On Monday morning, CBS and Turner announced the broadcast crews for the 2019 NCAA Tournament. For those who enjoyed last year’s eight top pairings, I have good news. For those who wanted wholescale changes, I have bad news.
The eight crews that will call the NCAA Tournament are largely unchanged from a year ago. Here they are, via CBS and Turner.
- Jim Nantz / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson*
- Brian Anderson / Chris Webber // Allie LaForce*
- Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Jamie Erdahl*
- Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Dan Bonner // Dana Jacobson*
- Brad Nessler / Steve Lavin / Jim Jackson // Evan Washburn
- Spero Dedes / Len Elmore / Steve Smith // Ros Gold-Onwude
- Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Lisa Byington
- Carter Blackburn / Debbie Antonelli // John Schriffen
The changes to these crews include the following….
- Jim Jackson joins the Brad Nessler/Steve Lavin team.
- Jamie Erdahl is the new courtside reporter for the Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel team, up from the Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas team last year.
- Lisa Byington replaces Erdahl with Catalon and Lappas after spending last year with Brian Anderson and Chris Webber.
- Allie LaForce replaces Byington with Anderson and Webber after spending last year with Eagle and Spanarkel.
And that’s it! Four crews remain completely unchanged (including the #2 and #3 viewer-ranked teams from a year ago), and three crews only played musical chairs with the same three courtside reporters.
It’s also worth noting that CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore will pop up throughout the NCAA Tournament (including on site at the Final Four). The Tuesday First Four games will be called by the Harlan/Miller/Bonner trio, while the Wednesday First Four games will be called by the threesome of Dedes, Smith, and Jackson.
