Blue Bloods in the Bayou: ESPN to have Extensive Coverage of the Men’s Final Four in New Orleans

College Basketball - Men's

Blue Bloods in the Bayou: ESPN to have Extensive Coverage of the Men’s Final Four in New Orleans

  • College Game Day Covered by State Farm to provide exclusive insights and access throughout the weekend
  • Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class to be unveiled exclusively on ESPN2 Saturday
  • Live reports from Jay Bilas, Kris Budden and Sean Farnham
  • ESPN International will televise the semifinals and championship game to fans in 189 countries and territories

ESPN will be live from the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship Final Four in New Orleans, with coverage across a number of shows throughout the weekend. The College GameDay crew – host Rece Davis and analysts Jay Bilas, LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg – along with reporters Kris Budden and Sean Farnham will be providing insight and analysis leading up to and following the semifinals and championship game.

Analysts and reporters will contribute to SportsCenterPTIGet Up!First Take and other shows and platforms from the Big Easy.

Saturday’s national semifinals feature No. 1 seed Kansas, No. 2 seeds Duke and Villanova and No. 8 seed North Carolina which combine for 61 Final Four appearances and 17 NCAA Championships. ESPN will have expansive coverage previewing the Jayhawks – Wildcats and Blue Devils – Tar Heels matchups ahead of tip off from the Caesars Superdome.

Bilas will be joined by Sean Farnham and Kris Budden with on-site coverage that began on Wednesday. Final Four access begins on Friday will live coverage of the Villanova and Kansas practices during SportsCenter (noon ET, ESPN).

College GameDay Covered by State Farm

Final Four coverage will continue Saturday with a four-hour long special of College GameDay Covered by State Farm beginning at 2 p.m. on ESPN. Davis, Ellis and Greenberg will be live from the Bristol studio with Bilas, Farnham and Budden joining from New Orleans. The team will host exclusive interviews with players and will have live look-ins at the Women’s Final Four practices as the final two teams prepare for the national championship game. Carolyn Peck, Nikki Fargas, Monica McNutt and host Elle Duncan will contribute from Minneapolis. College GameDay will be live courtside from the Superdome Monday beginning at 7 p.m. on ESPN previewing national championship game. ESPN will also have live postgame coverage following the game.

Additional GameDay Highlights

  • Hubert Davis Conversation: North Carolina’s first-year head coach sits down with Rece Davis to talk about how UNC was able to come together for a Final Four run.
  • Duke’s Evolution: Since losing to North Carolina in Coach K’s home finale, Duke’s players have stepped up and ‘crossed the bridge’ as Coach K puts it. Marty Smith details what it means for this Duke team to be peaking at the right time, and how it has been able to do it.
  • Jay Wright Conversation: Seth Greenberg talks with Villanova’s coach who has made Final Four appearances a regular occurrence, and why this one might be his best – and toughest – job yet.
  • Remy Martin: Martin and his teammates reflect on how he struggled through injuries during the season but has stepped up to be one of the most important players on the team in the NCAA Tournament.
  • State of the State: Ahead of possibly the biggest, most impactful UNC-Duke game in the history of the rivalry, fans from all over the state of North Carolina discuss one of the most stressful sports week in the state’s history.
  • Memorable Superdome Final Four moments and much more.

Hall of Fame Class Announcement

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class Announcement will air Saturday, April 2 (noon ET, ESPN2), with an exclusive reveal of the 2022 Hall of Fame class. The one-hour presentation will be hosted by Rece Davis, Jay Bilas and Rebecca Lobo with select members of this year’s class and special guests joining the show.

International Feeds

ESPN International will televise the semifinals and championship game to fans in 189 countries and territories across 16 networks outside the United States:

  • Brian Custer (play by play) and Jay Bilas (analyst) will be courtside on the call for the national semifinals and title game.
  • Coverage in Latin America (Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America), the Caribbean, Africa, the Netherlands, 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, Africa and Asia.
  • ESPN broadband services around the world – under the ESPN Player, WatchESPN ESPN Play and Star+ brands – are also providing live and on-demand coverage of the tournament in more than 170 countries in the Europe, Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

ACC Network Surrounds Historic Duke-North Carolina NCAA Final Four Matchup with Live Studio Presence in NOLA

ACC Network be live from New Orleans with dedicated coverage of Duke and North Carolina in the Final Four beginning Thursday with its signature studio shows Nothing But Net and Packer and Durham originating from Jackson Square. Nothing But Net host Kelsey Riggs will be joined by analysts Joel Berry II, Carlos Boozer and Luke Hancock, while Jordan Cornette, Dalen Cuff and Katie George will also contribute to coverage. Mark Packer and Wes Durham will cover all of the Final Four storylines on Packer and Durham on Friday, April 1 (8-11 a.m.) and Monday, April 4 (7-10 a.m.). More details

ESPN.com

Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf and Pete Thamel will provide on-site coverage of the Final Four in New Orleans, providing news and features surrounding the event along with contributors Jay Bilas and John Gasaway. Borzello’s ultra-popular Way-Too-Early Top 25, looking ahead to the 2022-23 season, will publish as soon as the final buzzer sounds at the Caesars Superdome.

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