The 2014 NCAA Tournament tips off with the play-in games on truTV Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19 (6:00 PM, ET; both days). Firs “round” coverage begins Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21 (12:00 NOON-Midnight; both days) with all games available live in their entirety across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. Additionally, truTV will televise a one-hour pregame show Thursday and Friday at 11:00 AM, ET.
Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner will call Tuesday’s play-in games with reporter Kristine Leahy.
Kevin Harlan will team with analysts Len Elmore and Reggie Miller and reporter Rachel Nichols for Wednesday’s games. Studio coverage originates from Atlanta with Matt Winer hosting alongside analysts Seth Davis, Grant Hill and Steve Smith both days.
Following are the tip times for the play-in games, as well as the commentator assignments for the NCAA Tournament first round games. Tip times for the NCAA Tournament second round games on Saturday will be announced on Thursday after the conclusion of the day’s games. Sunday’s NCAA Tournament tip times will be released after the conclusion of play on Friday.
The Final Four on Saturday, April 5 will be televised on TBS for the first time along with “teamcasts” or team-specific telecasts airing on TNT and truTV. The National Championship Game on Monday, April 7 will air on CBS for the 33rd consecutive year.
Yes, I know the play-in games are called the “First Four” now. And that the first round has been renamed the second round and the actual second round is now called the third round. Yeah I know, so don’t bother pointing it out. However, I will not acquiesce to this idea. Sorry, it’s not a “round” if 64/68 teams automatically get a bye.
Having 12.5% of the teams in action does not constitute “a round,” and it never will.
By the way, the young woman pictured in those first three photos is Jaime Maggio. And below I included a couple of Kristine Leahy. So the table below will tell you which games they’ll be on the sidelines for.
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First Round Games Tuesday, March 18
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Tip (ET)
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Network
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Site
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Game
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Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter Producer/Director |
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6:40 p.m. |
truTV |
Dayton I |
Albany vs. Mount St. Mary’s |
Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner//Kristine Leahy |
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Rodney Vaughn/Chris Svendsen |
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After conc. I |
truTV |
Dayton II |
North Carolina State vs. Xavier |
Anderson/Bonner//Leahy |
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Vaughn/Svendsen |
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First Round Games Wednesday, March 19
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6:40 p.m. |
truTV |
Dayton I |
Cal Poly vs. Texas Southern |
Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller//Rachel Nichols |
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Vaughn/Svendsen |
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After conc. I |
truTV |
Dayton II |
Iowa vs. Tennessee |
Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Nichols |
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Vaughn/Svendsen |
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Thursday Afternoon, March 20 (NOON-6:00 PM, ET)
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Tip (ET)
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Network
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Site
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Game
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Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter Producer/Director |
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12:15 p.m. |
CBS |
Buffalo I |
Ohio State vs. Dayton |
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery//Allie LaForce |
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Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith |
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12:40 p.m. |
truTV |
Milwaukee I |
Wisconsin vs. American |
Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson |
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Ken Mack/Jim Cornell |
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1:40 p.m. |
TBS |
Orlando I |
Colorado vs. Pittsburgh |
Anderson/Bonner//Leahy |
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Jonathan Segal/Renardo Lowe |
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2:10 p.m. |
TNT |
Spokane I |
Cincinnati vs. Harvard |
Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb//Jaime Maggio |
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Ryan Galvin/Mark Grant |
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After conc. I |
CBS |
Buffalo II |
Syracuse vs. Western Michigan |
Lundquist/ Raftery// LaForce |
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Mansbach/Smith |
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After conc. I |
truTV |
Milwaukee II |
Oregon vs. BYU |
Eagle/Spanarkel// Johnson |
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Mack/Cornell |
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After conc. I |
TBS |
Orlando II |
Florida vs. Albany/Mount St. Mary’s |
Anderson/Bonner//Leahy |
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Segal/Renardo Lowe |
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After conc. I |
TNT |
Spokane II |
Michigan State vs. Delaware |
Dedes/Gottlieb//Maggio |
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Galvin/Grant |
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Second Round Games Thursday Evening, March 20 (6:30 PM, ET-Midnight) (Announce Teams Same as Day Games)
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Tip (ET)
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Network
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Site
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Game
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Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter Producer/Director |
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6:55 p.m. |
TBS |
Buffalo III |
Connecticut vs. Saint Joseph’s |
Lundquist/ Raftery// LaForce |
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Mansbach/Smith |
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7:10 p.m. |
CBS |
Milwaukee III |
Michigan vs. Wofford |
Eagle/Spanarkel// Johnson |
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Mack/Cornell |
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7:20 p.m. |
TNT |
Orlando III |
St. Louis vs. N.C. State/Xavier |
Anderson/Bonner//Leahy |
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Segal/Lowe |
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7:27 p.m. |
truTV |
Spokane III |
Oklahoma vs. North Dakota State |
Dedes/Gottlieb//Maggio |
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Galvin/Grant |
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After conc. III |
TBS |
Buffalo IV |
Villanova vs. Milwaukee |
Lundquist/ Raftery// LaForce |
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Mansbach/Smith |
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After conc. III |
CBS |
Milwaukee IV |
Texas vs. Arizona State |
Eagle/Spanarkel// Johnson |
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Mack/Cornell |
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After conc. III |
TNT |
Orlando IV |
Louisville vs. Manhattan |
Anderson/Bonner//Leahy |
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Segal/ Lowe |
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After conc. III |
truTV |
Spokane IV |
San Diego State vs. New Mexico State |
Dedes/Gottlieb//Maggio |
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Galvin/Grant |
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Second Round Games Friday Afternoon, March 21 (NOON-6:00 PM, ET)
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Tip (ET)
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Network
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Site
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Game
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Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter Producer/Director |
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12:15 p.m. |
CBS |
Raleigh I |
Duke vs. Mercer |
Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Nichols |
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Craig Silver/Mike Arnold |
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12:40 p.m. |
truTV |
San Antonio I |
Baylor vs. Nebraska |
Marv Albert/Steve Kerr//Craig Sager |
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Scott Cockerill/Lonnie Dale |
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1:40 p.m. |
TBS |
St. Louis I |
New Mexico vs. Stanford |
Jim Nantz/Greg Anthony//Tracy Wolfson |
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Mark Wolff/Bob Fishman |
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2:10 p.m. |
TNT |
San Diego I |
Arizona vs. Weber State |
Andrew Catalon/Mike Gminski//Otis Livingston |
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Vic Frank/Andy Goldberg |
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After conc. I |
CBS |
Raleigh II |
Massachusetts vs. Iowa/Tennessee |
Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Nichols |
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Silver/Arnold |
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After conc. I |
truTV |
San Antonio II |
Creighton vs. La. Lafayette
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Albert/Kerr//Sager |
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Cockerill/Dale |
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After conc. I |
TBS |
St. Louis II |
Kansas vs. Eastern Kentucky |
Nantz/Anthony//Wolfson |
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Wolff/Fishman |
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After conc. I |
TNT |
San Diego II |
Gonzaga vs. Oklahoma State |
Catalon/Gminski//Livingston |
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Frank/Goldberg |
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Second Round Games Friday Evening, March 21 (6:30 PM, ET-Midnight) (Announce Teams Same as Day Games)
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Tip (ET)
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Network
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Site
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Game
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Play-by-Play/Analyst//Reporter Producer/Director |
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6:55 p.m. |
TBS |
Raleigh III |
Memphis vs. George Washington |
Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Nichols |
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Silver/Arnold |
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7:10 p.m. |
CBS |
St. Louis III |
Wichita State vs. Cal Poly/Texas Southern |
Nantz/Anthony//Wolfson |
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Wolff/Fishman |
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7:20 p.m. |
TNT |
San Antonio III |
North Carolina vs. Providence |
Albert/Kerr//Sager |
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Cockerill/Dale |
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7:27 p.m. |
truTV |
San Diego III |
VCU vs. Stephen F. Austin |
Catalon/Gminski//Livingston |
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Frank/Goldberg |
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After conc. III |
TBS |
Raleigh IV |
Virginia vs. Coastal Carolina |
Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Nichols |
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Silver/Arnold |
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After conc. III |
CBS |
St. Louis IV |
Kentucky vs. Kansas State |
Nantz/Anthony//Wolfson |
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Wolff/Fishman |
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After conc. III |
TNT |
San Antonio IV |
Iowa State vs. N.C. Central |
Albert/Kerr//Sager |
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Cockerill/Dale |
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After conc. III |
truTV |
San Diego IV |
UCLA vs. Tulsa |
Catalon/Gminski//Livingston |
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Frank/Goldberg |
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Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on multiple news talk radio stations. The former NBC Chicago and Washington Times contributor has also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows The Sports Bank on Twitter (@paulmbanks) you should too