Tom Izzo & Shaka Smart Guest AnalystsESPN will provide extensive NCAA Men’s Final Four analysis, news and interviews from Atlanta, site of the championship, across multiple shows and platforms Thursday, April 4, to Monday, April 8. Shows and segments will originate from the Central Park area of the Atlantic Station shopping center with reports coming from the Georgia Dome, site of the Final Four games.
Content from Atlanta will be highlighted by daily SportsCenter segments Thursday, April 4, to Monday, April 8; a three-hour College GameDay Covered by State Farm before the semifinals on ESPN (Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. ET) and a two-hour edition prior to the championship on ESPN2 (Monday, April 8, at 7 p.m.); and a SportsCenter special between the semifinal games Saturday, April 8, at 8 p.m. ESPN will also provide extensive post-game coverage for the semifinals and title game.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart will join the set to provide analysis across various ESPN shows from Atlanta on Saturday.
ESPN will have at least 12 hosts, analysts and reporters in Atlanta for the five days of coverage: John Anderson, Jay Bilas, Rece Davis, Jeannine Edwards, Seth Greenberg, Andy Katz, Bob Knight, Brad Nessler, Digger Phelps, Jalen Rose, Dick Vitale and Jay Williams.
SportsCenter
ESPN’s men’s college basketball studio host Rece Davis and SportsCenter anchor John Anderson will share hosting duties. Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps, Seth Greenberg, Jay Williams, Bob Knight and Jalen Rose will provide analysis. ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz and reporter Jeannine Edwards will provide news and updates from Atlanta.
College GameDay
ESPN will televise two day-of-game editions of College GameDay: a three-hour show Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. previewing the National Semifinal matchups and a two-hour Championship preview Monday, April 8, at 7 p.m. Davis and Anderson will host the programs with analysis from Vitale, Bilas, Phelps, Greenberg, Knight and Williams. Katz and Edwards will provide reports.
Saturday’s show will include a feature on the 75th anniversary of the NCAA Tournament. The segment will provide an oral history of the still-growing phenomenon from former players and coaches such as Bob Knight, Bo Kimble and Harry Flournoy. The Monday edition of College GameDay will include a segment on buzzer beater shots. As dramatic as the shot can be, it is often a set play that has been designed, diagrammed and practiced. The feature includes appearances by Jim Calhoun, Homer and Bruce Drew, Tyus Edney, Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Dereck Whittenberg and Thurl Bailey.
ESPNU
ESPNU will provide extensive coverage as part of its Tournament Countdown programming on Monday, April 8:
- A Tournament Countdown: The Experts show at 1 p.m. will include a panel of ESPN analysts reviewing the National Semifinals and previewing the National Championship. Panelists include Katz, Williams, Greenberg and Rose.
- A special Tournament Countdown: Katz Korner will air live from Atlanta at 3 p.m.
- Back-to-back 30-minute editions of Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship will highlight the journey of the teams to the National Championship at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
- A special two-hour Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live will air at 5 p.m.
ESPN.com and ESPN Mobile
ESPN.com will have complete Final Four coverage from its lineup of experts and analysts, including Eamonn Brennan, Andy Katz, Myron Medcalf, Dana O’Neil, and Robbi Pickeral. ESPN Mobile will also carry coverage from writers and analysts, keeping fans up to date on the latest news and highlights on mobile devices via a special section on ESPN mobile Web. Fans can sign up for ESPN Alerts to receive real-time information on the game (scores, starts, etc.), breaking news and more. Additionally, fans won’t be far from checking the latest news and their brackets while on the go with the 2013 updated ESPNBracket Boundfree app available in the App Store and Android Market.
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ESPN College Basketball Analysts Predict Men’s Final Four Winners
As the 2012-13 men’s college basketball season comes to a close this weekend, 10 ESPN college basketball analysts weighed in with their picks for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinal and championship game winners. Highlights:
All 10 analysts picked Louisville to defeat Wichita State:
Seth Greenberg: “Louisville attacks relentlessly on both sides of the ball. Russ Smith and Peyton Siva attack you both offensively and defensively. Ball pressure combined with Gorgui Dieng’s ability to protect the rim make Louisville’s defense special.”
Malcolm Huckaby: “With Russ Smith and Peyton Siva, Louisville has two of the best guards in the tournament on defense and offensively they are lethal in open court and pick-and-roll situations. To beat Louisville you must have four strong ball handlers on the court and guards who can match the foot speed of Louisville back court.”
Stephen Bardo: “It will be closer than many think but the Cards will prevail in this one. The speed, size and athleticism of Louisville will prove to be too much for the Shockers to overcome.”
Jimmy Dykes: “Louisville is the best team remaining of the four. They can win hard games without playing well on offense and very few teams have that ability. Louisville is unique in that they are outstanding in zone defense, man defense, and changing between the two within a possession. No team does all three better than Louisville.”
Six of the 10 analysts predicted Michigan would beat Syracuse. Here’s thoughts from two who chose Michigan
Fran Fraschilla: “This game features great defense vs. great offense. Syracuse’s 2-3 zone is like a knuckleball pitcher. You may hit him in one outing but the next game it totally baffles you. Figuring it out game to game is difficult. Michigan ran a great zone offense against Syracuse in the 2010 Legends Classic, but didn’t have the right personnel to execute the shots. They have the personnel to attack the Syracuse’s zone this year, but it comes down to if the ball goes in the basket.”
Jimmy Dykes: “To beat Syracuse, you must be good in three key areas: making threes, penetrating gaps and offensive glass. Michigan is good in all three. Michigan has the speed to beat the Syracuse zone before it gets set, off of defensive boards and turnovers. Michigan has shot over 50 percent vs. the zone so far this season due to the shooting ability of Nik Stauskas, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke. Mitch McGary can run and get put-back points as well as any big guy left in the tournament.”
Seth Greenberg, Jay Bilas, Bruce Pearl and Malcolm Huckaby picked Syracuse to win the game:
Seth Greenberg: “The Orange Zone swallows up little guards. Syracuse’s half-court offense will keep Michigan out of transition.”
Malcolm Huckaby: “Syracuse will slow down Michigan’s defense with its zone and force them into contested three-point shots. I don’t see Syracuse giving Nik Stauskas the open looks. Syracuse’s guards are long and do a great job keeping opposing guards out of the paint and creating turnovers or contested shots, which is what you need to be able to do against Michigan and Trey Burke.”
Nine of the 10 analysts predicted Louisville would cut down the nets with Sean Farnham selecting Michigan:
Dick Vitale: “I picked Louisville to win it all before the season started and I see no reason to change my mind now.”
Sean Farnham: “Trey Burke is as an elite point guard as there is in the college game and the emergence of Mitch McGary has added a missing inside presence to the Wolverines’ attack. Defenses have to at least step to him which allows just a little more space for the perimeter shooters on the outside.”
Seth Greenberg: “Louisville has dominated every opponent in the tournament and their defense will contain the backcourt of Syracuse in this game. Rick Pitino understands how to probe the Syracuse zone. Russ Smith is impossible to contain off the bounce in half court and transition while Dieng anchors the back of the press and matchup zone.”
ESPN Analysts National Semifinal and Championship Game Picks
| Analyst | Wichita State vs. Louisville | Syracuse vs. Michigan | Championship |
| Dick Vitale | Louisville | Michigan | Louisville |
| Jay Bilas | Louisville | Syracuse | Louisville |
| Fran Fraschilla | Louisville | Michigan | Louisville |
| Jimmy Dykes | Louisville | Michigan | Louisville |
| Seth Greenberg | Louisville | Syracuse | Louisville |
| Dan Dakich | Louisville | Michigan | Louisville |
| Stephen Bardo | Louisville | Michigan | Louisville |
| Bruce Pearl | Louisville | Syracuse | Louisville |
| Sean Farnham | Louisville | Michigan | Michigan |
| Malcolm Huckaby | Louisville | Syracuse | Louisville |
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