NCAA Men’s Basketball: March Madness Tries to Top 2016’s Spectacular Finish
Last year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game between North Carolina and Villanova reminded everyone why they call this March Madness. With the game tied at 74 and seemingly headed to overtime, Villanova’s Kris Jenkins (above) released a three-point shot with half a second on the clock. The buzzer sounded, the shot hit its mark and Villanova won the national championship in a dramatic frenzy.
“We’ll be talking about that and showing that every March for many years to come,” says Turner Sports NCAA analyst Grant Hill, who knows something about spectacular finishes, being the former Duke star who famously inbounded the ball to Christian Laettner in the final seconds of Duke’s overtime win against Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional Final.
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When the Madness returns this month, Villanova will again be on the hunt for a top seed. Teams looking to knock off Nova include Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona, UCLA, Oregon, Louisville and North Carolina. No team looks bulletproof, which should make for an unpredictable and exciting tournament. “Regardless of what the season looks like, what teams are at the top of the rankings, the beautiful thing about the tournament is that it never fails to deliver,” Hill says. “It’s always going to be just a fantastic three weeks of basketball. Complete madness—appropriately named, I might add.”
CBS and Turner Sports again present all 67 games across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, and online and on mobile devices via NCAA March Madness Live. “You can follow the story of an underdog or a Cinderella and actually watch those games,” Hill says. “That, as a fan, has been fabulous, and I think it’s enhanced and made the tournament even better.”
NCAA Tournament Schedule
First Four March 14–15 (truTV)
First/Second Rounds March 16–19 (CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV)
Regionals March 23–26 (CBS and TBS)
Final Four/Championship April 1 and 3 (CBS)