN are not done yet. He’ll work the Stephen F. Austin-Stanford game with Dave Flemming on Tuesday for ESPN2.

Let’s take a look at what we have for the first round of the NIT on the ESPN family.

Alabama, Kentucky, Southern Mississippi and Virginia among 32 to Play in NIT across ESPN Networks

Exclusive coverage of the entire 76^th National Invitation Tournament (NIT) begins on Tuesday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, and continues across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 with coverage of all 31 games. In addition to 5 exclusive ESPN3 games during the first round, every game will be available on WatchESPN.

The NIT Semifinal games from Madison Square Garden will air on ESPN2, Tuesday, April 2,beginning at 7 p.m., and The NIT Championship will follow on Thursday, April 4 at 9 p.m. on ESPN. Play by play commentator Bob Wischusen will be joined by analysts Bill Raftery for the semifinals and Bob Knight for the final game of the tournament.

The 32-team field for the oldest tournament in college basketball was announced Sunday, March 17, during the ESPNU NIT Selection Show and includes teams representing 22 conferences, led by the ACC, Pac-12 and SEC with three selections each. First Round action airs from campus sites with the No.1 seeds Alabama, Southern Mississippi and Virginia competing at home. Defending National Champions, Kentucky, also joins the field as a No. 1 seed, but will play on the road at Robert Morris in Pittsburgh – Coach Calipari’s hometown – due to the unavailability of Rupp Arena.

Seven teams in the 2013 field played in the 2012 tournament, including the defending NIT Champions, Stanford. Three teams are making their first appearance in the tournament – Charleston Southern, Mercer and Norfolk State. St. John’s is making its 29^th appearance, the most all time. Eight teams in this year’s field have previously won an NIT title, including St. John’s, which has won a record six championships. Stanford has a chance to join St. John’s (1943, 1944) and South Carolina (2005, 2006) as the only teams to repeat.

2013 NIT First Round Schedule:

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Tue, March 19	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: Niagara at Maryland Mike Patrick & LaPhonso Ellis	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: St. John’s at Saint Joseph’s Mike Crispino & Bob Valvano	ESPNU
	7:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Louisiana Tech at Florida State Rich Hollenberg & Paul Biancardi	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: Kentucky at Robert Morris Bob Wischusen, Jimmy Dykes & Allison Williams	ESPN
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: Northeastern at Alabama John Saunders & Bob Knight	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: Norfolk State at Virginia Mitch Holthus & Cory Alexander	ESPNU
	9:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Ohio at Denver Mark Neely & Corey Williams	ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: Washington at BYU Roxy Bernstein & Sean Farnham	ESPN
	11 p.m.	NIT First Round: Stephen F. Austin at Stanford Dave Flemming & Bill Walton	ESPN2
Wed, March 20	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: Indiana State at Iowa Carter Blackburn and Dan Dakich	ESPN2
	7:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Charlotte at Providence Jason Benetti & Tim Welsh	ESPN3
	7:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Stony Brook at UMass Doug Sherman & Malcolm Huckaby	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	NIT First Round: Mercer at Tennessee John Saunders & Bob Knight	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: Long Beach State at Baylor Mark Jones & Fran Fraschilla	ESPN2
	9:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Charleston Southern at Southern Mississippi Roy Philpott & Joe Dean	ESPN3
	10 p.m.	NIT First Round: Detroit at Arizona State Joe Davis & Miles Simon	ESPNU

That’s it for this post.

First Four and 2nd Round Tip Times and Announcing Assignments for 2013 NCAA Tournament

Ok, we have the tip times and the announcing assignments for the First Four™ and 2nd Round games of the NCAA Tournament. It’s all below. No need for me to say anything. You can see where your favorite teams are playing and who’s calling the game on either CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV.

CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS’ EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF 2013 NCAA^® DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TIPS OFF MARCH 19

Announce and Production Teams Assigned for NCAA First Four™ and Second Round Coverage

Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ exclusive coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will tip off with first round coverage of the NCAA First Four™ on Tuesday, March 19, and Wednesday, March 20 (6 p.m. ET; both days), on truTV. Second-round game coverage will begin Thursday, March 21, and Friday, March 22 (Noon-Midnight; both days), with all games available live in their entirety across four national television networks – CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.  Additionally, on Thursday and Friday, truTV will televise a one-hour pregame show at 11 a.m.

Marv Albert and Steve Kerr will call the action, with Craig Sager courtside for the two First Four games on Tuesday. Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, along with courtside reporter Tracy Wolfson, will handle the call for the First Four games on Wednesday.  Studio coverage for the First Four originates from Atlanta and features Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Steve Smith and Rex Chapman on Tuesday with Matt Winer, Seth Davis, Smith and Chapman providing analysis on Wednesday (6 p.m.; both days).

Following are the tip times for the First Four games, as well as the announce and production team assignments for the second round games.  Tip times for the third round games on Saturday will be announced on Thursday after the conclusion of the day’s games. Sunday’s tip times will be released after the conclusion of play on Friday.  Fans can access a Channel Finder for every tournament game at www.ncaa.com/march-madness.

NCAA March Madness Live^® will provide college basketball fans unparalleled multi-screen digital access to the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship including live streaming of every game.  The digital suite of products will also feature video highlights, full game replays, real-time game alerts, live game scoring, real-time tournament brackets, personal channel lineup features, live stats, robust social media integration and more.

FIRST ROUND GAMES TUESDAY, MARCH 19
Tip (ET)	Network		Site		Game		Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
6:40 p.m.	truTV		Dayton I		N.C. A&T vs. Liberty		Marv Albert/Steve Kerr// Craig Sager
9:15 p.m.	truTV		Dayton II		Middle Tennessee  vs. St. Mary’s		Albert/Kerr//Sager
FIRST ROUND GAMES WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20
6:40 p.m.	truTV	Dayton I			LIU-Brooklyn vs. James Madison		Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
9:15 p.m.	truTV	Dayton II			Boise St. vs. LaSalle		Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
SECOND ROUND GAMES THURSDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 21 (Noon-5 p.m. ET)
Tip (ET)	Network		Site		Game		Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
12:15 p.m.	CBS		Auburn Hills I		Valparaiso vs. Michigan State		Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols
12:40 p.m.	truTV		Lexington I		Bucknell vs. Butler		Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel// Allie LaForce
1:40 p.m.	TBS		Salt Lake City I		Wichita St. vs. Pittsburgh		Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio
2:10 p.m.	TNT		San Jose I		New Mexico State vs. Saint Louis		Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Marty Snider
2:45 p.m.	CBS		Auburn Hills II		Middle Tennessee/St. Mary’s vs. Memphis		Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Rachel Nichols
3:10 p.m.	truTV		Lexington II		Davidson vs. Marquette		Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce
4:10 p.m.	TBS		Salt Lake City II		Southern U. vs. Gonzaga		Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio
4:40 p.m.	TNT		San Jose II		Oregon vs. Oklahoma St.		Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Marty Snider
SECOND ROUND GAMES THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 21 (6:30 p.m.-Midnight ET) (Announce Teams Same as Day Games)
6:50 p.m.	TBS		Lexington III	N.C. A&T/Liberty vs. Louisville		Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce
7:15 p.m.	CBS		Auburn Hills III	South Dakota St. vs. Michigan		Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Rachel Nichols
7:20 p.m.	TNT		Salt Lake City III	Belmont vs. Arizona		Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio
7:27 p.m.	truTV		San Jose III	California vs. UNLV		Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Marty Snider
9:20 p.m.	TBS		Lexington IV	Missouri vs. Colorado St.		Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Allie LaForce
9:45 p.m.	CBS		Auburn Hills IV	Akron vs. VCU		Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Rachel Nichols
9:50 p.m.	TNT		Salt Lake City IV	Harvard vs. New Mexico		Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jamie Maggio
9:57 p.m.	truTV		San Jose IV	Montana vs. Syracuse		Anderson/Bonner//Snider
SECOND ROUND GAMES FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 22 (Noon-5 p.m. ET)
Tip (ET)	Network		Site	Game		Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter
12:15 p.m.	CBS		Philadelphia I	Albany vs. Duke		Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson
12:40 p.m.	truTV		Kansas City I	Ole Miss vs. Wisconsin		Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
1:40 p.m.	TBS		Dayton I	Temple vs. N.C. State		Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
2:10 p.m.	TNT		Austin I	Pacific vs. Miami		Tim Brando/Mike Gminski// Otis Livingston
2:45 p.m.	CBS		Philadelphia II	Cincinnati vs. Creighton		Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson
3:10 p.m.	truTV		Kansas City II	Boise St./LaSalle vs. Kansas State		Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
4:10 p.m.	TBS		Dayton II	LIU Brooklyn/James Madison vs. Indiana		Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
4:40 p.m.	TNT		Austin II	Colorado vs. Illinois		Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
SECOND ROUND GAMES FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 22 (6:30 p.m.-Midnight ET) (Announce Teams Same as Day Games)
6:50 p.m.	TBS		Philadelphia III	Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown		Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson
7:15 p.m.	CBS		Dayton III	Iona vs. Ohio State		Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
7:20 p.m.	TNT		Kansas City III	Villanova vs. North Carolina		Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
7:27 p.m.	truTV		Austin III	Northwestern St. vs. Florida		Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston
9:20 p.m.	TBS		Philadelphia IV	Oklahoma vs. San Diego State		Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Lewis Johnson
9:45 p.m.	CBS		Dayton IV	Iowa St. vs. Notre Dame		Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg//Tracy Wolfson
9:50 p.m.	TNT		Kansas City IV	Western Kentucky vs. Kansas		Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager
9:57 p.m.	truTV		Austin IV	Minnesota vs. UCLA		Tim Brando/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston

That’s it.

Bill Walton is a Verbal Acid Trip Redux; Quotage from the Pac-12 Championship

For the third and unfortunately last time during Championship Week, we provide Bill Walton quotage. He worked the Pac-12 Championship with Dave Pasch and Bill did not disappoint. He started off slowly, but when he got warmed up, Big Red provided us with a lot of gems here.

Dave and Bill have become a true comedy act. Dave has become a perfect straight man to Bill’s one liners.

Let us take a look at what transpired last night. There were some definite goodies from the Pac-12 Championship on ESPN.

Courtesy Cork Gaines, Business Insider Sports Page

(On UCLA’s chances without Jordan Adams who broke a bone in his foot against Arizona)
“UCLA will be fine. They’re the more talented team. They’re UCLA, not position robots!”

(On Oregon’s early struggles)
“The Ducks are struggling mightily. They’re taking on water rather than shedding.”

(On the Pac-12 Tournament)
Walton: “The vision of what could possibly be for the nation’s greatest conference! The conference that has all the records! The conference that has all the perfect demographics, all the cool spots! This event this week has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever participated in my whole life! It went over the top today, because at the MGM Grand, they had a pool party this afternoon. Oh my gosh! The bands were there! The bikinis were out in full force! It was absolutely remarkable!

And then on the way to the game tonight through the lobby and the Golden Lion and the bands were all around that, the cheerleaders were dancing! And at the bottom of the elevator below my room, there was Wolfgang Puck’s open until 6 a.m. in the morning! Come on! This is just fantastic! Thank you, Larry Scott!”
Pasch: “Anything else or did you get it all in?”
Walton: “Well, we’re just waiting for the game to start here.”

(During a Tournament Bracket promo)
Pasch: “I don’t know if you were watching any of the games today at the pool party, but…”
Walton: “I was at the pool party. There were plenty of things to see there.”

(On ESPN’s Sunday programming)
Pasch: “You will watch all of it.”
Walton: “And that will include Joe Lunardi?”
Pasch: “Yes, Joe will be there.”
Walton: “Tell Joe to call me please.”
Pasch: “I think he’s refusing to call you after the times you’ve ripped him during the season.”

(After a UCLA timeout)
“Beautiful basketball! The Ducks on fire after a poor start a start as you could have! They have somehow come back and have found their way back to the Oregon Trail! Lewis & Clark would be so proud.”

(On speed)
“I love little fast guys! I used to be one.”

(Making sure he gets his Oregon references in)
“Oregon finding offensive rhythm here for Ducks. Coming over over Multonmah Falls here in the Columbia Gorge stroking it beautifully. Then maybe the McKenzie River. Nothing but net. Mist, in the cool, spring air.”

(More on Oregon’s offense)
“Oregon has found the magic potion in Las Vegas. Smiles everywhere!”

(After an Oregon dunk)
Walton: “That reminded me of that throwdown Jason Plumlee made in that Duke game this year off a missed offensive rebound.”
Pasch: “Mason.”
(pause)
Walton: “Plumlee.”
Pasch: “Mason.”
Walton: “One of those guys.”

(Coming out from halftime)
Pasch: “The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cirque de Soleil which you see here, on display at hafltime…”
Walton: “All of that without a net. The way we like to operate.”

(After a Samantha Ponder report)
Pasch: “Alright, Samantha. Bill, I’m surprised you haven’t welcomed Samantha to the Bill Walton Experience here.”
Walton: “I was actually hoping to see her at the pool party, but I missed her there. I didn’t get a chance, I’ve been busy. This has been a spectacular week. Sam, welcome to the team.”

(After a turnover)
Walton: “Terrible pass.”
Dave Pasch: “Turnover by UCLA.”
Walton: “You have to throw passes people can catch.”

(After an Oregon three pointer and more Oregon landmark references)
“Biggest shot of Ben Carter’s life. Oh my gosh! The fate of the known world in the balance right here! The pressure is building! And they go to the freshman in the corner over there. And the loyal fans of Oregon dancing in the shadows of the Mount Jefferson Three Sisters!”

(About the underdog Oregon Ducks)
“Just glad the world has got to see this team, this program and this player, Kazemi. What they’ve been able to do against all odds. Eugene, Oregon. How many people live there? 50,000? They’re going up against the metropolises of Phoenix, Seattle, the Bay Area, Los Angeles. They saying, ‘This is us. Yeah, we’re here!’”

(As Oregon closed in on victory)
“Oregon believes! Lewis & Clark were right! There IS a way through!”

(Finally)
Pasch: “Bill, it’s been a pleasure. Enjoyed it all season, my friend.”
Walton: “I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I work for Dave Pasch. Thank you for your patience.”
Pasch: “Bill, you complete me.”

And that will complete the Bill Walton quotage. Three days of quotage that is Bill Walton. Next year, the tournament will be on Fox Sports 1. Won’t be the same without the Dave & Bill Show.

Bill Walton Quotage from the Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals

Bill Walton is the gift that keeps on giving. Despite making Ray Lewis and Bill Simmons suspension references during ESPNU’s Pac-12 telecast on Thursday, Walton was back for the Pac-12 semifinals both on Pac-12 Network and ESPN on Friday. We provide the quotage from both the UCLA-Arizona and Utah-Oregon games. Some have wondered if the quotes I put up on Twitter last night were real. They indeed were real.

I first provide the quotage from Pac-12 Network as Walton worked with Ted Robinson for UCLA-Arizona.

And from the nightcap, Utah-Oregon on ESPNU in which Walton worked with Dave Pasch.

Courtesy Cork Gaines, Business Insider Sports Page

(On UCLA-Arizona)
“Truly a game of the millennium tonight.”

(On Utah’s guard Brandon Taylor, all 5’10″ of him)
“If you ever think you’re too small to make a difference, you’ve never spent a night in bed with a mosquito or you’ve never played basketball against Taylor from Utah, number 11 in your program, number one in your heart.”

(Hyping the Pac-12 Conference)
“This is the greatest conference in the history of college basketball.”

(While promoting ESPN’s Saturday programming)
Walton: “Can we do this again next week?”
Pasch: “We can do it again tomorrow, I can guarantee you that.”

(Talking about no free throws attempted in the first half)
Walton: “Anomaly alert number 2. No free throw attempts in the entire game tonight. I love that.”
Pasch: “What was number one? I forgot. Of critical import.”
Walton: “I should have paid attention ,,,.. lack of offensive rebounds.”

(After an Oregon dunk)
“Waverly Austin just having the game of his life. Set up magnificently by Jonathon Lloyd. Pretty boys. Preening out there.”

(On Utah’s second attempt at free throws)
Walton: “For Utah, the first free throw of the game.”
Pasch: “That was actually the last time they shot free throws.”
Walton: “Was that in this game? …. Thank you for keeping it all straight here.”

(On calling nine games in the Pac-12 Tournament)
“I’m having the time of my life here. I have nine games in six days. What more can you ask for?”

(As ESPN was going to break)
“Goodness gracious! All Oregon right now! Extending their insurmountable halftime lead. MGM Grand, Las Vegas!”

(Coming back from break, ESPN shows some Pac-12 mascots)
Pasch: “A shot of Bill’s after party from last night and the mascots…”
Walton: “And what a show it was! Goodness gracious! You talk about … I’ve never had such a good time.”
Pasch: “And the guys in the truck cutting you off with the Super Saturday promo, it’s a good thing they did.”

(Coming out from the Super Saturday promo)
Walton: “Anomaly number 5 for this game. Why is the Big 12 the only one that gets a sponsor?”
Pasch: “The Big East is sponsored, I think you skipped over anomaly number 4, but that’s another matter.”
Walton: “I need you to keep track of these things please. I missed the free throws, I missed it all! But the dunks”
Pasch: “Working hard enough over here.”
Walton: “You can tell! You’ve got a heavy burden!”

(About winning championships)
Pasch: You won your share of championships.”
Walton: “Never enough. Never enough.”

(About being famous)
“I’m Luke’s dad. What could be better than that?”

(About Las Vegas)
“This property. This arena. This venue. This city. The best thing ever.”

(On Oregon’s offensive prowess)
“All about the big picture here. The Oregon spirit on the Oregon Trail here to the Promised Land. Beautiful. Oh my gosh.”

(On a delay in the game)
“The guy who’s behind me just keeps yelling at the refs all night long says, ‘Come on! Make a call! Go back to Foot Locker where you belong! Let’s get this thing going!!’”

(Talking about Maryland’s upset of Duke in the ACC Tournament)
Pasch: “You forget that Maryland beat Duke 12 hours ago?”
Walton: “Was that today or yesterday?”"

(Pasch realizing the game is getting silly)
“It’s getting away from us here.”

(Walton on becoming a First Take fan)
“I used to be a SportsCenter guy, until I found First Take.”

(On going outside briefly)
“I did get my 15 seconds of sunshine today. And oh what a day it was in those 15 seconds.”

(After Pasch read a SportsCenter promo regarding bracketologist Joe Lunardi)
“I want to see Lunardi on that show with Skip and Stephen A. That’s what I want to see. They won’t let him off the hook.”

(Finally)
“When is Saturday?”

Classic stuff. And we’ll have more quotage after the Pac-12 Championship.

College Basketball Viewing Picks for 03/16 & 03/17/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Announcing Assignments Courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, March 16

Pregame and Studio Shows
College GameDay — ESPN, noon
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 1 p.m.
College Basketball Live Scoreboard — ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 6 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, 12:30 a.m. (Sunday)

Men’s
ACC Tournament, Greensboro, NC
Semifinals
North Carolina State vs. Miami — ACC Network (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Debbie Antontelli)/ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Doris Burke/Jeannine Edwards), 1 p.m.
Maryland vs. North Carolina — ACC Network (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Debbie Antontelli)/ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Jeannine Edwards), 3:30 p.m.

America East Championship, Burlington, VT
Albany at Vermont — ESPN2, 11:30 a.m. (Bob Picozzi/LaPhonso Ellis)

Atlantic 10 Tournament, Brooklyn, NY
Semifinals
Saint Louis vs. Butler — CBS Sports Network, 1:30 p.m. (Tom McCarthy/Steve Wolf)
Virginia Commonwealth vs. UMass — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m. (Tom McCarthy/Steve Wolf)

Big East Championship, New York, NY
Syracuse vs. Louisville — ESPN, 8:30 p.m. (Sean McDonough/Jay Bilas/Bill Raftery/Andy Katz)

Big Ten Tournament, Chicago, IL
Semifinals
Indiana vs. Wisconsin — CBS, 1:30 p.m. (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr/Tracy Wolfson)
Ohio State vs. Michigan State — CBS, 4 p.m. (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr/Tracy Wolfson)

Big 12 Championship, Kansas City, MO
Kansas vs. Kansas State — ESPN, 6 p.m. (Brent Musburger/Fran Fraschilla/Holly Rowe)

Big Sky Championship, Missoula, MT
Weber State vs. Montana — ESPNU, 9 p.m. (Kanoa Leahey/Corey Williams)

Big West Championship, Anaheim, CA
Cal-Irvine vs. Pacific — ESPN2, 10:30 p.m. (Mark Jones/Miles Simon)

Conference USA Championship, Tulsa, OK
Southern Mississippi vs. Memphis — CBS, 11:30 a.m. (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)

Mid-American Conference, Cleveland, OH
Akron vs. Ohio — ESPN2, 6:30 p.m. (Bob Wischusen/Stephen Bardo)

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship, Norfolk, VA
Morgan State vs. North Carolina A&T — ESPNU, 5 p.m. (Jason Benetti/Stan Lewster)

Mountain West Championship, Las Vegas, NV
New Mexico vs. UNLV — CBS, 6 p.m. (Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner/Reggie Miller)

Pac-12 Championship, Las Vegas, NV
UCLA vs. Oregon — ESPN, 11 p.m. (Dave Pasch/Bill Walton/Samantha Ponder)

SEC Tournament, Nashville, TN
Semifinals
Florida vs. Alabama — ABC, 1 p.m. (Brad Nessler/Jimmy Dykes/Shannon Spake)
Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi — ABC, 3:30 p.m. (Brad Nessler/Jimmy Dykes/Shannon Spake)

Southland Conference Championship, Katy, TX
Stephen F. Austin vs. Northwestern State — ESPN2, 8:30 p.m. (Carter Blackburn/Mark Adams)

Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship, Garland, TX
Prairie View A&M vs. Southern — ESPN2, 4:30 p.m. (Mark Neely/Darrin Horn)

WAC Championship, Las Vegas, NV
New Mexico State vs. Texas-Arlington — ESPNU, 11 p.m. (Trey Bender/Stephen Howard)

Women’s
Atlantic 10 Championship, Brooklyn, NY
St. Joseph’s vs. Fordham — ESPNU, 7 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Brooke Weisbrod)

Conference USA Championship, Tulsa, OK
Central Florida vs. Tulsa — CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m. (James Bates/Julianne Viani)

Mountain West Championship, Las Vegas, NV
San Diego State vs. Fresno State — CBS Sports Network, 10 p.m. (Rich Cellini/Tammy Blackburn/Lauren Gardner)

WAC Championship, Las Vegas, NV
Seattle vs. Idaho — ESPNU, 3 p.m. (Roy Philpott/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude)

Sunday, March 17

Pregame & Studio Shows
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, 11 a.m.
Road to the Final Four^® — CBS, noon
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 3 p.m.
Bracketology — ESPN, 3 p.m.
NCAA March Madness Bracket Breakdown — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m.
NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show — CBS, 6 p.m.
Big Ten Basketball & Beyond: Selection Sunday Special — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
Bracketology — ESPN, 7 p.m.
NCAA Selection Sunday — truTV, 7 p.m.
NCAA March Madness Bracket Breakdown — CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.
30 for 30: Survive & Advance — ESPN, 9 p.m.
NIT Selection Show — ESPNU, 9 p.m.
Tournament Countdown: The Experts — ESPNU, 9:30 p.m.
College GameNight — ESPN2, 10 p.m.

Men’s
ACC Championship, Greensboro, NC
Miami vs. North Carolina — ACC Network (Tim Brant/Mike Gminski/Debbie Antonelli)/ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Dick Vitale/Jeannine Edwards), 1 p.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship, Brooklyn, NY
Saint Louis vs. Virginia Commonwealth — CBS, 1 p.m. (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery)

Big Ten Championship, Chicago, IL
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State — CBS, 3:30 p.m. (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr/Tracy Wolfson)

SEC Championship, Nashville, TN
Florida vs. Mississippi — ABC, 1 p.m. (Brad Nessler/Jimmy Dykes/Shannon Spake)

Women’s
Horizon League Championship, Green Bay, WI
Loyola at Green Bay — ESPNU, 1 p.m. (Jim Barbar/Nell Fortner)

Northeast Conference Championship, Hamden, CT
St. Francis at Quinnipiac — ESPNU, 5 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Brooke Weisbrod)

Bill Walton is a Verbal Acid Trip; Quotage from Washington-Oregon

I have to credit tweeter CJZero for that headline. Either Bill Walton was on his “A” game or someone spiked his bottled water tonight because he was really coming out with some gems during the Oregon-Washington game in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. Having already worked the Utah-Cal game for Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson, Walton stayed courtside to work with Dave Pasch on ESPNU for the nightcap.

What we got was pure TV gold. Below are various quotes gathered from the game either by myself or Matt Yoder from Awful Announcing. Thanks to the DVR and closed captioning, this is quite accurate. By just reading them, you might think Bill had smoked weed before the game or just plain was high on life. Whatever it was, we the viewers were the beneficiaries of some tremendous quotage.

“The cheerleaders have been dancing on top of the tables.”

(On Las Vegas as host of the Pac-12 Tournament)
“It’s unbelievable in your life when you have a dream and it comes true.”

(As video was playing of Pac-12 mascots getting out of a limousine)
Walton: “I was way in the back with Ray Lewis and it was unbelievable how much fun, oh my gosh, how many people were in there!”
Dave Pasch: “I think we’ll just dismiss the Ray Lewis comments….”

(After being called out by Pasch for making a blatant plug for Southwest Airlines)
Walton: “They’re gonna suspend Bill Simmons. Anything is possible.”
Pasch: “Again, we’ll just dismiss that and get back to the game….”

“Fans beyond description. Dancing angels of mercy. What more can you ask for?”

(After Pasch says working with Walton during tournament will age him 8 years)
Walton: “Your wife’s been calling me.”

(On the SEC Tournament’s location in Nashville)
“I’ve been to Nashville and it’s nice, but not nearly Las Vegas. Goodness gracious, are we having the time here!”

“The dogs barking here and now the girls are dancing! The band, strike it up! Las Vegas! What more can you ask for?”

“But we’re in Las Vegas! You’ve got to win! The tournament on the line! Let’s go!”

“It’s Las Vegas! Restaurants are open until 6 a.m.!”

Pasch: “How much of that is instinctual as a shot blocker, how much of it is teaching?”
Walton: “100 percent of both.”

Walton: “We got all the dancing girls here tonight.”
Pasch: “Let’s get to the brackets….”

“His parents own a candy factory four hours south of Tehran, oh my gosh how sweet it is.”

(As the game went into overtime)
“What could be better? More basketball! Let’s go!”

“Tonight’s start was electric. Just both teams riding quasars all the way to the top of the mountain to the promised land!”

Walton: “So many things here have defied rational thought.”
Pasch: “You’re not kidding.”

Pasch: “The (Pac-12) Championship game, Bill and I will have it on ESPN Saturday night at 11 Eastern….” That depends if Bill is not suspended for his Ray Lewis comments.

I can only wonder if Pasch’s head was spinning as he was leaving the MGM Grand tonight. Buckle your seatbelts. We have two more days of Big Red at the Pac-12 Tournament.

Bill Walton Quotage from the Pac-12 Tournament

Having Bill Walton back on a national stage this season has been a huge plus. His quotes during Pac-12 games on the ESPN Family of Networks have been true gems.

Walton has also been working on Pac-12 Network for the tournament. We have some quotage from the Cal-Utah game which ended in an upset.

And during the ESPNU telecast of the Washington-Oregon game, Walton made a Ray Lewis limousine joke and a reference to Bill Simmons’ suspension at the hands of ESPN. Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has the videos. I’m still laughing over this.

Anyway, here’s the Pac-12 Network Walton quotage.

That is it. We’ll see if Walton is back for ESPN’s portion of the semifinals tomorrow.

CBS Sports Has A Busy Championship Weekend Leading To Selection Sunday

Having the official NCAA Tournament Selection Show, CBS is going to have a very busy weekend leading to the Selection Show.

CBS has a packed Saturday with the Conference USA Championship called by Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, then the Big Ten Tournament semifinals with Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr in Chicago and then the Mountain West Championship taking the place of the Pac-12 Championship which will be aired on ESPN. The Mountain West will be staffed by Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Dan Bonner.

Then on Sunday, Uncle Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery (fresh off doing the Big East Tournament at nearby Madison Square Garden for ESPN) will be in Brooklyn to call the Atlantic 10 Championship. Then it will be the Big Ten Championship.

At 6 p.m. ET, Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Seth Davis and the Perpetually Angry Doug Gottlieb will be in New York for the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show. They’ll unveil the entire 68 team field.

Here’s the CBS press release.

CBS SPORTS’ CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTED BY EXCLUSIVE LIVE COVERAGE OF “NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW”

Conference Championships for Conference USA, Mountain West, Atlantic 10 and Big Ten Featured on Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17

CBS Sports’ coverage of CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND is highlighted by the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW on Sunday, March 17 (6:00-7:00 PM, ET), with the exclusive, live, first-time announcement of the pairings for the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

CBS Sports begins Championship weekend on Saturday, March 16 (11:30 AM, ET) with the Conference USA Championship followed by the Big Ten Semifinals (1:40-6:00 PM, ET). The Mountain West Championship concludes Saturday’s quadruple-header coverage (6:00 PM, ET).

Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel are courtside for the C-USA Championship from BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bob Mansbach produces and Chris Svendsen directs. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Turner Sports’ Steve Kerr and reporter Tracy Wolfson call the action for for the Big Ten semi-finals from the United Center in Chicago, Ill.  CBS Sports’ coordinating producer for college basketball, Mark Wolff, produces and Bob Fishman directs. Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner and Turner Sports’ Reggie Miller team up for the Mountain West Championship from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Ken Mack produces and Jim Cornell directs.

On Sunday, THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR tips off the day (12:00 NOON-1:00 PM, ET) followed by national coverage of the Atlantic 10 Championship (1:00 PM, ET) and the Big Ten Championship (3:30 PM, ET). The SELECTION SHOW wraps up an exciting weekend of college basketball on the CBS Television Network.

Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery team up for the Atlantic 10 Championship from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Bob Dekas produces and Suzanne Smith directs.  Nantz, Kellogg and Kerr return to call the Big Ten Championship.

CBS Sports’ Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Doug Gottlieb and Seth Davis host the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Gumbel, Anthony, Gottlieb and Davis also host AT THE HALF, CBS Sports’ halftime studio show, and THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR

Eric Mann serves as Senior Producer and Bob Matina directs the Network’s coverage. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production CBS Sports.

That’s it for this post.

If It’s March, It Must Mean Gus Johnson is on the Case

Gus Johnson hasn’t called a lot of college basketball games this season due to his soccer work for Fox over the last month. But he’s back on the sport that made him famous this week as he’s in Chicago to call four games of the Big Ten Tournament. His first tournament game turned out to be a barnburner and midway through the second half of Minnesota-Illinois, you could tell that it was building to a classic Gus Buzzer Beater.

Yesterday, Gus talked with USA Today’s Michael Hiestand about not calling the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, something I wrote about over at Awful Announcing.

Even though we won’t have Johnson on the NCAA Tournament for the foreseeable future, we do get some gems like this one today on the Big Ten Network with Brandon Paul’s game winning shot at the buzzer.

Hopefully, we’ll get some more Gus-gasms before the Big Ten Tournament is through.

H/t Awful Announcing
 

ESPN All Over Selection Sunday With Over 16 Hours of Coverage

This Sunday, we’ll learn the 68 team field for the 75th NCAA Tournament. ESPN won’t have the official Selection Show, but it will have its own show minutes after CBS signs off. So at 7 p.m. ET, ESPN will have its Bracketology show hosted by Rece Davis and he’ll be joined by a whole host of analysts including Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg, Dick Vitale, Dan Dakich, Bob Knight, Andy Katz, Bruce Pearl, Digger Phelps, Jay Williams and Joe Lunardi.

The day will begin on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. with College Basketball Live and it will continue with two editions of Bracketology at 3 p.m. ET and again at 7 p.m.

In addition, Greg Shaheen, formerly of the NCAA, will join ESPN this Sunday to talk about the operation of the tournament and a lot more.

Here are the details of ESPN’s coverage.

ESPN and Selection Sunday: More than 16 Hours of Hoops Coverage

Top experts in studio Sunday for Shaheen Debut; ESPNU to Provide 10 Hours of Coverage on Monday
Survive and Advance Documentary Sunday

ESPN’s extensive, season-long, multiplatform men’s college basketball coverage will continue with more than 16 hours of programming on March 17 for Selection Sunday, the day the 68-team field for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament is announced. The schedule will include studio shows across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU; the ACC and SEC Championships; and the debut of ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 documentary Survive and Advance.

Many of the sport’s top experts will contribute throughout the day, including Jay Bilas, Dan Dakich, Seth Greenberg, Andy Katz, Bob Knight, Joe Lunardi, Bruce Pearl, Digger Phelps, Dick Vitale and Jay Williams.

Greg Shaheen, who oversaw the operation of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as the senior vice president of championships and alliances until 2012, will join ESPN to provide insight into the selection process of the Tournament Committee. Shaheen will appear throughout the weekend across multiple ESPN platforms, including Bracketology, SportsCenter, halftime studio segments, ESPN Radio and ESPN.com. Shaheen spoke to ESPN Front Row for a Q&A about working for ESPN – http://bit.ly/ESPNShaheen.

The day will tip off with a two-hour College Basketball Live beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and continuing on ESPN at noon. The show will review Championship Week and provide a preview of the ACC and SEC championship games at 1 p.m. on ESPN and ABC, respectively.

ESPN’s studio coverage will include two Bracketology programs – a three-hour edition at 3 p.m. and a two-hour show at 7 p.m. – as well as a special SportsCenter at 6 p.m. that will give a thorough analysis of all tournament-bound teams. ESPNU’s lineup will include the NIT Selection Show at 9 p.m. and a three-hour Tournament Countdown: The Experts at 9:30 p.m.

Details of Selection Sunday studio programming:

Bracketology at 3 p.m. on ESPN

ESPN will provide extensive, in-depth analysis and interviews with coaches and players during a three-hour Bracketology at 3 p.m. Host Chris Cotter; analysts Dakich, Pearl, Greenberg and Williams; bracketologiest Lunardi; and reporter Andy Katz will discuss their predictions for No. 1 seeds, the last teams in and out, interview coaches of teams on the bubble and more. In addition, the College GameDay crew of host Rece Davis and analysts Bilas and Phelps will provide insights from the “war room” where monitors show feeds from all concluding conference championships.

SportsCenter at 6 p.m. on ESPN

In addition to reporting on the latest sports news, the 6 p.m. SportsCenter will provide up-to-the-minute updates of the Tournament selections with GameDay host Davis and analysts Bilas, Dakich, Greenberg, Phelps, Vitale and Williams evaluating the brackets shortly after they are announced.

Bracketology at 7 p.m. on ESPN

The two-hour special will include extensive, in-depth analysis of the bracket in each region. Host Davis will be joined by analysts Bilas, Dakich, Greenberg, Knight, Pearl, Phelps, and Williams with Vitale (via satellite) to discuss multiple Tournament topics and reveal their Elite Eight, Final Four and Championship teams. In addition, Katz will interview NCAA Tournament Chairman Mike Bobinski from Indianapolis.

The show will offer fans an opportunity to ask questions that could be answered on air by the analysts. Twitter users can tweet a question or express their bracket concerns via #BarkAtBilas and select posts will be answered or weaved into the discussion.

Tournament Countdown: The Experts at 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU

After the selections are announced, ESPNU’s panel of experts will discuss each first and second round game, providing viewers insight into filling out their own brackets. Anish Shroff will host with analysts Fran Fraschilla, Dino Gaudio, Adrian Branch and Tim Welsh.

In addition, ESPNU will provide 10 hours of Tournament Countdown programming on Monday, March 18. Coverage will begin at 1 p.m. with the five-hour Katz Korner featuring Katz attempting to interview the head coaches of the 68 teams in the Tournament. ESPNU will also televise a two-hour College Basketball Live with host Dari Nowkhah and analysts Gaudio and Matt Doherty, at 6 p.m. and a three-hour The Experts, with Shroff, Branch, Welsh and Lunardi, at 9 p.m.

ESPN Radio: Selection Sunday Special & Dakich & Greenberg Join Mike & Mike on Monday

ESPN Radio’s SportsCenter Tonight Selection Sunday Special with Bram Weinstein and Dan Dakich on Sunday, March 17, from 6:30 p.m. (immediately after Knicks-Clippers NBA broadcast) to 10 p.m. will feature analysis of the brackets and interviews with tournament bound coaches and players.

Dakich and Greenberg will join ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning co-host Mike Golic for the entire show on Monday, March 18 (6-10 a.m. ET simulcast on ESPN2).

Debut of 30 for 30 Documentary Survive and Advance

ESPN’s coverage on Selection Sunday will conclude with ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 documentary Survive and Advance, focusing on NC State’s 1983 season, at 9 p.m. When the 1982-83 college basketball season began, Jim Valvano and his NC State Wolfpack faced high expectations with equally high aspirations. But with 10 losses for the season, the Wolfpack’s only hope of making the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament and earn the conference’s automatic berth. Nine straight improbable tournament wins later over the likes of superstars Sampson, Jordan, Olajuwon and Drexler, NC State had “survived and advanced” its way to a national championship. In Survive and Advance, director Jonathan Hock takes a poignant look through the eyes of senior captain Dereck Whittenburg at a dream fulfilled and explores what at times has been a tragic and heartbreaking aftermath in the 30 years since.

ESPN.com Tournament Challenge

Both the Men’s Tournament Challenge and Women’s Tournament Challenge bracket games on ESPN.com return for their 16th seasons on the digital hard court and will be free for entrants to submit up to 10 entries. Last year, the Men’s Tournament Challenge game was the most popular bracket game in the nation, with nearly 6.45 million brackets, up 9 percent compared to the previous year and setting a new record.  At the peak period, fans registered 6,340 brackets per minute (105 per second). Additional details will be released Monday, March 18.

ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN2’s Schedule for Sunday and Monday

Date	Time (ET)	Show	Network
Sun, Mar 17	11 a.m.	College Basketball Live	ESPN2
	noon	College Basketball Live	ESPN
	1 p.m.	ACC Championship	ESPN
	1 p.m.	SEC Championship	ABC
	3 p.m.	Bracketology	ESPN
	6 p.m.	SportsCenter	ESPN
	6:30 p.m.	ESPN Radio: SportsCenter Tonight Selection Sunday Special	ESPN Radio
	7 p.m.	Bracketology	ESPN
	9 p.m.	Survive and Advance	ESPN
	9 p.m.	NIT Selection Show	ESPNU
	9:30 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts	ESPNU
Mon, Mar 18	1 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: Katz Korner	ESPNU
	6 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts	ESPNU

That is all.

Big Ten Network Offers “All-Access” Coverage of Big Ten Tournament; Gus Johnson Back to Call Games

After being away in Europe to call English Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League games for Fox Soccer, Gus Johnson is back in the United States to call his signature sport, college basketball. Gus will call two first round and two quarterfinal games of the Big Ten Tournament for Fox Sports’ Big Ten Network today and tomorrow. He’ll be teamed with Shon Morris courtside at the United Center in Chicago. Working the sidelines for BTN will be Stephanie White.

Dave Revsine will host the Tournament at the United Center and he’ll be joined by Jim Jackson.

The particulars of Big Ten Network’s coverage are listed below.

BTN to Offer All-Access Coverage of Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament

Preview Show Wednesday Tips Off Five Days of Coverage

CHICAGO – BTN puts the full court press on the Big Ten Tournament, including four live BTN games featuring Gus Johnson, as well as pre- and post-game shows, post-game press conferences, and a Sunday night special following NCAA Tournament selections.

“With four Big Ten teams ranked in the nation’s top 10, this is a special season for Big Ten fans, and BTN will have more tournament coverage than ever before,” said BTN President Mark Silverman.

At 11:30 AM ET Thursday, BTN airs the Big Ten Tip-Off Show, with Game One beginning at noon ET on BTN and BTN2Go featuring No. 8 Illinois and No. 9 Minnesota. Game Two tips off at approximately 2:30 PM ET, with No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 Penn State. After Thursday’s afternoon games have ended, BTN will air the Big Ten Finale at 4:30 PM ET. A second episode of the Big Ten Finale will also air after all the games have ended at 11 PM ET.

On Friday, coverage begins at 6 PM ET with the Big Ten Tip-Off Show, recapping the day’s games, and previewing the night’s action. Game Seven on BTN and BTN2Go, at 6:30 PM ET Friday, will feature No. 2 Ohio State and the winner of No. 7 Purdue vs. No. 10 Nebraska.  Game Eight will tip off at approximately 9 PM ET and will feature No. 3 Michigan State against the winner of No. 6 Iowa and No. 11 Northwestern.  The Big Ten Finale at 11 PM ET will recap the day’s action.

Johnson and Morris will call all BTN games, with Stephanie White reporting from the sideline.

BTN coverage continues Saturday, with the Big Ten Tip-Off Show at 1 PM ET and the Finale at 6 PM ET. On Sunday, the Tip-Off Show airs at 3 PM ET.

At 7 PM ET, Sunday, BTN airs the Big Ten Basketball and Beyond Selection Sunday Special, a 90-minute show hosted by Revsine and Jackson in-studio, with Morris, Rick Pizzo, and Mike DeCourcy at the United Center. The show will include a post-game interview with the Big Ten Tournament Champion’s head coach, and interviews with select coaches of Big Ten teams earning a NCAA Tournament bid.

In addition, all post-game press conferences from the United Center will be available via live stream on the Big Ten Digital Network throughout the tournament.

On Wednesday, March 20, the season finale of The Journey: Big Ten Basketball 2013 airs at 8 PM ET. The 60-minute show will feature tournament storylines and behind-the-scenes action.

More stuff is on the way.

SiriusXM To Air All NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Games

This from SiriusXM satellite radio. The pay radio service will have all 67 games of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament from the First Four™ to the Final Four™.

As the official satellite radio partner of the NCAA Tournament, SiriusXM will have a selection show hosted by the extremely out-of-touch Chris Russo and Steve Torre. And Torre will be the studio host for the games airing on SiriusXM.

Other NCAA Tournament shows will be fronted by former Georgia Tech and College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins, ESPN analyst Bruce Pearl, former Michigan State guard Mateen Cleeves and others.

Here’s the full press release from SiriusXM.

SiriusXM Announces Extensive Coverage of 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship

Subscribers nationwide get access on SiriusXM to every minute of every game
SiriusXM College Sports Nation and Mad Dog Radio channels offer daily analysis and interviews, plus live coverage from Atlanta for the Final Four®

NEW YORK – March 13, 2013 – Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) will broadcast every game of the 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, offering subscribers nationwide uninterrupted access to play-by-play of every match-up from the First Four® on March 19 and 20 through the Final Four® and national championship game in Atlanta on April 6 and 8.

All tournament games will be available to SiriusXM listeners in their entirety, with no blackouts, on Sirius channels 91, 92, 93, 94 and 85 and XM channels 91, 190, 191, 192 and 85. Tournament match-ups and SiriusXM channel assignments will be available at www.siriusxm.com/collegesports starting Monday, March 18.

On Selection Sunday, March 17, SiriusXM will offer an evening of selection show specials that will give listeners live updates and analysis as tournament teams and match-ups are announced.  Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Steve Torre will host live from 5:00 to 9:00 pm ET on Mad Dog Radio (channel 86).  Then from 9:00 pm to midnight ET, listeners can tune into continued coverage hosted by 1990 National Coach of the Year Bobby Cremins and Jason Horowitz on SiriusXM College Sports Nation (channel 91).  The shows will feature interviews with special guests, including team coaches and selection committee chair Mike Bobinski, and will give fans a place to call in and share their reactions and opinions as the field is revealed.

Fans can also follow everything happening throughout the tournament on SiriusXM College Sports Nation, SiriusXM’s all-college sports channel.  Listeners will hear live play-by-play of tournament games plus daily talk and analysis from a roster of hosts that includes three-time ACC Coach of the Year Bobby Cremins, Hall of Fame Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves, two-time SEC Coach of the Year Bruce Pearl, former Villanova and UMass coach Steve Lappas, former University of Vermont coach Tom Brennan, and college basketball experts Tim Brando, Mark Packer, Jeff Goodman and Jason Horowitz.

Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke Blue Devils, will continue to host his weekly talk show, Basketball and Beyond with Coach K, throughout the tournament. Listeners can hear the show Wednesdays at 7:00 pm ET on Mad Dog Radio and again at 11:00 pm ET on SiriusXM College Sports Nation.

SiriusXM College Sports Nation hosts will be in Atlanta broadcasting live from Thursday, April 4, through Tuesday, April 9, delivering fans all the latest news and talk from the Final Four. Mad Dog Radio’s Adam Schein will host his show, Schein on Sports, from Atlanta on April 5 and 6.

SiriusXM will also offer coverage of the NCAA® Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, providing listeners with full coverage of every regional final, the Women’s Final Four® and championship game.

All NCAA Tournament broadcasts are provided to SiriusXM by Dial Global Sports.

Back later.

CBS/Turner Sports Announce The 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Broadcast Schedule

This is a long release with lots of grids. I’ll keep this wraparound short and you can read this for yourself.

TURNER SPORTS AND CBS SPORTS ANNOUNCE 2013 NCAA^® DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TELECAST SCHEDULE

ALL GAMES TO BE BROADCAST NATIONALLY ACROSS CBS, TBS, TNT AND truTV

For the third consecutive year, CBS Sports and Turner Sports will provide live coverage of all 67 games from the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.  Turner Sports and CBS Sports will present fully integrated game and studio productions across the four networks with pregame, halftime, bridge and post-game shows from studios in New York City and Atlanta. Studio shows will include THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR^®and NCAA TIP-OFF pregame shows, AT THE HALF, TOURNAMENT CENTRAL and the INSIDE MARCH MADNESS^® post-game show.

The 2013 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will tip off in primetime with the NCAA First Four™ on truTV on Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20 with coverage beginning at 6:00 PM, ET both nights. Coverage will culminate with the Final Four games on Saturday, April 6, and for the 32^nd straight year, CBS Sports broadcasts the National Championship game, which airs Monday, April 8 at 9:00 PM, ET from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Additional highlights include (complete telecast schedule attached):

• Turner Sports will televise 41 games across its three television networks (TBS, TNT and truTV).
• CBS will broadcast 26 games throughout the tournament including the second round, third round, Sweet 16^®, Elite 8^®, Final Four and National Championship. CBS will also air the Division II Men’s National Championship game on Sunday, April 7 at 4:00 PM, ET from Philips Arena.
• TBS will televise 16 contests including games in the second round, third round and Sweet 16.
• truTV, including the First Four™, will air a total of 13 games also spanning the second and third rounds.
• TNT will televise 12 games including second and third round match ups.

Coverage of the 2013 NCAA Tournament will culminate with extensive live coverage of the Final Four games and National Championship from Atlanta. Saturday’s Final Four coverage will begin on CBS with THE FINAL FOUR SHOW (4:00-6:00 PM, ET), followed by the broadcast of the two national semifinal games beginning at 6:00 PM, ET. truTV will wrap up the day’s Final Four coverage with INSIDE MARCH MADNESS.

NCAA March Madness Live®, managed by Turner Sports and in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA, will provide live streaming video of every broadcast for the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship from the First Four™ through the National Championship Game.

NCAA, March Madness, Elite 8, Sweet 16, First Four, Final Four and Road to the Final Four are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The schedules for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four and National Championship Game will be coming after the break.
(continue reading…)

NBC Sports Network To Air First Round of A-10 Tournament

The A-10 Tournament tips off in its new home of Brooklyn, NY this week. NBC Sports Network will air all first round games on Thursday starting at noon ET. Mike Corey will call the games and he’ll be joined courtside by Dave Kaplan with Brooke Weisbrod on the sidelines.

Carolyn Manno and Rob Simmelkjaer will share the hosting duties.

The A-10 Tournament will also have national TV coverage later in the week with the semifinals on CBS Sports Network on Saturday and the Championship Game on CBS Sunday.

Here’s the NBC Sports Network release.

ATLANTIC 10 MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND GAMES ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK THURSDAY & THURSDAY NIGHT

More Than Eight Hours of A-10 Tournament Coverage

NEW YORK – March 11, 2013 – As previously announced, NBC Sports Network will deliver first-round coverage of the A-10 Men’s Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 14, from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Per the agreement, NBC Sports Network will televise all four first-round games and more than eight hours of A-10 men’s basketball.

Coverage will begin at Noon ET, when the No. 8 seed Richmond takes on the No. 9 seed Charlotte, in game one of the first-round.

At 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network will deliver game two of the first-round, featuring No. 5 Butler vs. No. 12 Dayton.

A-10 Men’s Championship excitement continues at 6:30 p.m. ET. In game three of the first-round, No. 7 Xavier plays No. 10 Saint Joseph’s.

Coverage concludes with game four at 9 p.m. ET, when No. 6 UMass challenges No. 11 George Washington. Mike Corey will manage play-by-play for all four games and will be joined by analyst Dave Kaplan. Brooke Weisbrod will serve as the courtside reporter.

Carolyn Manno and Rob Simmelkjaer will split host assignments for NBC Sports Network’s college basketball studio show and will be joined by former New Jersey Nets and UCONN forward Donny Marshall.

A-10 Tournament First Round Games

Thurs., March 14	Richmond – Charlotte	Noon ET
Thurs., March 14	Butler-Dayton	2:30 p.m. ET
Thurs., March 14	Xavier-Saint Joseph’s	6:30 p.m. ET
Thurs., March 14	UMass-George Washington	9 p.m. ET

That is all.

Selection Sunday Tips Off the 2013 NCAA Tournament

On Sunday, CBS Sports airs the official NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show at 6 p.m. ET. It marks the 32nd consecutive year that the Tiffany Network will air the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Greg Gumbel will host and be joined by Greg Anthony, Doug Gottlieb and Seth Davis in New York. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will be in Chicago, IL, site of the Big Ten Championship, to analyze the 68 team field. NCAA Tournament Selection Committee Chairman Mike Bobinski will be the featured guest to discuss the reasoning behind the picks and why some were left out.

That will be followed by Selection Sunday on truTV hosted by Ernie Johnson in Atlanta with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Rex Chapman. Matt Winer will be on hand conduct interviews.

Here are the particulars of Selection Sunday on CBS and Turner Sports.

CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS BEGIN ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR^® WITH “NCAA^® BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW” ON SUNDAY, MARCH 17 ON CBS

SELECTION SUNDAY ON truTV follows With In-Depth Analysis of the Bracket and Interviews with NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee Members
CBS Sports Broadcasts Exclusive, Live Announcement of 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Field of 68

Turner Sports and CBS Sports begin the road to the Final Four with the exclusive, live first-time announcement of the pairings for the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship airing on CBS on Sunday, March 17 (6:00-7:00 PM, ET) during the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW.

Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Doug Gottlieb and Seth Davis host the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.  Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr join Gumbel, Anthony, Gottlieb and Davis via satellite from the United Center, site of the Big Ten Championship, in Chicago, Ill.  In addition, Mike Bobinski, Chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, joins live from Indianapolis, Ind. to provide an in-depth look into the selection process.

Immediately following the Selection Show at 7:00 PM, ET, the SELECTION SUNDAY ON truTV studio show will provide in-depth analysis of the entire tournament field from Turner Studios in Atlanta.  Ernie Johnson hosts the one-hour special and will be joined by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and former Kentucky Wildcat Rex Chapman. Also, Matt Winer will conduct interviews with select members of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee in Indianapolis to discuss the bracket and provide details regarding the group’s deliberations throughout the weekend.  Anthony, Gottlieb and Davis also will join the show live via satellite from New York.

Additionally, the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW will be available via NCAA® March Madness® Live at www.ncaa.com/marchmadness, the March Madness Live® app on tablets and mobile devices, and will launch from www.CBSSports.com and www.bleacherreport.com.

Game coverage for the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship begins on Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20 with the NCAA FIRST FOUR™ ON truTV, and the tournament concludes with the National Championship game Monday, April 8 on CBS.

That is all.

CBS/ Turner Unveil 2013 NCAA Tournament Announcing Teams

Announced today by the CBS/Turner Sports consortium for the 2013 NCAA Tournament, the 75th incarnation of college basketball’s national championship, will be the men and women who will be in front of the camera this year. As usual, Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will work the Final Four™ from Atlanta.

Some changes from last year, first Doug Gottlieb who came to CBS from ESPN late last year will call 2nd and 3rd round games with Spero Dedes replacing Bob Wenzel. Lesley Visser becomes a special contributor to the studio shows, leaving the sidelines. Rachel Nichols of Turner Sports takes her place on the team of Uncle Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. And Allie LaForce, co-host of CBS Sports Network’s Lead Off with the aforementioned Gottlieb will work the sidelines as well with Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel.

Your regional final teams will be Nantz/Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson, Marv Albert/Steve Kerr /Craig Sager, Lundquist/Raftery/Nichols and Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore/Lewis Johnson.

Calling the one half of the First Four™ games in Dayton, OH will be Albert and Kerr on March 19.

And the studio will be manned by hosts Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson in New York with Matt Winer in Atlanta. Studio analysts will be Greg Anthony, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Steve Smith. Doug Gottlieb joins the New York crew for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.

Here’s the CBS/Turner announcement.

CBS Sports and Turner Sports Return All-Star Line-up of Broadcast Teams for Coverage of 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship

?Turner Sports and CBS Sports today announces its lineup of broadcast teams for the third year of combined coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Once again, CBS Sports and Turner Sports provide live, full national coverage of the tournament’s 67 games across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV – as well as across multiple platforms including NCAA March Madness Live®.

The tournament tips off on Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20 with the NCAA FIRST FOUR™ on truTV Presented by Northwestern Mutual. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr will be courtside calling the action from Dayton, Ohio on March 19, with Craig Sager reporting. Wednesday’s FIRST FOUR broadcast team, which will also call the second and third round games from the Dayton site, will be announced on Selection Sunday.

For the third consecutive year Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr and reporter Tracy Wolfson will team up for the Final Four® and National Championship game live from Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday, April 6 and Monday, April 8.

Joining this year’s announcer line-up are Doug Gottlieb, who will serve as a game and studio analyst, and courtside reporters Rachel Nichols and Allie LaForce.

Following are the announcer pairings for the second and third rounds (Thursday, March 21-Sunday, March 24):

Play-By-Play / Analyst // Reporter
*Regional Announce Teams

Jim Nantz / Clark Kellogg // Tracy Wolfson*
Marv Albert / Steve Kerr // Craig Sager*
Verne Lundquist / Bill Raftery // Rachel Nichols*
Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Len Elmore // Lewis Johnson*
Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Allie LaForce
Brian Anderson / Dan Bonner // Marty Snider
Tim Brando / Mike Gminski // Otis Livingston
Spero Dedes / Doug Gottlieb // Jaime Maggio

Studio Coverage

For the third consecutive year, Turner Sports and CBS Sports will utilize two studios, based in New York and Atlanta, to cover all the tournament action. Studio coverage again will be anchored by Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson with Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Kenny Smith providing analysis throughout the tournament from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Matt Winer anchors the coverage from Turner Studios in Atlanta and will be joined by Seth Davis and Steve Smith. In addition, Lesley Visser will serve as a contributor.

During the Regional Semi-finals and Finals, Gottlieb will join the New York studio team. Gumbel will remain in New York alongside Barkley, Anthony, Gottlieb and Kenny Smith, while Johnson will shift to the Atlanta studio to join Davis and Steve Smith.

Studio coverage for the FIRST FOUR originates from Atlanta and will feature Johnson, Barkley, Kenny Smith and Steve Smith on Tuesday with Winer, Davis and Steve Smith providing analysis on Wednesday.

There you have it.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 03/09 & 03/10/2013, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports on TV

Announcing Assignments Courtesy of Eye on Sky and Air Sports

Saturday, March 9

Pregame and Studio Shows
College GameDay live from Washington, DC — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 11:30 a.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 2 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show — Big Ten Network, 4:45 p.m.
Big Ten Game Break — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
College GameDay live from Chapel Hill, NC — ESPN, 8 p.m.
Big Ten Finale ’12-’13 — Big Ten Network, 10:30 p.m.
Inside College Basketball — CBS Sports Network, 10:30 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPN2, 1:30 a.m. (Sunday)

Conference Tournaments
Men’s
Atlantic Sun Championship, Macon, GA
Mercer vs. Florida Gulf Coast — ESPN2, noon (Roy Philpott/Derek Whittenburg)

CAA Tournament, Richmond, VA
Quarterfinals
George Mason vs. Drexel — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic/New England/NorthWest)/The Comcast Network, 3:30 p.m. (John Castleberry/John Feinstein)
Delaware vs. Hofstra — Comcast SportsNet (Bay Area/Houston/Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England), 6 p.m. (Al Koken/Ron Thompson)
James Madison vs. William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Houston/Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England)/The Comcast Network, 8:30 p.m. (Al Koken/Ron Thompson)

Horizon League Tournament, Valparaiso, IN
Semifinals
Detroit vs. Wright State — ESPN3, 6 p.m. (Jim Barber/Malcolm Huckaby)
Valparaiso vs. Green Bay — ESPNU, 8:30 p.m. (Jim Barber/Malcolm Huckaby)

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, St. Louis, MO
Semifinals
Creighton vs. Indiana State — MVC TV/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Pacific, 2:30 p.m. (John Rooney/Mark Adams)
Wichita State vs. Illinois State — MVC TV/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest/Fox College Sports Pacific, 5 p.m. (John Rooney/Mark Adams)

Northeast Conference Tournament
Semifinals
Mount St. Mary’s at Robert Morris — MSG2/Fox College Sports Central, noon (Dave Popkin/Tim Capstraw/Paul Dottino)
Long Island University-Brooklyn at Wagner — MSG 2/Fox College Sports Central, 2:30 p.m. (Dave Popkin/Tim Capstraw/Paul Dottino)

Ohio Valley Conference Championship, Nashville, TN
Belmont vs. Murray State — ESPN2, 7 p.m. (Rich Hollenberg/Adrian Branch)

Patriot League Tournament
Semifinals
Lehigh at Lafayette — CBS Sports Network, 2 p.m. (Don Criqui/Vince Curran)
Army at Bucknell — CBS Sports Network, 4:30 p.m. (Bob Socci/Chris Spatola)

Summit League Tournament, Sioux Falls, SD
Quarterfinals
South Dakota State vs. IUPUI — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 7 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)
Western Illinois vs. South Dakota — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 9:30 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)

Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Hot Springs, AR
Quarterfinals
Middle Tennessee vs. Louisiana-Lafayette/North Texas — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 7:30 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)
Arkansas State vs. Florida Atlantic/Troy — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 10 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)

West Coast Conference Tournament, Las Vegas, NV
Semifinals
Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount — ESPN2, 9 p.m. (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)
St. Mary’s vs. San Diego — ESPN2, 11:30 p.m. (Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham)

Women’s

ACC Tournament, Greensboro, NC
Semifinals
Florida State vs. Duke — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/South/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus), 1 p.m. (Mike Hogewood/Debbie Antonelli)
North Carolina vs. Maryland — Fox Sports Net (Florida/South/Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic), 3:30 p.m. (Mike Hogewood/Debbie Antonelli)

Big East Tournament, Hartford, CT
Second Round
St. John’s vs. Seton Hall — Big East Network, noon (Bob Picozzi/Brooke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
Rutgers vs. South Florida — Big East Network, 2:30 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/Broke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
DePaul vs. Marquette — Big East Network, 6 p.m. (Bog Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)
Villanova vs. Georgetown — Big East Network, 8:30 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)

Big Ten Tournament, Hoffman Estates, IL
Semifinals
Nebraska vs. Purdue — Big Ten Network, 5 p.m. (Kevin Kugler/Stephanie White/Lisa Byington)
Penn State vs. Michigan State — Big Ten Network, 7:30 p.m. (Kevin Kugler/Stephanie White/Lisa Byington)

Big 12 Tournament, Dallas, TX
Quarterfinals
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State — Fox Sports Net, noon (Ron Thulin/Brenda Van Lengen)
Baylor vs. Kansas State — Fox Sports Net, 2:30 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Iowa State vs. Kansas — Fox Sports Net, 7 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda Van Lengen)
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia — Fox Sports Net, 9:30 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda Van Lengen)

Pac-12 Tournament, Seattle, WA
Semifinals
UCLA vs. Cal — Pac-12 Network, 9 p.m. (Anne Marie Anderson/Tammy Blackburn/Krista Blunk)
Stanford vs. Colorado — Pac-12 Network, 11:30 p.m. (Anne Marie Anderson/Tammy Blackburn/Krista Blunk)

SEC Tournament, Duluth, GA
Semifinals
Tennessee vs. Texas A&M — ESPNU, 4 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)
Kentucky vs. Georgia — ESPNU, 6:30 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)

noon
Georgia Tech at Boston College — ACC Network (Dwayne Ballen/Cory Alexander)
Minnesota at Purdue — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Jim Jackson)
Florida at Kentucky — CBS (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)
UAB at Memphis — CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan/Pete Gillen)
Syracuse at Georgetown — ESPN (Sean McDonough/Jay Bilas/Bill Raftery)
Providence at UConn — ESPNU (Beth Mowins/Tim Welsh)

1:30 p.m.
Iowa State at West Virginia — Big 12 Network (Brad Sham/Rich Zvosec)
Kansas State at Oklahoma State — Big 12 Network (Mitch Holthus/Bryndon Manzer)
LaSalle at Saint Louis — NBC Sports Network (Mike Corey/Dave Kaplan)
Mississippi at LSU — SEC Network (Clay Matvick/Joe Dean)
South Carolina at Vanderbilt — SEC Network (Joe Davis/Barry Booker)

2 p.m.
Dayton at George Washington — A-10 Network (Todd Bell/Tony White)
Pittsburgh at DePaul — Big East Network (Anish Shroff/Bob Wenzel)
UCLA at Washington — CBS (Brian Anderson/Doug Gottlieb)
UMass at URI — Cox Sports RI (Mike Mancuso/Chris DiSano)
Marquette at St. John’s — ESPN (Mike Patrick/Len Elmore)
North Carolina State at Florida State — ESPN2 (Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke)
Texas A&M at Arkansas — ESPNU (Tom Hart/Matt Doherty)

2:15 p.m.
Nebraska at Iowa — Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee/Shon Morris)

2:30 p.m.
Clemson at Miami (FL) — ACC Network (Tim Brant/Bobby Cremins)
Oregon at Utah — Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson/Ernie Kent)

3:30 p.m.
San Diego State at Boise State — NBC Sports Network (Paul Burmeister/Blaine Fowler)

4 p.m.
South Florida at Cincinnati — Big East Network (Mike Couzens/Sean Kearney)
Texas at Texas Tech — Big 12 Network (Dave Armstrong/Stephen Howard)
Notre Dame at Louisville — CBS (Verne Lundquist/Mike Gminski)
Missouri at Tennessee — ESPN (Mark Jones/Jimmy Dykes)
Georgia at Alabama — SEC Network (Dave Baker/Jon Sundvold)

4:30 p.m.
Arizona State at Arizona — Fox Sports Net-national (Justin Kutcher/Marques Johnson) (Clair Wyant forced me to include this)
Oregon State at Colorado — Pac-12 Network (Rich Cellini/Dan Belloumini)

5 p.m.
Oklahoma at TCU — Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports Arizona Plus (Brian Estridge/John Denton)

5:30 p.m.
Auburn at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net-regional (Florida/South/Southwest) (Dave Neal/Larry Conley)
Cornell at Harvard — NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss/Dalen Cuff)

6 p.m.
Kansas at Baylor — ESPN (Jon Sciambi/Fran Fraschilla)

6:30 p.m.
Xavier at Butler — CBS Sports Network (Brad Johansen/John Griffin)
USC at Washington State — Pac-12 Network (JB Long/Lamar Hurd)

7 p.m.
Long Beach State at Pacific — Fox College Sports Pacific/Fox Sports West (Mike Pomeranz/Jud Buechler/Cheryl Gorman)

8:30 p.m.
Nevada at Colorado State — CBS Sports Network (Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Lauren Gardner)

9 p.m.
Duke at North North Carolina — ESPN/ESPN 3D (Dan Shulman/Jay Bilas/Dick Vitale/Samantha Ponder)

Sunday, March 10

Studio Shows
ACC Sunday Night — ESPNU, 5:30 p.m.
College Basketball Live — ESPNU, 8 p.m.

Conference Tournaments
Men’s

Big South Championship, Myrtle Beach, SC
Charleston Southern vs. Liberty — ESPN2, noon (Mark Neely/LaPhonso Ellis)

CAA Tournament, Richmond, VA
Semifinals
Northeastern vs. George Mason — NBC Sports Network, 2 p.m. (Todd Harris/Ron Thompson/Mike Corey)
Delaware vs. James Madison — NBC Sports Network, 4:30 p.m. (Todd Harris/Ron Thompson/Mike Corey)

Missouri Valley Conference Championship, St. Louis, MO
Creighton vs. Wichita State — CBS, 2 p.m. (Tim Brando/Bill Raftery)

Summit League Tournament, Sioux Falls, SD
Quarterfinals
Oakland vs. IFPW — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 7 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)
North Dakota State vs. Missouri-Kansas City — Fox College Sports Atlantic, 9:30 p.m. (Brad Niemann/Tom Newitt)

Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Hot Springs, AR
Semifinals
Florida International vs. Middle Tennessee — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 7:30 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)
Western Kentucky vs. Arkansas State — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 10 p.m. (Tom Dore/Bob Donewald)

Women’s

ACC Championship, Greensboro, NC
Duke vs. North Carolina — ESPN2, 2 p.m. (Pam Ward/Debbie Antonelli)

A-10 Tournament, Philadelphia, PA
Semifinals
Dayton vs. St. Joseph’s — CBS Sports Network, 1:30 p.m. (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)
Temple vs. Fordham — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m. (John Sadak/Julianne Viani)

Big East Tournament, Hartford, CT
Quarterfinals
Louisville vs. St. John’s — ESPNU, noon (Beth Mowins/Brooke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
Notre Dame vs. South Florida — ESPNU, 2:30 p.m. (Beth Mowins/Brooke Weisbrod/Allison Williams)
UConn vs. DePaul — Big East Network/ESPN3, 6 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)
Syracuse vs. Villanova — ESPNU, 8:30 p.m. (Bob Picozzi/LaChina Robinson/Allison Williams)

Big Ten Championship, Hoffman Estates, IL
Purdue vs. Michigan State — ESPN2, 4 p.m. (Adam Amin/Stephanie White)

Big 12 Tournament, Dallas, TX
Semifinals
Oklahoma State vs. Baylor — Fox Sports Net-national, 2 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)
Iowa State vs. Oklahoma — Fox Sports Net-national, 4:30 p.m. (Ron Thulin/Brenda VanLengen)

Pac-12 Championship, Seattle, WA
UCLA vs. Stanford — ESPN2, 8 p.m. (Roxy Bernstein/Mary Murphy)

SEC Championship, Duluth, GA
Kentucky vs. Texas A&M — ESPN2, 6 p.m. (Cara Capuano/Nell Fortner)

noon
Wisconsin at Penn State — Big Ten Network (Eric Collins/Sean Harrington)
VCU at Temple — CBS (Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner/Reggie Miller)

12:30 p.m.
Illinois at Ohio State — ESPN (Bob Wischusen/Dan Dakich)

2 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest — ACC Network (Steve Martin/Cory Alexander)

4 p.m.
Indiana at Michigan — CBS (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg)

6 p.m.
Northwestern at Michigan State — Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler/Tim Doyle)
Maryland at Virginia — ESPNU (Carter Blackburn/Jay Williams)

What You’ll See on Fox Sports 1

So Fox Sports 1 has been officially announced? What’s next? The launch on Saturday, August 17 which will include a NASCAR Truck Series race and a UFC card.

During the event that introduced US version of Fox Sports 1 to the world (let’s not forget the original Fox Sports 1 in Australia), we learned that the network has been built upon what Fox is calling “7 Sports Pillars,” College Basketball, College Football, MLB, NASCAR, NFL, Soccer and UFC fights.

Let’s go over what each pillar will bring to Fox Sports 1.

College Basketball

While it was not formally announced on Tuesday, we can expect Fox Sports 1 to be the official cable home of the new Big East, those “Catholic 7″ basketball-only schools to be joined by Butler and Xavier from the A-10 and maybe even Creighton from the Missouri Valley. The new Big East will join the Big 12, Conference USA and Pac-12 on Fox Sports 1. Expect to see basketball games in the winter on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

College Football

Games from C-USA, the Big 12 and Pac-12 will be on Thursday nights as well as triple and quadrupleheaders on Saturdays. In addition, Erin Andrews will host a Saturday morning pregame show on FS1. The Fox Mothership will continue to air college football games on Saturday nights. The 2013 schedule for Fox includes Notre Dame at Stanford as well as the Big Ten Championship and the Cotton Bowl.

MLB

In 2014, Fox’s new contract with Major League Baseball kicks in. Fox Sports 1 will air a full schedule of 26 regular season games which will include games from its Fox Sports Net affiliates. Expect to see plenty of the New York Yankees from YES, the Anaheim Angels from Fox Sports West and the Texas Rangers from Fox Sports Southwest. In addition, Fox Sports 1 will carry two League Division Series and a number of League Championship Series. The LCS was the latest development. Fox’s broadcast schedule will reduce from 24 regular season games this year to 12 in 2014. Fox will still carry the All-Star Game, most of the LCS and the entire World Series.

NASCAR

As Speed converts to Fox Sports 1, its NASCAR coverage will carryover to FS1. This will include the entire Camping World Truck Series and the familiar NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane programs from Speed. In 2015, selected Sprint Cup races will move to Fox Sports 1 as will the All-Star race. The Daytona 500 Speedweeks festivities which include the Twin 125′s and the Duel will be aired on FS 1.

NFL

While Fox Sports 1 doesn’t have the rights to show games, it will have a daily program, Fox Football Daily which will include the cast of Fox NFL Sunday. The show will air daily at 6 p.m. ET. Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jay Glazer, Gus Johnson, Erin Andrews and Mike Pereira are listed as participants, but as the show evolves, this falls under the category “subject to change.” This show will premiere when Fox Sports 1 launches in August.

Soccer

It’s expected that Fox will do away with Fox Soccer and convert it to FX2, an all-entertainment channel. With the loss of the English Premier League to NBC, Fox will move the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and CONCACAF events to Fox Sports 1. UEFA Champions League and Europa League will be aired on Tuesday through Thursday afternoons. And when Fox’s contract with FIFA begins in 2015, Fox Sports 1 will air Women’s World Cup games that year and in 2019 and the men in 2018 and 2022. Other soccer leagues that were part of Fox Soccer Plus can be expected to be dispersed to Fox Sports 2 when that channel launches at a later date.

UFC

On Fox Sports 1′s launch date in August, a UFC card will be aired. Also, Fox Sports 1 will be the home to UFC programming on Wednesday nights. During Super Bowl XLVIII week, Fox Sports 1 is expected to have a card the night before the Big Game. Super Bowl Saturday normally has a UFC pay per view, but it’s expected to be aired on FS1 in 2014.

ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING

The news about Regis Philbin was confirmed on Monday during his appearance on of all places, “The View.” Regis will be host of “Rush Hour” which will have a panel of guests from the media, sports and fandom. This will air at 5 p.m. ET and lead into Fox Football Daily.

At 11 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1 will air Fox Sports Live, the challenger to ESPN’s venerable SportsCenter. According to the Fox Sports executives, the network will invest heavily into a newsgathering operation that will produce a nightly program that will review the day’s events. A morning edition of Fox Sports Live will begin airing in January.

The Fox Sports Net affiliates and local Fox TV stations will be encouraged to contribute reports to Fox Sports Live.

OTHER FEATURES

It’s been seen on the Cotton Bowl and on the Daytona 500, the double box that will air commercials and also show live action so viewers don’t miss anything. Reviews on this has been mixed thus far, but I expect this to win fans over during NASCAR coverage.

Fox Sports Go will be an mobile and tablet app that will stream live events from Fox Sports, Fox Sports 1 and the Fox Sports Net affiliates. Subscribers to participating cable and satellite providers will have to authenticate in order to watch the events on their mobile device.

And there in a nutshell is what you’ll see on Fox Sports 1 when it launches on August 17.