In Memphis, Jonah Dylan wrote Houston had one of its "biggest fans in the building” for yesterday's game against Texas A&M in longtime NCAA Tournament announcer Jim Nantz, a Houston alum. Nantz had worked the NCAA Tournament until this season, when he ceded play-by-play duties to Ian Eagle. That allowed him the “chance to watch his Cougars in person" yesterday at FedExForum (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/24). Nantz: “I’ve never felt like this after a game before. I usually am in my lane and know how to control my emotions, but I’m seriously worn out. My head's throbbing, my stomach is turning somersaults.” In Memphis, Wynston Wilcox noted for 37 years, Nantz watched with an “unbiased perspective” but yesterday “was different” (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/24).
VETERAN PRESENCE: THE RINGER’s Steven Ruiz wrote the “best game of the first round” came between 10-seed Colorado and 7-seed Florida with CBS’ Kevin Harlan on the call. Harlan, who has been “quietly kicking ass across three decades” as a basketball and football announcer, “rose to the occasion and gave this instant classic the treatment it deserved.” Harlan had "another gear in him, and he hit it" after Colorado G K.J. Simpson’s shot fell off the rim and into the net for the game-winning score. That is "what March is supposed to sound like.” With Nantz having stepped away from his March Madness duties and it being "years since we’ve heard Gus Johnson call a tournament game,” fans have Harlan to "fill the void." Simpson and Florida G Walter Clayton Jr. "gave him a chance to show that he’s still in his prime” (THE RINGER, 3/23).
OUTSTANDING JOB: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick wrote he has “moved to favor the work of CBS analyst Steve Lappas.” Lappas during Thursday's Oregon-South Carolina game on TNT “saw and spoke it all so clearly.” Viewers were "shown and told how players weren’t moving their feet on defense and didn’t make smart passes the other way." Lappas "continues to make you stop, look, listen and learn." He and play-by-play man Andrew Catalon also “spoke as if we could see what couldn’t be missed.” They even "allowed a successful 3-point shot to speak for itself” (N.Y. POST, 3/23).
NOTES: In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote Candace Parker "does a really good job on the CBS studio show during the tournament" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/23)....In Chicago, Jim O’Donnell wrote Robbie Hummel “finally emerged from the shadows of the Big Ten Network" to work six NCAA Tournament games for the CBS/Turner combine this weekend. The "engaging Steve Bardo should be up next" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 3/24).
