CBS Sports and Turner Sports will provide exclusive coverage of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship from Houston with North Carolina, Oklahoma, Syracuse and Villanova competing for the National Championship. TBS will televise the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals on Saturday, April 2, and National Championship on Monday, April 4.
Saturday’s NCAA Final Four National Semifinals will feature Oklahoma against Villanova at 6:09 p.m. on TBS. North Carolina against Syracuse will follow 40 minutes after the completion of the Oklahoma/Villanova game. Jim Nantz will call the action with analysts Grant Hill and Bill Raftery with reporter Tracy Wolfson. Nantz will be calling his 26th Final Four and National Championship, with Hill and Raftery working the marquee event for the second consecutive year. The 2016 National Championship marks the 25th anniversary of Hill’s first national title with Duke (April 1, 1991, over Kansas in Indianapolis).
Ernie Johnson will host studio coverage from the Final Four and National Championship with analysts Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith – joined by Greg Gumbel and analysts Reggie Miller, Seth Davis, Steve Smith and college coaches.
In addition to TBS’ Final Four game coverage, TNT and truTV will feature Team Stream by Bleacher Report, team-specific presentations tailored to the schools participating in the Final Four National Semifinals, for the third consecutive year, and the National Championship for the first time. The inventive concept will continue to present the game with unprecedented local flavor including comprehensive team and player storylines, music, custom graphics and show packaging, additional cameras and team-centric replays, custom halftimes with school features and more.
Accompanying the live television coverage, NCAA March Madness Live will once again provide live streaming of the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals — including the Team Stream presentations — and the National Championship Game on desktop computers, tablets, mobile phones and most set-top boxes.
Team Stream Commentator Teams:
“Oklahoma Team Stream” on TNT at 6 p.m.
Chad McKee, play-by-play – McKee joined the Sooner Sports TV family in the Spring of 2011 as the play-by-play commentator for Oklahoma baseball and softball. He now serves as the pregame, postgame and weekly press conference host of all Sooner Sports TV football programming. McKee works on nearly every Sooner event from soccer and volleyball to gymnastics and basketball.
Eduardo Najera, analyst – Najera is a former Oklahoma basketball standout that played for the Sooners from 1997-2000 before becoming the second Mexican-born NBA player in league history. Following a 12-year NBA career, he is currently a pre-game and post-game analyst on Mavericks Live for Fox Sports Southwest.
Jessica Coody, reporter – Coody serves as the full-time lead reporter for Sooner Sports TV. Coody covers every sport at the University and contributes special features for each Sooner Sports TV broadcast. Additionally, Coody hosts all Sooner football preseason and Spring game coverage as well as serving as the host of Sooner Playbook and the spring editions of Sooner Sports Talk.
“Villanova Team Stream” on truTV at 6 p.m.
Scott Graham, play-by-play – Graham has spent over 25 years as a radio and television sportscaster including play-by-play for both the NFL and NFL Europe on FOX. On radio, Graham served as play-by-play voice of the Philadelphia Phillies for eight seasons from 1999-2006. He is currently the play-by-play voice for Philadelphia Eagles preseason television games and does play-by-play for Westwood One’s coverage of NCAA college basketball, including the NCAA Tournament, along with the College World Series. Scott has produced the Emmy Award-nominated Inside Villanova Basketball with Jay Wright for the past eight seasons.
Brian Finneran, analyst – A former Villanova football player and 10-year NFL veteran with the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons, Finneran hosts The Front Row, a morning sports radio talk show on 680 The Fan in Atlanta.
Kacie McDonnell, reporter – a Villanova alum, McDonnell is part of the 41 Action News team in Kansas City. Before arriving at KSHB, she spent two years at Fox 29 in Philadelphia, where she reported on the Eagles.
“North Carolina Team Stream” on TNT (following first game)
Wes Durham, play-by-play – Durham is a 10-time NSSA Georgia Sportscaster of the Year, including winning the honor in 2015. For the last three years he has been an ACC basketball, football and baseball announcer for Fox Sports South and has also appeared on telecasts for the ACC Network (Raycom Sports). His father, Woody Durham, was the 40-year radio voice of North Carolina football and basketball (1971-2011).
Brendan Haywood, analyst – A former North Carolina standout, Haywood was the Gatorade North Carolina Basketball Player of the Year and was named to the 1997 McDonald's All-American Team before attending UNC, where he was part of the Tar Heels’ 2000 Final Four team. Following a 15-year NBA career, Haywood is now a college basketball announcer for CBS Sports.
Dwayne Ballen, reporter – an award-winning sportscaster, Ballen has worked for CBS Sports on the NCAA Tournament and college football, the Golf Channel as lead studio anchor, Fox Sports Net as an anchor and host of ACC Sunday Night Hoops, and ESPN including play-by-play for college football and basketball. Ballen recently began doing play-by-play for CBS Sports Network. Ballen was previously a sports anchor at WTVD-TV in Durham.
“Syracuse Team Stream” on truTV (following first game)
Tom Werme, play-by-play – A graduate of Syracuse, Werme is a 20-year broadcast veteran who has worked for the ACC Network, as well as the ACC Digital Network and Raycom Sports. He also appears on ESPN, Fox Sports South and the Big Ten Network as a play-by-play announcer for a variety of sports, including basketball and football.
Roosevelt Bouie, analyst – A former Syracuse standout from 1976-80, Bouie played for current head coach Jim Boeheim and was a First Team All-Big East selection in 1980. His jersey is retired by Syracuse and he went on to play 12 seasons in Italy.
Donovan McNabb, reporter – McNabb was the 1995 Big East Player of the Year for the Syracuse football program, in addition to being a walk-on with the basketball team for two years, including the 1996 team that went to the National Championship. The six-time NFL Pro Bowl quarterback played 13 seasons for Philadelphia, Washington and Minnesota. He then became a broadcaster for NFL Network and Fox Sports.
