ESPN will be live from the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship Final Four in Minneapolis, with live coverage across a number of shows throughout the weekend. The College GameDay crew – host Rece Davis and analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams – along with Dan Dakich, Sean Farnham and Dick Vitale will be providing insight and analysis leading up to and following the semifinals and championship game. Additionally, reporter Laura Rutledge will cover Auburn and Virginia, while Allison Williams is with Michigan State and Texas Tech.
Analysts and reporters will contribute to SportsCenter, PTI, Get Up!, First Take and other shows and platforms from the Twin Cities.
Hall of Fame Class Announcement
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class Announcement will air Saturday, April 6 (noon ET, ESPN2), as ESPN exclusively reveals the 2019 Hall of Fame class. The one-hour presentation will be hosted by Rece Davis and Jay Bilas, with select members of this year’s class and special guests joining the show.
Saturday’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm will begin at 2 p.m., from ESPN’s set at Nicollet Mall (5th street and Nicollet), with Davis, Bilas, Greenberg and Williams, as well as Dakich, Farnham and Vitale. Guests will include Kentucky head coach John Calipari, Minnesota Vikings quarterback and former Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins, Hall of Famer and college basketball analyst Bill Walton, Villanova head coach Jay Wright, and others.
Monday’s two-hour edition (April 8, 7 p.m. on ESPN2) with Davis, Bilas, Greenberg and Williams, will breakdown the matchup between the final two teams vying for the national championship, and take a look back at the 2018-2019 season
Features include:
- They Caged the Bird – a look back at one of the most important games the sport has ever seen and how in 1979 Michigan State and Magic Johnson were able to slow down Indiana State University’s National Player of the year, Larry Bird
- Prince & Basketball – As Minneapolis becomes the epicenter of men’s college basketball this weekend, a look at the basketball legacy of its most famous celebrity – Musician and artist formerly known as Prince.
- The Last Shot: Buzzer Beaters – The greatest moments in tournament history come at the buzzer
Additionally, Rece Davis will sit down with each of the head coaches competing in the national championship game, with interviews on SportsCenter and College GameDay.
Hoopin’ All Over the World
ESPN International will televise the semifinals and championship game to fans in 180 countries and territories across 26 networks outside the United States:
- Sean McDonough is on play-by-play, alongside Jay Bilas on the second semifinal (Texas Tech vs. Michigan State) and Dick Vitale for the first semifinal (Virginia vs. Auburn) and the championship game.
- Coverage in Latin America (Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America), Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and via TSN in Canada.
- Additionally, worldwide, ESPN Syndication has completed deals to distribute the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship to local television clients reaching tens of millions of homes in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
- ESPN broadband services around the world – under the ESPN Player, WatchESPN and ESPN Play brands – are also providing live and on-demand coverage of some, or all, of the tournament in more than 148 countries in the Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Australia.
- Distributed via Econet/Kwese in sub-Saharan Africa, Sony ESPN in India, Tencent in China and TV5 in the Philippines
SEC Network Surrounds Tigers’ First Final Four Appearance with Live Reporting from Minneapolis and Auburn
SEC Network begins its SEC Now coverage from Minneapolis with Thursday and Friday’s press availabilities featuring Auburn players and coaching staff, including coach and team press conferences. Updates from Dari Nowkhah and Andy Kennedy on site from U.S. Bank Stadium will be highlighted throughout the network’s coverage of both media days. Peter Burns will host the early editions of SEC Now from Charlotte, while Alyssa Lang will take over anchor desk duties for the evening episodes.
On Saturday, a special post-game edition of SEC Now will air at 11:30 p.m. ET after the Tigers take on top-seeded Virginia. Lang will anchor coverage from Charlotte with Nowkhah and Kennedy contributing from Minneapolis. Burns and Daymeon Fishback will report live from Auburn’s Watch Party at Auburn Arena, joining fans on The Plains in feting the Tigers’ first Final Four appearance.
ESPN.com
ESPN.com writers Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello and Courtney Cronin will be on site, providing real-time coverage and analysis throughout Final Four weekend. In addition to game coverage and surrounding events, senior writer Joe Lunardi will provide his first look at Bracketology for 2019-20 on Monday night, along with ESPN.com’s “Way-Too-Early Top 25” for next season.
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