The 2011 NCAA Tournament begins Tuesday night at 6:40 with the first round-of-four play-in game, but really really begins 24 hours later when CBS March Madness veteran Gus Johnson gets his first crack at the microphone. Every game is scheduled to broadcast on at least one TV channel this year, a step up from last year's already-great coverage that offered every game via NCAA.com. Below you'll see a list of every team opener's TV schedule.
Atlanta's TBS and TNT, plus some outfit called truTV that I'm going to have to wade through the menu to track down, lend CBS their hands in coverage, and like all forward-thinking Americans we're most excited about seeing Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith working on college basketball games.
The Georgia Bulldogs will be one of the very last teams to get their opening game in, scheduled to take on the Washington Huskies at 9:45 on CBS Friday night. And rest easy, nervous systems of Athens; Gus Johnson is not calling that game.
The first ACC team to take their cuts is Clemson in the tourney's second game, while Kentucky starts off the SEC on Thursday afternoon. Clemson could also be the second ACC team, now that you mention it.
Via Sean Keeley, the complete 2011 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round schedule (all times EST):
FIRST ROUND GAMES
TUESDAY, MARCH 15
6:40, truTV, Dayton -- UNC Asheville vs. UALR (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr)
9:10, truTV, Dayton -- UAB vs. Clemson (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16
6:40, truTV, Dayton -- UTSA vs. Alabama St. (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)
9:10, truTV, Dayton -- Southern California vs. VCU (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)
SECOND ROUND GAMES
THURSDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 17 (12:00 Noon-5:00 , ET)
12:15, CBS, Tampa -- West Virginia vs. UAB/Clemson (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)
12:40, truTV, Wash. D.C. -- Butler vs. Old Dominion (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski)
1:40, TBS, Denver--I Louisville vs. Morehead St. (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery)
2:10, TNT, Tucson -- Temple vs. Penn St. (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner)
2:45, CBS, Tampa -- Kentucky vs. Princeton (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)
3:10, truTV, Wash. D.C. -- Pittsburgh vs. Asheville/Ark-LR (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski)
4:10, TBS, Denver -- Vanderbilt vs. Richmond (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery)
4:40, TNT, Tucson -- San Diego St. vs. Northern Colorado (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner)
THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 17 (6:30 -12:00 AM, ET)
6:50, TBS, Tampa -- Florida vs. UC Santa Barbara (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)
7:15, CBS, Denver -- BYU vs. Wofford (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery)
7:20, TNT, Wash D.C. -- Connecticut vs. Bucknell (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski)
7:27, truTV, Tucson -- Wisconsin vs. Belmont (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner)
9:20, TBS, Tampa -- UCLA vs. Michigan St. (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel)
9:45, CBS, Denver -- St. John’s vs. Gonzaga (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery)
9:45, TNT, Wash. D.C. -- Cincinnati vs. Missouri (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski)
9:57, truTV, Tucson -- Kansas St. vs. Utah St. (Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner)
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 18 (12:00 Noon-5:00 , ET)
12:15, CBS, Tulsa -- Texas vs. Oakland (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr)
12:40, truTV, Charlotte -- Michigan vs. Tennessee (Nantz/Kellogg)
1:40, TBS, Chicago -- Notre Dame vs. Akron (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel)
2:10, TNT, Cleveland -- George Mason vs. Villanova (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)
2:45, CBS, Tulsa -- Arizona vs. Memphis (Albert/Kerr)
3:10, truTV, Charlotte -- Duke vs. Hampton (Nantz/Kellogg)
4:10, TBS, Chicago -- Texas A&M vs. Florida St. (Dedes/Wenzel)
4:40, TNT, Cleveland -- Ohio St. vs. UTSA/Alabama St. (Johnson/Elmore)
FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 18 (6:30 -12:00 AM, ET)
6:50, TBS, Tulsa -- Kansas vs. Boston U. (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr)
7:15, CBS, Charlotte -- North Carolina vs. Long Island (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg)
7:20, TNT, Chicago -- Purdue vs. St. Peter’s (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel)
7:27, truTV, Cleveland -- Xavier vs. Marquette (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)
9:20, TBS, Tulsa -- UNLV vs. Illinois (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr)
9:45, CBS, Charlotte -- Washington vs. Georgia (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg)
9:50, TNT, Chicago -- Georgetown vs. Southern California/VCU (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel)
9:57, truTV, Cleveland -- Syracuse vs. Indiana St. (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)