“Five W’s” of ESPN’s Extensive Game and Studio Coverage
ESPN’s 2013-14 men’s college basketball telecasts – more than 1,500 games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3 – will showcase a deep roster of experienced commentators. Below are the five “W’s” of ESPN’s commentator lineup:
What: ESPN will provide fans with live coverage of at least one game every day but three from November 8 to March 16 (December 24 and 26, and January 3). The wealth of experience covering games on ESPN networks include former Division I coaches and NBA, WNBA and collegiate players, along with versatile and veteran play-by-play voices.
Who:
- Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Vitale enters his 35th season calling games for ESPN and will be paired with Dan Shulman. During conference play, Vitale, Shulman and reporter Shannon Spake will work the Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV game that host’s that day’s College GameDay Driven by State Farm.
- Jay Bilas will work his 19th college basketball season for the network and continues to be a fixture on ESPN’s Big Monday ACC package with play-by-play veteran Sean McDonough. Reporter Jeannine Edwards will join the duo this season. The trio of Brent Musburger, Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe return to work the second half of the Big Monday doubleheader featuring Big 12 programs.
- The ESPNU ACC Sunday Night Basketball series will again be called by Carter Blackburn, Jay Williams and Allison Williams. Additional ACC games will be covered by Dave O’Brien and Doris Burke (Saturday) as well as Bob Wischusen and LaPhonso Ellis (Wednesday).
- Mike Tirico, one of ESPN’s most versatile commentators and the voice of Monday Night Football, pairs again with analyst Dan Dakich and reporter Samantha Ponder for the weekly Big Ten Super Tuesday game. Dakich will also call a Saturday Big Ten contest with Wischusen.
- The duo of Joe Tessitore and Sean Farnham will again work the Big Ten Thursday Night Showcase game.
- The SEC weekly telecast, part of ESPN’s Super Tuesday series, will see the return of Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes and Spake to the booth. Dykes and Mark Jones will return to call the Saturday SEC window, while Rece Davis and Bob Knight will pair up for the Thursday SEC telecast.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton will again have the call of Pac-12 games on Wednesday and Thursday nights with Dave Pasch.
- Several analysts return to ESPN and ESPN’s studio coverage – with a consistent presence from Seth Greenberg, Andy Katz, Bruce Pearl and Jay Williams.
- For the 10th year, Davis will serve as host for College GameDay. He will be joined by Bilas, Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose to preview all the day’s action and discuss the biggest storylines in college basketball.
Where: Announcers across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3 will call games at arenas involving 276 teams from 31 Division I conferences.
When: Non-conference coverage gets underway with more than 375 contests beginning Friday, Nov. 8, with a full slate of games including the Armed Forces Classic pitting Oregon vs. Georgetown from United States Army Garrison Humphreys in South Korea at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Commentators can also be seen during ESPN’s popular weekly series’ beginning in January – Big Monday, Super Tuesday, Wednesday Night Hoops, Thursday Night Showcase Presented by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, College GameDay Covered by State Farm, Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV and ESPNU ACC Sunday Night Basketball – plus a full slate of games throughout the season.
Why: “Our goal is to give fans the best seat in the house by ‘bringing the viewer to the venue’ through comprehensive coverage that is accurate, innovative, unique and memorable,” said Jay Levy, ESPN senior coordinating producer. “Our production crews and announcers have a passion for college basketball that is matched by their overall knowledge of the game and credibility in the sport.”
Game Coverage
Big Monday
| Network | Conference | Play-by-play | Analyst | Reporter |
| ESPN | ACC | Sean McDonough | Jay Bilas | Jeannine Edwards |
| ESPN | Big 12 | Brent Musburger | Fran Fraschilla | Holly Rowe |
Super Tuesday
| Network | Conference | Play-by-play | Analyst | Reporter |
| ESPN | Big Ten | Mike Tirico | Dan Dakich | Samantha Ponder |
| ESPN | SEC | Brad Nessler | Jimmy Dykes | Shannon Spake |
| ESPN2 | Big 12 | Dave Flemming | Miles Simon | |
| ESPNU | ACC | Tom Hart | Len Elmore | |
| ESPNU | SEC | Joe Davis | Dino Gaudio |
Wednesday Night Hoops
| Network | Conference | Play-by-play | Analyst |
| ESPN2 | ACC | Bob Wischusen | LaPhonso Ellis |
| ESPN2 | Pac-12 | Dave Pasch | Bill Walton |
| ESPNU | American | Jason Benetti | Tim Welsh |
| ESPNU | Big 12 | Clay Matvick | Darrin Horn |
| ESPNU | Pac-12 | Beth Mowins | Jon Crispin |
Thursday Night Showcase Presented by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
| Network | Conference | Play-by-play | Analyst |
| ESPN or ESPN2 | Big Ten | Joe Tessitore | Sean Farnham |
| ESPN or ESPN2 | SEC | Rece Davis | Bob Knight |
| ESPN or ESPN2 | Pac-12 | Dave Pasch | Bill Walton |
| ESPN or ESPN2 | American | Mike Patrick/Dave O’Brien | Various analysts |
| ESPNU | West Coast | Roxy Bernstein | Jarron Collins/Corey Williams |
Friday
| Network | Conference | Play-by-play | Analyst |
| ESPNU | MAAC | Doug Sherman | Tim McCormick |
| ESPNU | Horizon | Jim Barbar | Malcolm Huckaby |
Saturday
| Network | Conference | Play-by-play | Analyst | Reporters |
| ESPN | Saturday Primetime | Dan Shulman | Dick Vitale | Shannon Spake |
| ESPN | Big Ten | Bob Wischusen | Dan Dakich | |
| ESPN | Big 12 | Jon Sciambi | Fran Fraschilla | |
| ESPN | ACC | Dave O’Brien | Doris Burke | |
| ESPN | SEC | Mark Jones | Jimmy Dykes | |
| ESPN/ESPN2 | American | Mike Patrick | Len Elmore | |
| ESPN2 | Atlantic 10 | TBD | TBD | |
| ESPN2 | West Coast | Beth Mowins | Kara Lawson | |
| ESPN2 | MVC | Rich Hollenberg | Mark Adams | |
| ESPNU | American | Adam Amin | Brooke Weisbrod | |
| ESPNU | SEC | Tom Hart | Jon Sundvold | |
| ESPNU | Big 12 | Anish Shroff | Tim Welsh |
Sunday
| Network | Conference | Play-by-play | Analyst | Reporter |
| ESPNU | ACC | Carter Blackburn | Jay Williams | Allison Williams |
| ESPNU | Pac-12 | Roxy Bernstein | Corey Williams |
ESPN Regional Television (ERT)
In addition, ESPN Regional Television will produce and syndicate games from the SEC and Big 12:
| SEC TV | Play-by-Play | Analysts |
| Wednesday and Saturday | Dave Baker, Dave Lamont, Clay Matvick, Mike Morgan or Dave Neal | Barry Booker, Joe Dean, Daymeon Fishback, Kyle Macy or Jon Sundvold |
| Big 12 Network | Play-by-Play | Analysts |
| Saturday and select weekdays | Dave Armstrong, Doug Bell, Mitch Holthus or Brad Sham | Reid Gettys, Stephen Howard, Bryndon Manzer or Chris Piper |
Studio Coverage
In additional to Greenberg, Katz, Pearl and Williams, Dan Dakich, Jimmy Dykes, Laphonso Ellis, Sean Farnham, Fran Fraschilla, Kara Lawson and Miles Simon will all see time during ESPN and ESPN2 telecasts from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios.
ESPNU will rotate its studio coverage between analysts Dino Gaudio and Adrian Branch, along with hosts Dari Nowkhah, Matt Schick and Anish Shroff.
Hosts Zubin Mehenti and Chris Hassel will rotate in with analyst Tim McCormick (Saturday) and reporter Jeff Goodman (Wednesday) to anchor the ESPN Buzzer Beater network – which offers live cut-ins and highlights from numerous top college basketball games Saturdays from noon ET to 11 p.m. and Wednesdays from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., beginning Wednesday, Jan. 8.
College GameDay Driven by State Farm
The 10th season of ESPN’s College GameDay Driven by State Farm, the eight-week Saturday morning and evening college basketball program originating from the site of ESPN’s Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV telecast, will return on Saturday, Jan. 18, with a special split-site show: Temple vs. LaSalle from the historic Palestra in Philadelphia and Louisville at Connecticut from Storrs. The first hour begins at 10 a.m. ET on ESPNU, continuing at 11 a.m. on ESPN with a one-hour evening edition leading into the Saturday Primetime game-of-the-week on ESPN.
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