March Madness begins next week, and TNT Sports and CBS Sports are fully geared up to provide wall-to-wall coverage of the annual Division One Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. The networks recently announced that Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, and Tracy Wolfson will call this year’s NCAA Men’s Final Four national semifinals on Saturday, April 5, as well as the national championship on Monday, April 7, from San Antonio, TX, on CBS.
Notably, this will be the second year for Eagle on the call for the three-game series, following the legendary Jim Nantz, who stepped down in 2023 after an incredible 32 Final Four broadcasts.
In addition, a new face will join the coverage—former NBA veteran Jalen Rose. Rose will serve as an analyst for the first two rounds and will also contribute as a studio analyst during both the First Four and Final Four. Previously, Rose worked the sidelines for TNT Sports in 2006 and became a fixture on ESPN programming from 2012 to 2023.
Meanwhile, studio programming will once again be a collaboration between TNT Sports and CBS Sports. Ernie Johnson will return as the lead host from the CBS studios in New York City. He will be joined by Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, his longtime colleagues on TNT’s Inside the NBA. Additionally, the trio will be joined by Clark Kellogg, a mainstay college basketball analyst for CBS Sports since 1993.
Over in Atlanta, the TNT Sports studios will also provide extensive pregame coverage. Adam Lefkoe will take the helm as host, working alongside analysts Jay Wright, Candace Parker, and Seth Davis. Furthermore, Adam Zucker will contribute as a host for studio programming from the New York studios, offering insights between game action with analysts Wally Szczerbiak and Jay Wright.
The NCAA Tournament officially tips off next Tuesday, March 18, and continues on Wednesday, March 19, with the First Four broadcasts airing on truTV. Calling the action from Dayton, OH, will be Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, and Jon Rothstein. Then, the highly anticipated field of 64 will begin play at noon next Thursday across all CBS and TNT Sports properties.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
