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 SundayESPN’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.
