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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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Before March Madness can fully get going, a key change to the first-round coverage of games on television has arrived.
The First Four games officially tipped off on Tuesday evening, as Howard defeated UMBC and Texas took down North Carolina State. Each game featured a down-to-the-wire finish, yielding two teams that will play higher seeds in the Big Dance.
Both games also had unique coverage teams, with sideline reporter Jenny Dell on both. The second game's commentary crew included Brian Anderson on the call with NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and college basketball legend Dick Vitale.
Read More on NCAA
Anderson is a favorite of many viewers and his colleagues, including Barkley, who praised him during the coverage of Texas's victory. However, the popular commentator didn't sound his best while calling the game on Tuesday evening.
Read more: Andy Katz Reveals Surprising ‘Chaos’ Final Four Picks for March Madness
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During Tuesday night's coverage, Barkley and Vitale got into a relatively lengthy discussion about the NIL and transfer portal situation in college basketball.
Anderson got involved in the discussion, but clearly wasn't at his best. Barkley replied to his comments about the potential changes the NCAA should make.
Eventually, Anderson told them, "Guys, we got a game going on!" and according to an Awful Announcing clip shared online, he was "hoarse" while trying to call the game.
On Wednesday evening, The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported that Anderson won't be part of the coverage of first-round games during the NCAA Tournament. Instead, Jason Benetti will fill in for him during the games.
Benetti is the primary television play-by-play announcer for the MLB’s Detroit Tigers. He became the lead broadcaster for NBC’s “Sunday Night Baseball” this month.
Based on The Athletic's report, Anderson is expected back for Saturday's coverage of second-round games in the tournament.
He's been calling play-by-play for Turner Sports and CBS during the NCAA Tournament since 2012. In addition, Anderson has called MLB, NBA, NFL, and professional golf events during his career.
Games officially tip off on Thursday afternoon for the first round of the tournament, with television coverage on TBS, TNT, truTV, and CBS over the next several days of March Madness.
Read more: Charles Barkley Makes Strong Prediction for March Madness Winner
For more about March Madness, visit Newsweek Sports.
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