Announcers For Thursday & Friday's Games

(Greatest college basketball announcing duo?)

Here's the information you've all been waiting for...the announcing teams for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament! Pitt fans have lucked out for a second year in a row...pulling the outstanding team of Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist this weekend (after winning the Gus Johnson lottery last year). Speaking of Mr. Johnson...the greater Pittsburgh area (and myself) seemed to have lucked-out again because Gus and Len Elmore will be calling the Robert Morris vs. Michigan State game Friday night. What luck?!? Great times. As mentioned previously in this blog, the cantankerous Billy Packer is gone from CBS, being replaced by Clark Kellogg on CBS's number one team with Jim Nantz. Kellogg and Nantz will be in Greensboro to announce the games featuring North Carolina and Duke among others. I couldn't be happier right now as a Pitt and Robert Morris fan.

Thursday, March 19th:

• LSU vs. Butler (Greensboro, 12:20pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
• Memphis vs. Cal. St. Northridge (Kansas City, 12:25pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
• BYU vs. Texas A&M (Philadelphia, 12:30pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
• Purdue vs. Northern Iowa (Portland, 2:30pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
• North Carolina vs. Radford (Greensboro, 2:50pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
• California vs. Maryland (Kansas City, 2:55pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
• Connecticut vs. Chattanooga (Philadelphia, 3pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
• Washington vs. Mississippi St. (Portland 5pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
• Texas vs. Minnesota (Greensboro, 7:10pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
• Clemson vs. Michigan (Kansas City, 7:10pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
• Villanova vs. American (Philadelphia, 7:20pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
• Gonzaga vs. Akron (Portland, 7:25pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
• Duke vs. Binghamton (Greensboro, 9:40pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
• Oklahoma vs. Morgan State (Kansas City, 9:40pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
• UCLA vs. VCU (Philadelphia, 9:50pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
• Illinois vs. Western Kentucky (Portland, 9:55pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
  

Friday, March 20th

• Syracuse vs. Stephen F. Austin (Miami, 12:15pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
• Oklahoma St. vs. Tennessee (Dayton, 12:25pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
• Kansas vs. North Dakota State (Minneapolis, 12:30pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
• Marquette vs. Utah State (Boise, 12:30pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
• Arizona State vs. Temple (Miami, 2:45pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
• Pittsburgh vs. E. Tennessee St. (Dayton, 2:55pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
• West Virginia vs. Dayton (Minneapolis, 3pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
• Missouri vs. Cornell (Boise, 3pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
• Utah vs. Arizona (Miami, 7:10pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
• Louisville vs. Alabama St./Morehead St. (Dayton, 7:10pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
• Boston College vs. USC (Minneapolis, 7:20pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
• Xavier vs. Portland State (Boise, 7:25pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
• Wake Forest vs. Cleveland State (Miami, 9:40pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
• Ohio State vs. Siena (Dayton, 9:40pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
• Michigan State vs. Robert Morris (Minneapolis, 9:50pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
• Florida State vs. Wisconsin (Boise, 9:55)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel

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Selection Show Running Diary II

Selection Sunday is finally here! Today's events will set into motion all of the games, upsets, and gambling ramifications which will take place over the next three weeks. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has been sequestered in Indianapolis all week debating the merits of various at-large teams while doing copious amounts of cocaine. With Pitt on the verge of getting a #1 seed for the first time EVER...and Robert Morris earning their first trip to the Big Dance since 1992, I just had to keep a running diary of what took place during the Selection Show. How else could one truly "Conquer The 2009 NCAA Tournament"? I'm hoping the CBS studio team will provide a lot of unintentional comedy, not to mention the fact that they will give about 35 teams "a chance" after seeing the brackets.

6:00 pm - CBS throws out a studio team of Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, and Seth Davis. Thanks to this blog, Billy Packer is no longer a part of March Madness! High-fives all around people! Nice work. Clark Kellogg leaves his in-studio seat to join Jim Nantz on CBS's number one announcing team. Greg Anthony comes off the bench to replace Kellogg. I'm glad Packer is long gone, but I'm going to miss Kellogg choosing 11 teams to reach the Final Four during the Selection Show.

6:00 pm - Louisville is the overall number one seed! I'm not sure what this means for Pitt and UNC, other than they'll both be number one seeds. Greg Anthony is dressed to impress. Seth Davis' suit is showing up green on my television. Is this intentional or do I just have a bad TV?

6:02 pm - Pittsburgh is the #1 seed in the East region! First #1 seed ever in the history of the program! I'm so proud right now! UNC will be the #1 seed in the South...and UConn will be the #1 seed in the West. Three Big East teams and North Carolina. Memphis didn't make it as a number one seed...this is the correct decision. The ONLY thing that sucks about this whole thing...Pitt cannot face UNC in the title game...if they win out...they would meet in the final four. This blog has been setting up a Pitt vs. UNC NCAA Tournament game forever...hopefully we'll still get it. That game would be insane. The world might explode.

6:05 pm - Hey...we're getting Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg talking to us about the number one seeds. Kellogg has glasses on and a CBS sports logo on his suit coat. He's really moving up the ladder at CBS. They just talked for 60 seconds and didn't say anything. I sill love Nantz though. Ladies and gentlemen...again...please take a bow...no more Billy Packer!!!

6:08 pm - By the way...blog favorite Gus Johnson will be paired with Len Elmore again this year. I'll have the announcers for the games up here in the next day or two.

6:09 pm - The Midwest region is slowly announced. This is Louisville's region. Lewis Jackson's Alabama State team is playing in the play-in game...what a freaking farce!!! That team is solid! Already...the selection committee is full of crap. Siena getting a #9 seed, decent. That's a quality pick. Arizona is in! Uh oh...Creigton might be out...this isn't good. The Wildcats will be facing Utah in the first round. Did you know that Utah has a top 15 RPI? Wake Forest #4...they will be playing Cleveland State. I'm still hurting from that Horizon League bet with Phil. Butler should have won it all. ROBERT MORRIS is the 15 seed!!! They get to play #2 Michigan State in the first round...that is a TOTALLY winable game! I'm so excited! That's the exact #2 seed I wanted the Colonials to get! Great times. North Dakota state (#14) is a great first round upset pick as they will be playing #3 Kansas. First time ever for ND St. in the tournament. Geez...(#11) Dayton against (#6) West Virginia in the first round. I really like WVU coming out of the bottom half of this bracket. Whew! Lots of notable teams (and notable seeds) in that region. Things are looking good for Robert Morris. Wake Forest vs. Louisville would be a nice game. I really like West Virginia and Lousiville based on first impressions.

6:17 pm - The West Region is slowly announced. This is UConn's region. #8 BYU vs. #9 Texas A&M...not too exciting. I already like UConn to the Sweet Sixteen. Very high for Texas A&M. Purdue (#5) draws Northern Iowa as the potential twelve seed upset pick. You DON'T mess with teams from Iowa in March! Washington is the #4 seed and will play the Cinderella Mississippi State team who won the SEC about 3 hours ago. Memphis will be the #2 seed in this region. No real surprise here, it means that Memphis is the "highest" number 2 seed. 7/10 game is Cal against Maryland. Bubble, Bubble, Bubble. Time is ticking on my Creighton Bluejays. #3 seed is Missouri...they just won the Big 12 tournament and will play Cornell form the Ivy League. Marquette is a #6 seed?!? Wow...best #6 ever? Maybe not without Dominic James. They play Utah State in the first round, a team that went 30-4 on the season. This region wasn't as "sexy" as the Midwest. I'd like Missouri if they were going against any other #2 seed. As it is...things look pretty good for UConn and Memphis here.

6:25 pm - The East region is slowly announced. This is Pitt's region. It's SO nice to finally see Pitt as a #1 seed. CBS cuts to a shot of the Pitt team watching the Selection Show and they seem very underwhelmed. I like it. This team is focused. They know what's important. Pitt will play the winner of Oklahoma St./Tennessee. #5 seed is Florida State and Wisconsin is the #12? Xavier is #4 and will play Portland State, who made the tournament for the second year in a row. Pitt already played Florida State this year...it could happen again. Binghamton is the #15 seed and gets Duke in the first round. How early will Duke lose this year? Texas and Minnesota is the 7/10 game. Villanova is the #3 seed in this region. The Wildcats are shown on TV and are much more excited than Pitt was. They get American from the Patriot League in the first round in what amounts to a home game in Philadelphia. Eric Maynor and VCU gets the #11 seed and will be EVERYONE's upset pick against UCLA in the first round. Greg Anthony just said that Pitt has the easiest draw of anyone so far...he says that they are experienced and well rested. I'm liking him taking over for Kellogg. Seth Davis just made some reference to Pitt reaching the Final Four. It's damn good to be a #1 seed. The picks from this region have to be Pittsburgh and Villanova. Geez...I'm just picking Big East teams so far. At least I admit I'm a homer. Go Pitt!!!

6:33 pm - The South region is slowly announced. This is North Carolina's region. The possibility of a Pitt/UNC Final Four game makes me giddy. UNC plays Radford in the first round. That game might end 140-102. LSU plays Butler in the 8/9 game...that's actually an interesting game. Go Butler! It's time for redemption after that Cleveland State loss! Oh boy...Illinois is the #5 and Western Kentucky is the #12, that has upset written all over it! Western Kentucky won as a #12 seed last year when they beat Drake. Gonzaga is the 4 seed and get Akron. I have no idea how Akron is as good as a #13 seed. Gonzaga is going to roll! Oklahoma is the #2 in this region. They lost their #1 in the final few weeks, but should be fine. Shit...Michigan is in this thing?!? Ug. What a load of crap. They will play Clemson, who are the #7 seed. Eric Devendorf and Syracuse get the 3 seed here. Will their Big East run be the death of them? They do draw the always dangerous Stephen F. Austin squad in the first round. Arizona State/Temple are the final two teams announced. A North Carolina/Oklahoma Elite Eight game is very compelling. It's hard not to go with anyone but UNC here, as long as Mega Star Ty Lawson is healthy.

No Creighton, no Saint Mary's, No Penn State. No San Diego State. Only 4 non-power conference teams got at-large bids, the fewest amount in a long time. Are Arizona and Wisconsin really deserving? I doubt it. Southern Cal and Miss. St. really screwed some teams over the past 24 hours. I still think the last team in and the first team out should play in the play-in game. This year...it would have been Arizona against San Diego State or Saint Mary's. How many people would watch that game Tuesday night? The answer is...everyone. Such a good idea.

6:38 pm - Seth Davis just said that he thinks Pittsburgh is the best team in the country. Seth Davis just became my favorite broadcaster.

6:43 pm - Nantz and Kellogg are talking again, but not really saying anything. I'm sad that we won't be able to enjoy Davidson, Notre Dame, or Holy Cross in this year's tournament. The blog was truly robbed of some good trash talk because of this.

6:45 pm - Greg Gumbel just made fun of Clark Kellogg for picking all four number one seeds to advance to the Final Four every year. Nicely done Greg. I made fun of Kellogg in last year's Selection Show running diary for choosing all four #1s. Unfortunately, he happened to be right. I don't see that happening this year. Pitt and UNC are basically locks though.

6:48 pm - The March Madness On Demand option on the CBS website is one of the greatest inventions in the history of the universe. Greg's Final Four picks - (#1) Louisville, (#2) Memphis, (#1) Pitt, (#1) North Carolina. His picks are essentially this year's control bracket. Although if this is the actual Final Four...I'll be VERY excited! Seth's Final Four picks - (#4) Wake Forest, (#2) Memphis, (#1) Pitt, (#1) North Carolina. It's all about Pitt, North Carolina, the Big East and the ACC this year. Gotta love it. Greg's sleeper teams - USC, Miss. State. Villanova, and Gonzaga. Seth's sleeper teams - WVU, Washington, VCU, and Clemson. That VCU team is going to be everyone's pick. Gonzaga actually has a decent draw.

6:55 pm - Bunch of yapping with an old white guy about seeding. Enough of this crap! It's time to join pools and fill out brackets! The play-in game tips off in a mere 48 hours! I'm gonna say it...Greg Anthony is an upgrade over Clark Kellogg in the studio. Pitt is a number one seed. Robert Morris is finally in the NCAA Tournament and has a great draw. March Madness is truly kicking it into high gear.

Apparently The Amazing Race and Cold Case are on CBS tonight! Perhaps I'll be keeping a running diary of those shows. Maybe not.

Have fun filling our your brackets folks. Let's rock and roll.

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Duke at North Carolina Running Diary (for a half)

(Anna Lou...UNC Class of 2030, not Holy Cross)

Due to circumstances beyond my control (my car is a joke and needed to be taken in immediately), I could not keep a running diary of the entire Duke vs. UNC game. So instead...I'm coming at you with great alacrity for the second half! Did you know these two schools are separated by only 8 miles? Fascinating! Seriously, this should be a great one. Duke leads the Tar Heels 39-38...and that's only because mega-star UNC guard Ty Lawson clanked the front end of a one-and-one right before the half ended. I have a few questions that will hopefully be answered in the second half: How many times will the announcers reference the game two years ago when Gerald Henderson broke Tyler Hansbrough's nose? Will Duke ever flirt with a whiteout...having 3 or possibly 4 white players on the floor at one time? What will the dynamic be between Chaz and Liz during this game as Liz cheers and screams the Tar Heels onto victory as Chaz listens to Holy Cross play Colgate on the internet? Will the winner have the inside track on a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? Let's see what happens...

16:57 remaining - UNC 43, Duke 41 - Danny Green makes a three-pointer to give UNC the lead again. This is followed by a missed three-pointer by Kyle Singler of Duke...which leads to a nifty pull up jumper by mega star Ty Lawson to cap a 7-0 run by North Carolina. This forces Coach K to take a timeout and the crowd to go nuts.

15:40 remaining - UNC 45, Duke 44 - Anna Lou (pictured above) has already experienced her first UNC/Duke game with last month's 101-87 North Carolina victory. But this is her first UNC/Duke HOME game. This must provide some good karma for Tar Heel Nation.

14:58 remaining - UNC 46, Duke 44 - Hansbrough commits his second foul in about 10 seconds, hacking Gerald Henderson as he drove to the hoop. This gives the white Tyler three fouls for the game. I'm just waiting for Hansbrough to say, "nobody makes me bleed my own blood" with regard to Henderson in the post game press conference.

14:12 remaining - UNC 48, Duke 47 - Mega star Ty Lawson commits a turnover that results in a Duke bucket. What is he trying to do, make me look like an idiot?!? I'm the one pimping the fact that he's more important to UNC's success than Hansbrough! Don't prove me wrong Lawson!

13:18 remaining - UNC 53, Duke 48 - Lil Wayne Ellington makes a three-pointer for UNC, but that's not why I'm writing this entry. Remember in last year's Championship game when Kansas played Memphis and Coach Williams was wearing that Kansas pin? That was freaking weird, huh?

12:12 remaining - UNC 55, Duke 51 - Kyle Singler may look weird, but that kid can shoot. He breaks an ice cold slump by hitting a three. He now has 18 points in the ballgame...hitting 4 of 7 three pointers. He still looks odd, not as odd as Greg Paulus though.

10:57 remaining - UNC 57, Duke 51 - Lawson turns it over again. I look like an idiot. His not-so-good entry pass to Hansbrough was telegraphed, says Clark Kellogg. And damn it, he was right.

9:15 remaining - UNC 59, Duke 55 - If you haven't already seen the HBO Special titled: Battle For Tobacco Road - Duke vs. North Carolina, I recommend it very much. If for no other reason, you should see it for the sequence where Coach K and Dean Smith are yelling back and forth during a game...which results in Coack K screaming, "FUCK YOU DEAN!" Very good stuff. Not to mention that HBO's sports productions are always of the highest quality.

8:03 remaining - UNC 61, Duke 55 - Danny Green makes a nice pull up jumper after a Duke turnover. Carolina is shooting 58% for the game and that number has to be even higher for the second half. Another thing I have on my mind...why did Tyler Zeller come back this season? I'm being serious here...can a UNC fan out there explain this to me? What value does he have to the team this season? Couldn't he have taken a red shirt this season and start next year as a very experienced "freshman"? I'm confused. Three Tylers on one team is a lot too.

6:45 remaining - UNC 65, Duke 58 - Hansbrough hits two free throws. Apparently he has some record with regard to free throws. Did UNC senior Mike Copeland really start this game? Liz...I'm looking in your direction to answer this question. If Coach Williams really played a scrub senior and prioritized Senior Day over his regular starting lineup in such a big game...he just gained some huge points in my book. Then again, maybe he didn't start and ESPN's facts are just wrong. If that's the case...i just wasted a lot of time typing this. Copeland's only stats for the game are two fouls against. At least he got to play for UNC.

5:05 remaining - UNC 65, Duke 63 - I missed too much writing that last entry! Announcer Jim Nantz said, "I'm not a bracketologist, but I'd like to be". Henderson leads a fast break down the court for Duke and throws down a dunk to make it a two point game again.

3:09 remaining - UNC 73, Duke 68 - Ridiculous sequence over the last few minutes. UNC got the lead back up to 7...Duke cuts the lead to 2 points (again) on a Jon Scheyer three-pointer...then Danny Green bumps the lead back up to 5 on a three pointer of his own (assist to Ty Lawson!). This is good stuff. ACC basketball has it's moments.

1:59 remaining - UNC 73, Duke 68 (still) - Jim Nantz is ok...but I was just wondering...where is Gus Johnson to call a game of this magnitude?!? Has he ever done a Duke vs. UNC game? How outstanding would he be in this situation?

55.1 remaining - UNC 78, Duke 69 - Lots of stuff happened again, mostly good for UNC. I can start calling Ty Lawson "Mega Star" again. He converted an old-school three point play...followed by two foul shots which pushed the UNC lead to 9. Lawson has 9 assists on the game and is 9 of 10 from the foul line. Clark Kellogg points out that the difference in the second half was that UNC had Ty Lawson, and Duke didn't. Well then.

13.8 remaining - UNC 79, Duke 69 - #50 Tyler Hansbrough fouls out...giving him the opportunity to leave the court on Senior Day to a standing ovation. White Ty finishes the game with 17 points and 8 rebounds. No blood on his nose, face, or jersey. It really does seem like he's been there forever. Love him or hate him, he certainly made his mark on ACC basketball and will be a UNC legend for ages.

Game Over - UNC 79, Duke 71 - The Tar Heels win again. Bring on the bragging rights! Will these teams meet next weekend in the ACC Tournament? Probably. This game didn't seem as chippy as I thought it might be. Maybe that's the style of these particular teams...or maybe that's just how the game played out. I'm glad that Mega Star Ty Lawson redeemed himself and made me look quasi-smart. I will say that I'm looking forward to watching more ACC games. It seems that this league (at the top) is the only Conference that can rival the intensity and skill of the Big East. However...it's hard to think that any rivalry can top this one. It's the Battle for Tobacco Road after all. Speaking of which...it's time for a smoke. Be well.

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