truTV to Air Reese’s College All-Star Game During Final Four Weekend in Houston

Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller will Join truTV’s Studio Coverage as Guest Analyst on Friday

truTV will air the 2011 Reese’s College All-Star Game on Friday, April 1 during the 2011 MEN’s FINAL FOUR Weekend in Houston.  The night will tip off with Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off at 5 p.m. (ET), featuring Arizona head coach Sean Miller who will join the studio coverage as a guest analyst alongside host Greg Gumbel and analysts Seth Davis and Steve Smith. The Reese’s College All-Star Game will air at 5:30 p.m. (ET), with Dave Ryan calling play-by-play, Greg Anthony providing analysis and Tracy Wolfson serving as the sideline reporter.  The network’s coverage will conclude with Inside March Madness presented by Buick, featuring Gumbel, Davis, Smith and Miller.

The game will feature two teams of the top collegiate senior student-athletes in the country, including Dwight Hardy (St. John’s), Jacob Pullen (Kansas State), Kenneth Faried (Morehead State), Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Tristan Thompson (North Texas), Gary Johnson (Texas), Brad Wanamaker (Pitt) and Gary McGhee (Pitt). The full rosters are below.

REESE’S COLLEGE ALL-STAR GAME SCHEDULE:

DAY/DATE
TIME (ET)	EVENT
Fri., April 1
5 p.m.	Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off
	Greg Gumbel (host), Seth Davis (analyst), Steve Smith (analyst) and Sean Miller (guest analyst)
5:30 p.m.	Reese’s College All-Star Game
	Dave Ryan (play-by-play) and Greg Anthony (analyst) with Tracy Wolfson (reporter)
Post-game	Inside March Madness presented by Buick
	Greg Gumbel (host), Seth Davis (analyst), Steve Smith (analyst) and Sean Miller (guest analyst)

WEST ALL-STARS ROSTER

Name                                                 Pos.         Ht.                 Wt         Hometown/College

Andrew Goudelock                         G              6-2                 210         Stone Mtn., Ga./College of Charleston

Tai Wesley                                       F               6-7                 240         Provo, Utah/Utah State

Kenneth Faried                                F/C           6-8                 228         Newark, N.J./Morehead State

Malcolm Thomas                            F               6-9                 220         San Diego, Calif./San Diego State

Kalin Lucas                                      G              6-1                 195         Detroit, Mich./Michigan State

Tristan Thompson                          G              6-5                 193         Angleton, Texas/North Texas

Alex Stepheson                               F               6-10               250         Los Angeles, Calif./USC

Mickey McConnell                         G              6-0                 190         Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary’s

Cameron Jones                                G              6-4                 185         Los Angeles, Calif./Northern Arizona

Gary Johnson                                  F               6-6                 238         Houston, Texas/Texas

Head Coach: Billy Tubbs    Assistant Coach: Steve McClain

EAST ALL-STARS ROSTER

Name                                                 Pos.         Ht.                 Wt         Hometown/College

Dwight Hardy                                  G              6-2                 196         Bronx, N.Y./St. John’s

Lavoy Allen                                     F               6-9                 225         Morrisville, Pa./Temple

Brad Wanamaker                             G              6-4                 210         Philadelphia, Pa./Pittsburgh

Chris Warren                                   G              5-10               168         Orlando, Fla./Mississippi

Austin Freeman                               G              6-3                 235         Mitchellville, Md./Georgetown

Mike Davis                                       F               6-9                 225         Alexandria, Va./Illinois

Gary McGhee                                   C              6-11               250         Anderson, Ind./Pittsburgh

Jacob Pullen                                     G              6-0                 200         Maywood, Ill./Kansas State

Vlad Moldoveanu                           F               6-9                 215         Bucharest, Romania/American

Jimmy Butler                                    F               6-7                 220         Tomball, Texas/Marquette

Head Coach: Bill Foster                 Assistant Coach: Jeff Jones

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Notes from the First Four on truTV – Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The 2011 Division I Men’s Basketball Championships continues with second-round coverage today, Thursday, March 17, and Friday, March 18 (12:00 NOON-12:00 AM, ET; both days), with all games available live in their entirety across four national television networks: TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

Texas San Antonio (70) vs. Alabama State University (61)

VCU (59) vs. University of Southern California (46)

Studio team: Host Matt Winer Seth Davis and Steve Smith with Indiana University head coach Tom Crean (analysts)

Davis on VCU’s chances to beat Georgetown in the next round of the tournament: “If (VCU) can bring that kind of effort on the defensive end in their next game against Georgetown, I think they’re going to have a pretty good chance to beat the Hoyas. They’ve (Georgetown) played bad basketball. They got embarrassed in the Big East conference tournament. I think they’re running low on confidence. This is a good example of a team (VCU) having an advantage; having played two days before, now they’ve got their rhythm, now they’ve got their confidence, they’re going to give Georgetown all they want.”

Crean on UTSA facing Ohio State and their ‘swag’: “Right now for UTSA they will go from the SWAC (Southwest Athletic Conference) to the ‘swag’ because there is no team in the country that has the swagger that Ohio State has and (forward) Jared Sullinger is the key point for them offensively.”

Smith on the Michigan State vs. UCLA second round match-up: “The x-factor for UCLA is (Forward) Tyler Honeycutt. If you look at him he has a chance; he is long defensively and he can get in the lane. The match up for me is (Center) Joshua Smith versus (Center) Derrick Nix. A lot of weight will be moved around in that game.”

Crean on the Utah State vs. Kansas State second round match-up: “I think the Utah State versus Kansas State game is going to match two of the better offenses when it comes to efficiency. They can score inside and they can score outside, they’re battle tested, and I think people underestimate how good Utah State is. They can beat teams in so many different ways and it will be one of the best games of the day.”

Davis on the Old Dominion vs. Butler second round match-up: “I think either one of these teams can give Pittsburgh a difficult time in the (third) round. I think Old Dominion is a veteran team with (Forward) Frank Cassel on the inside and (Guard) Kent Bazemore next to him. Butler is a team that has found its stride in the middle of January then lost some games but rededicated themselves to defense. Without Gordon Hayward they will not score points like they did last year but defensively they are very good.”

Davis on what Wofford needs to do to challenge BYU: “(Point guard) Cameron Rundles is a great point guard but he has to run the club for Wofford and at the same time your point guard is going to be in charge of getting the team back. He will have a big roll and can’t get worn down in the game. (Forward) Noah Dahlman is also going to have to score and get to the foul line. They have to slow the pace down and make BYU guard for a while on the half court and somehow find out how to get to the free throw line.”

Crean comparing Connecticut guard Kemba Walker and BYU guard Jimmer Fredette: “They (both) play incredibly well in tight spaces. They’ve both got range. They’re excellent three-point shooters. But they get inside of that contact with the spins, the step-throughs, the splitting the pick and roll defense. They are just unique in the sense that it’s like a running back coming through a hole and there’s not much of a hole there. They still find a way to get through it and I think that’s what makes those two special. Again, I don’t know either one of them personally, but it’s hard to think that there are many more guys in college basketball that are as competitive as them and bring such a spirit to their teammates.”

Crean on rebuilding the Indiana Hoosiers: “Next year at this time I hope that I am busy and you can do a live look-in somewhere we are. We’re thinking about recruiting some of the newborn kids sometime in April.”

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Notes from the First Four on truTV – Tuesday, March 15, 2011

truTV’s coverage of the FIRST FOUR will continue tonight at 6 p.m. (ET) with a pre-game show featuring NCAA studio host Matt Winer joined by analysts Steve Smith and Seth Davis followed at 6:30 p.m. (ET) with the University of Texas at San Antonio vs. Alabama State and the University of Southern California vs. Virginia Commonwealth University at 9 p.m. (ET). Gus Johnson (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) will call the game, with Marty Snider reporting. The evening will concludes with a postgame show.

UNC-Asheville vs. University of Arkansas-Little Rock

UAB vs. Clemson

Studio team: Greg Gumbel, Ernie Johnson, Greg Anthony, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis and Kenny Smith

Anthony on the unexpected return of Duke guard Kyrie Irving for the NCAA tournament: “(Duke head coach Mike) Krzyzewski has a bit of a pickle with this situation. We know (Kyle Irving) is a dynamic talent, we know without a doubt that he is the best talent on the team. But the fact is now you’re going to have to work him out. I think it’s more important that he plays this weekend because, let’s face it, in their first round match-up, they should be able to advance. (Playing in the first round) gives him the opportunity to work out the kinks and get a rhythm. This team has redefined itself over the course of the season and has become a number one seed without him as a result of their performance. Let’s face it, Nolan Smith has taken the helm of this basketball team and they’ve played, especially over the ACC tournament, as well as they’ve played all season long even with him. That’s going to be a difficult dynamic in trying to integrate him back into the rotation while not really disrupting the rhythm.”

Anthony on Purdue guard Kelsey Barlow being suspended from the team for the remainder of the season: “(Losing Kelsey Barlow) is like losing two players. He’s (Purdue’s) best perimeter defender, but he also plays three positions offensively at times. He handles the ball, he facilitates for them and he can also be a swing player. He’s not a great shooter, but again, this is a guy that is on the floor for 20 minutes a night for a very good basketball team. That’s a huge loss to not have him for the tournament.”

Barkley on the return of Duke guard Kyrie Irving: “It puts Coach Krzyzewski in an awkward situation. You have to bring him off the bench, that’s not even a question. You don’t know what you’re going to get. They’re on a roll (and) they’re the number one seed, but I wouldn’t play him more than ten minutes a game. He’s coming off the bench and I don’t think you can join the race in the middle.”

Davis on Clemson not having much time before their second round game: “The fact that (Clemson has) to play a noon (ET) game on Thursday, I think it’s wrong.  The NCAA is making the strong statement that these First Four games matter and we’re making a big deal out of them that they are part of the tournament.  To have them turn around within 48 hours…I just don’t think it’s fair.”

Anthony: “I disagree.  To me, it’s irrelevant.  This is an opportunity of a lifetime and this will be the highlight of a lot of these young student-athletes’ careers.  That’s just the way the rules are and if you have a real issue with it, you should play a little bit better during the regular season and then you won’t find yourself in this position.”

Smith on Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen: “I watched (BYU guard) Jimmer Fredette all year, I watched (Connecticut guard) Kemba Walker, but I think (Kansas State guard) Jacob Pullen is a guy who can do the same thing in an NCAA tournament. He could do it for the five games to get you over the hump. He’s an explosive scorer, but he can also take that contact in the lane. I do like him, I do like his chances. (Kansas State) is my Cinderella team and I have them going all the way to the Final Four.”

Barkley on the Arizona Wildcats: “(Arizona) is underrated. They got beat by Washington in the championship game. They’ve had a terrific season. They’ve got the player of the year in Derrick Williams. I think this team is going to get to the Elite Eight or Final Four.”

Barkley on BYU: “BYU plays one of the toughest schedules in the country. If they would have won their conference tournament, I think they would have been a legitimate number one seed. But losing (Brandon) Davies, and I want to wish him the best, really hurt this team. I still think they are going to win a couple games though.”

Smith on using criticism as motivation: “Every team has been motivated by what has been said in the newspaper or in the news. You put that up on the bulletin board. That is bulletin board material. To have that as extra motivation factor is great.”

Barkley on winners from the First Four carrying their momentum forward: “These teams feel a little bit insulted so they’ve got a chip on their shoulder.  That’s going to help them get ready for the next game.  Even though there’s a quick turnaround, an angry team has a good chance.”

Smith on if teams need to play with a chip on your shoulder in the NCAA Tournament: “I think you have to. You look for that motivation and that extra edge.  Your coach can give you a ‘Knute Rockne’ speech and you can be excited but when you hear things about yourself, your teammates and your team, that gives you that extra motivation and that extra adrenaline that you always look for.  It’s an exciting time, but you still need extra (motivation) especially when you’re a high seed.  When you’re a one (seed) playing a 16 (seed) or an eight (seed), sometimes you need that extra, ‘You know what? Wake up; this could be a real game for us.’”

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