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CBS SPORTS' "ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR" HIGHLIGHTED BY BATTLE FOR TOP SPOT IN BIG EAST AND ACC PLUS THE MISSOURI VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP

No. 1 Connecticut Hosts No. 3 Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 7 and

 No. 7 Duke Takes on No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday, March 8 to Highlight Weekend Line-up

  

CBS Sports' ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8   (12:00-6:00 PM, ET; both days) features a battle for both the Big East and ACC regular-season crowns and the conference title in the Missouri Valley.

 

Saturday's live action tips off with a national broadcast as *No. 1-ranked Connecticut takes on *No. 3-ranked Pittsburgh, with Connecticut battling for the top spot in the conference (12:00 NOON, ET). A regional match-up follows between Kentucky and Florida and California against *No. 21-ranked Arizona State (2:00 PM, ET). The day concludes with a Big 12 showdown as Texas plays No. 9-ranked Kansas, as  the Jayhawks look to wrap up the conference (4:00 PM, ET).

 

Sunday's tripleheader tips-off with a regional broadcast as *No. 10-ranked Purdue visits *No. 8-ranked Michigan State and Alabama goes up against Tennessee (12:00 NOON, ET), followed by a national broadcast of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship (2:00 PM, ET). The weekend's action wraps up with national coverage as *No. 7-ranked Duke takes on ACC rival and *No. 2-ranked North Carolina for the regular-season title (4:00 PM, ET).   All contests will be broadcast in high definition.

  

AT THE HALFÒ, CBS Sports' halftime studio show hosted by Greg Gumbel, along with Greg Anthony and Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis, provides all the day's news, scores and highlights live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Eric Mann produces and Bob Matina directs. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

 

(*AP  poll rankings as of 0302/09)

 

Following are the talent and production assignments this weekend's action:

Saturday, March 7 - Tripleheader

12:00-2:00 PM, ET

Connecticut at Pittsburgh                                          Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery          Bob Mansbach/Suzanne Smith

 

2:00-4:00 PM, ET

California at Arizona  State                                       Craig Bolerjack/Jim Spanarkel      Vic Frank/Andy Goldberg

Kentucky at Florida                                                 Ian Eagle/Greg Anthony                Ross Schneidermann/Bryan Lilley

 

4:00-6:00 PM, ET

Texas at Kansas                                                       Tim Brando/Mike Gminski            Ken Mack/Jim Cornell

Saturday, March 8 - Tripleheader

12:00-2:00 PM, ET

Purdue at Michigan State                                          Gus Johnson/Bill Raftery                Steve Scheer/Mike Arnold

Alabama at Tennessee                                              Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner             Craig Silver/Chris Svendsen

 

2:00-4:00 PM, ET -                                               

Missouri Valley Conference Championship               Dick Enberg/Bob Wenzel  Mark Wolff/Mark Grant

 

4:00-6:00 PM, ET

Duke at North Carolina                                            Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg               Bob Dekas/Bob Fishman

 

* * * * *

 

CBS Sports Contact:    Jennifer Sabatelle    (212) 975-4120     jsabatelle@cbs.com