Turner Sports and CBS Sports set their announce-team roster for their fourth year of combined coverage of March Madness, highlighted by the ascension of Greg Anthony to call his initial Final Four and National Championship games, and Andrew Catalon jumping into the play-by-play mix.
Tipping off Tuesday, March 18, with the NCAA First Four on truTV presented by Northwest Mutual, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will feature 67 games on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV, culminating with the Final Four on Saturday, April 5, that will be televised on TBS for the first time, and the Monday, April 7 title game on CBS.
Anthony, stepping in for Clark Kellogg, moves courtside as a game analyst throughout the tournament, teaming with Jim Nantz and reporter Tracy Wolfson through the regional finals. Anthony then joins Steve Kerr, Nantz and Wolfson to call his first NCAA Final Four and National Championship from AT&T Stadium in North Texas.
For his part, Catalon, replacing Tim Brando, joins as a play-by-play man, teaming with Mike Gminksi and Otis Livingston, to call second- and third-round action.
In the studio, Ernie Johnson will host the coverage from the Final Four and National Championship with analysts Charles Barkley, Kellogg and Kenny Smith. They will be joined by Greg Gumbel along with analysts Reggie Miller, Seth Davis, Grant Hill, Doug Gottlieb and various college coaches.
Kellogg will be part of the studio with fellow analysts Barkley and Smith throughout the tournament, along with hosts Gumbel and Johnson from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York for the first two weeks.
Grant Hill joins as a studio analyst, teaming with host Matt Winer and analysts Steve Smith and Seth Davis from Turner Studios in Atlanta throughout the tournament. Gottlieb will contribute from Atlanta, beginning with regional semifinal action.
Relative to the First Four, Brian Anderson will call the two March 18 games with analyst Dan Bonner and reporter Kristine Leahy from Dayton, Ohio. Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play on Wednesday, alongside analysts Len Elmore and Miller, plus reporter Rachel Nichols. Studio coverage for the First Four will originate from Atlanta with Winer and analysts Davis, Hill and Steve Smith.
The following are the complete list of announcer pairings for the second and third rounds (Thursday, March 20, through Sunday, March 23):
Play-By-Play / Analyst // Reporter
*Regional Weekend Announce Teams
Jim Nantz / Greg Anthony // Tracy Wolfson*
Marv Albert / Steve Kerr // Craig Sager*
Verne Lundquist / Bill Raftery // Allie LaForce*
Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Len Elmore // Rachel Nichols*
Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Lewis Johnson
Brian Anderson / Dan Bonner // Kristine Leahy
Spero Dedes / Doug Gottlieb // Jaime Maggio
Andrew Catalon / Mike Gminski // Otis Livingston
