2011 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament
Teams68
Finals siteReliant Stadium
Houston, Texas
ChampionsConnecticut Huskies (3rd title, 3rd title game,
4th Final Four)
Runner-upButler Bulldogs (2nd title game,
2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJim Calhoun (3rd title)
MOPKemba Walker (Connecticut)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«2010 2012»

The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 teams to determine the national champion of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 73rd edition of the NCAA tournament began on March 15, 2011, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. This tournament marked the introduction of the "First Four" round and an expansion of the field of participants from 65 teams to 68. The "South" and "Midwest" regional games were replaced by the monikers "Southeast" and "Southwest" for this tournament, due to the geographical location of New Orleans and San Antonio, respectively.

The Final Four featured no top seeds for the first time since 2006, with the highest remaining seed being West Region winner, #3 Connecticut. For the first time since 2000, a #8 seed advanced to the Final Four as Butler, the national runner-up from the year before, won the Southeast Region. For only the third time ever, a #11 seed advanced to the Final Four as Virginia Commonwealth, one of the "First Four" teams, won the Southwest Region. Those three teams were joined by East Region champion Kentucky, a #4 seed.

Connecticut won its third national championship in the championship game by defeating Butler 53–41.

Upsets ruled the 2011 tournament. The East Region saw its #11 seed, Marquette, advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they were downed by North Carolina. The Southwest Region saw four of its double digit seeds win, as VCU was joined by #12 seed and citymate Richmond, #10 seed Florida State, and #13 seed Morehead State as first round winners. Florida State, VCU, and Richmond all advanced to the Sweet Sixteen from that region, and VCU defeated top-seeded Kansas in the final. Butler and #11 seed Gonzaga advanced from the Southeast Region, with Gonzaga losing in the Round of 32 to BYU.

For the third time in as many appearances, Vanderbilt suffered a defeat to a double digit seed. This time, they were defeated by Richmond as a #5 seed.

The Big East had a record eleven make the tournament (the conference then had 16 total teams). Due to having more than eight teams qualify, it was possible for intra-Big East matchups to occur in the third round. Two of these matchups did occur as Marquette defeated Syracuse in the East while Connecticut defeated Cincinnati in the West. The other Big East teams to qualify were Pittsburgh, who earned the #1 seed in the Southeast Region and were knocked out in the third round by Butler, St. John's, who were the Southeast's #6 seed and were eliminated in their first game by Gonzaga, Louisville, which earned the #4 seed in the Southwest and fell to Morehead State in their first game, Georgetown, who lost to VCU in the first round as a #6 in the Southwest, Notre Dame, the #2 seed in the Southwest who were eliminated by Florida State, Villanova, who were eliminated in an #8 vs #9 matchup against George Mason in the East Region, and West Virginia, the East's #5 seed who lost in the third round to Kentucky.

This was the last NCAA tournament until 2023 in which a mid-major conference saw multiple teams reach the Sweet 16, as both BYU and San Diego State did from the Mountain West Conference.

Northern Colorado, winners of the Big Sky Conference, made its first NCAA Division I tournament.

Highest Combine Final Four seeds of 26 (11-VCU, 8-Butler, 4-Kentucky & 3-Connecticut) since seed started in 1979.

Tournament procedure

For the first time, a total of 68 teams entered the tournament.[1] Thirty of the thirty-one automatic bids were given to the programs that won their conference tournaments, while the remaining automatic bid went to the Ivy League champion Princeton, as the conference does not hold a tournament. The remaining 37 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. All 68 teams were announced on "Selection Sunday" March 13, 2011.

The Selection Committee ranked the entire field from 1 to 68. The last four at-large teams selected and the four lowest ranked automatic qualifiers played in a "First Four".[2] The four winners of those games advanced to the main draw of the tournament to play a higher seed. The four lowest ranked teams of the 68 played against each other in a pair of First Four games, with winners advancing to play No. 1 seeds, and the last four at-large teams played in the other two First Four games, with the winners moving on to face the seed they would otherwise be matched up against, as determined by their seed number.

Schedule and venues

2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Dayton
Dayton
Tulsa
Tulsa
Tucson
Tucson
Denver
Denver
Cleveland
Cleveland
Tampa
Tampa
Charlotte
Charlotte
Chicago
Chicago
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
2011 First Four (orange), and second and third rounds (green)
2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is located in the United States
San Antonio
San Antonio
Anaheim
Anaheim
New Orleans
New Orleans
Newark
Newark
Houston
Houston
2011 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2011 tournament:[3][4]

First Four

Second and third rounds

Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Qualified teams

Automatic bids

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2011 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

Conference School Appearance Last bid
ACC Duke 35th 2010
America East Boston University 7th 2002
Atlantic 10 Richmond 9th 2010
Atlantic Sun Belmont 4th 2008
Big 12 Kansas 40th 2010
Big East Connecticut 29th 2009
Big Sky Northern Colorado 1st Never
Big South UNC Asheville 2nd 2003
Big Ten Ohio State 27th 2010
Big West UC Santa Barbara 5th 2010
Colonial Old Dominion 11th 2010
C-USA Memphis 23rd 2009
Horizon Butler 11th 2010
Ivy League Princeton 24th 2004
MAAC Saint Peter's 3rd 1995
MAC Akron 3rd 2009
MEAC Hampton 4th 2006
Missouri Valley Indiana State 4th 2001
Mountain West San Diego State 7th 2010
Northeast Long Island 4th 1997
Ohio Valley Morehead State 7th 2009
Pac-10 Washington 16th 2010
Patriot Bucknell 5th 2006
SEC Kentucky 51st 2010
Southern Wofford 2nd 2010
Southland UTSA 4th 2004
Summit Oakland 3rd 2010
SWAC Alabama State 4th 2009
Sun Belt Arkansas–Little Rock 4th 1990
WAC Utah State 20th 2010
West Coast Gonzaga 14th 2010

Tournament seeds (list by region)

East Regional – Newark, New Jersey
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Ohio State Big Ten 32–2 Automatic
2 North Carolina ACC 26–7 At-large
3 Syracuse Big East 26–7 At-large
4 Kentucky SEC 25–8 Automatic
5 West Virginia Big East 20–11 At-large
6 Xavier Atlantic 10 24–7 At-large
7 Washington Pac-10 23–10 Automatic
8 George Mason CAA 26–6 At-large
9 Villanova Big East 21–11 At-large
10 Georgia SEC 21–11 At-large
11 Marquette Big East 20–14 At-large
12* UAB C-USA 22–8 At-large
Clemson ACC 21–11 At-large
13 Princeton Ivy League 25–6 Automatic
14 Indiana State Missouri Valley 20–13 Automatic
15 Long Island Northeast 27–5 Automatic
16* UTSA Southland 19–13 Automatic
Alabama State SWAC 17–17 Automatic
Southeast Regional – New Orleans, Louisiana
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Pittsburgh Big East 27–5 At-large
2 Florida SEC 26–7 At-large
3 BYU Mountain West 30–4 At-large
4 Wisconsin Big Ten 23–8 At-large
5 Kansas State Big 12 22–10 At-large
6 St. John's Big East 21–11 At-large
7 UCLA Pac-10 22–10 At-large
8 Butler Horizon 23–9 Automatic
9 Old Dominion CAA 27–6 Automatic
10 Michigan State Big Ten 19–14 At-large
11 Gonzaga West Coast 24–9 Automatic
12 Utah State WAC 30–3 Automatic
13 Belmont Atlantic Sun 30–4 Automatic
14 Wofford Southern 21–12 Automatic
15 UC Santa Barbara Big West 18–13 Automatic
16* UNC Asheville Big South 19–13 Automatic
Arkansas–Little Rock Sun Belt 19–16 Automatic
Southwest Regional – San Antonio, Texas
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Kansas Big 12 32–2 Automatic
2 Notre Dame Big East 26–6 At-large
3 Purdue Big Ten 25–7 At-large
4 Louisville Big East 25–9 At-large
5 Vanderbilt SEC 23–10 At-large
6 Georgetown Big East 21–10 At-large
7 Texas A&M Big 12 24–8 At-large
8 UNLV Mountain West 24–8 At-large
9 Illinois Big Ten 19–13 At-large
10 Florida State ACC 21–10 At-large
11* USC Pac-10 19–14 At-large
VCU CAA 23–11 At-large
12 Richmond Atlantic 10 27–7 Automatic
13 Morehead State Ohio Valley 24–9 Automatic
14 Saint Peter's MAAC 20–13 Automatic
15 Akron MAC 23–12 Automatic
16 Boston University America East 21–13 Automatic
West Regional – Anaheim, California
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Duke ACC 30–4 Automatic
2 San Diego State Mountain West 32–2 Automatic
3 Connecticut Big East 26–9 Automatic
4 Texas Big 12 27–7 At-large
5 Arizona Pac-10 27–7 At-large
6 Cincinnati Big East 25–8 At-large
7 Temple Atlantic 10 25–7 At-large
8 Michigan Big Ten 20–13 At-large
9 Tennessee SEC 19–14 At-large
10 Penn State Big Ten 19–14 At-large
11 Missouri Big 12 23–10 At-large
12 Memphis C-USA 25–9 Automatic
13 Oakland Summit 25–9 Automatic
14 Bucknell Patriot 25–8 Automatic
15 Northern Colorado Big Sky 21–10 Automatic
16 Hampton MEAC 24–8 Automatic

*See First Four.

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−04)

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

All games on truTV. First Four winners enter the second round as their respective seed and in their respective region.

East No. 16 seeds
March 16
   
16 UTSA 70
16 Alabama State 61
East No. 12 seeds
March 15
   
12 Clemson 70
12 UAB 52
Southeast No. 16 seeds
March 15
   
16 UNC-Asheville 81*
16 Arkansas-Little Rock 77
Southwest No. 11 seeds
March 16
   
11 VCU 59
11 USC 46

East Regional – Newark, New Jersey

First round
March 17–18 		Second round
March 19–20 		Regional semifinals – Sweet 16
March 25 		Regional finals – Elite 8
March 27
            
1 Ohio State 75
16 UTSA 46
1 Ohio State 98
Cleveland – Fri/Sun
8 George Mason 66
8 George Mason 61
9 Villanova 57
1 Ohio State 60
4 Kentucky 62
5 West Virginia 84
12 Clemson 76
5 West Virginia 63
Tampa – Thu/Sat
4 Kentucky 71
4 Kentucky 59
13 Princeton 57
4 Kentucky 76
2 North Carolina 69
6 Xavier 55
11 Marquette 66
11 Marquette 66
Cleveland – Fri/Sun
3 Syracuse 62
3 Syracuse 77
14 Indiana State 60
11 Marquette 63
2 North Carolina 81
7 Washington 68
10 Georgia 65
7 Washington 83
Charlotte – Fri/Sun
2 North Carolina 86
2 North Carolina 102
15 Long Island 87

Regional Final Summary

CBS
Sunday, March 27
5:05 pm EDT
#4 Kentucky Wildcats 76, #2 North Carolina Tar Heels 69
Scoring by half: 38–30, 38–39
Pts: B. Knight – 22
Rebs: J. Harrellson – 8
Asts: D. Liggins, J. Harrellson, B. Knight – 4		 Pts: T. Zeller – 21
Rebs: T. Zeller, J. Henson – 9
Asts: K. Marshall – 8
Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
Attendance: 18,278
Referees: Verne Harris, Pat Driscoll, Randy McCall

West Regional – Anaheim, California

First round
March 17–18 		Second round
March 19–20 		Regional semifinals
March 24 		Regional finals
March 26
            
1 Duke 87
16 Hampton 45
1 Duke 73
Charlotte – Fri/Sun
8 Michigan 71
8 Michigan 75
9 Tennessee 45
1 Duke 77
5 Arizona 93
5 Arizona 77
12 Memphis 75
5 Arizona 70
Tulsa – Fri/Sun
4 Texas 69
4 Texas 85
13 Oakland 81
5 Arizona 63
3 Connecticut 65
6 Cincinnati 78
11 Missouri 63
6 Cincinnati 58
Washington, D.C. – Thu/Sat
3 Connecticut 69
3 Connecticut 81
14 Bucknell 52
3 Connecticut 74
2 San Diego State 67
7 Temple 66
10 Penn State 64
7 Temple 64
Tucson – Thu/Sat
2 San Diego State 71**
2 San Diego State 68
15 Northern Colorado 50

Regional Final Summary

CBS
Saturday, March 26
7:05 pm EDT
#5 Arizona Wildcats 63, #3 Connecticut Huskies 65
Scoring by half: 25–32, 38–33
Pts: D. Williams – 20
Rebs: S. Hill – 10
Asts: S. Hill – 4		 Pts: K. Walker – 20
Rebs: A. Oriakhi – 6
Asts: K. Walker – 7
Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
Attendance: 17,856
Referees: Doug Shows, Antinio Petty, Doug Sirmons

Southwest Regional – San Antonio, Texas

First round
March 17–18 		Second round
March 19–20 		Regional semifinals
March 25 		Regional finals
March 27
            
1 Kansas 72
16 Boston University 53
1 Kansas 73
Tulsa – Fri/Sun
9 Illinois 59
8 UNLV 62
9 Illinois 73
1 Kansas 77
12 Richmond 57
5 Vanderbilt 66
12 Richmond 69
12 Richmond 65
Denver – Thu/Sat
13 Morehead State 48
4 Louisville 61
13 Morehead State 62
1 Kansas 61
11 VCU 71
6 Georgetown 56
11 VCU 74
11 VCU 94
Chicago – Fri/Sun
3 Purdue 76
3 Purdue 65
14 Saint Peter's 43
11 VCU 72*
10 Florida State 71
7 Texas A&M 50
10 Florida State 57
10 Florida State 71
Chicago – Fri/Sun
2 Notre Dame 57
2 Notre Dame 69
15 Akron 56

Regional Final Summary

CBS
Sunday, March 27
2:20 pm EDT
#11 VCU Rams 71, #1 Kansas Jayhawks 61
Scoring by half: 41–27, 30–34
Pts: J. Skeen – 26
Rebs: J. Skeen – 10
Asts: J. Rodriguez – 5		 Pts: M. Morris – 20
Rebs: M. Morris – 16
Asts: B. Morningstar, T. Taylor – 3
Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
Attendance: 14,299
Referees: Ted Valentine, Mike Eades, Tony Greene

Southeast Regional – New Orleans, Louisiana

First round
March 17 		Second round
March 19 		Regional semifinals
March 24 		Regional finals
March 26
            
1 Pittsburgh 74
16 UNC Asheville 51
1 Pittsburgh 70
Washington, D.C. – Thu/Sat
8 Butler 71
8 Butler 60
9 Old Dominion 58
8 Butler 61
4 Wisconsin 54
5 Kansas State 73
12 Utah State 68
5 Kansas State 65
Tucson – Thu/Sat
4 Wisconsin 70
4 Wisconsin 72
13 Belmont 58
8 Butler 74*
2 Florida 71
6 St. John's 71
11 Gonzaga 86
11 Gonzaga 67
Denver – Thu/Sat
3 BYU 89
3 BYU 74
14 Wofford 66
3 BYU 74
2 Florida 83*
7 UCLA 78
10 Michigan State 76
7 UCLA 65
Tampa – Thu/Sat
2 Florida 73
2 Florida 79
15 UC Santa Barbara 51

Regional Final Summary

CBS
Saturday, March 26
4:30 pm EDT
#8 Butler Bulldogs 74, #2 Florida Gators 71 (OT)
Scoring by half: 32–33, 28–27 Overtime: 14–11
Pts: S. Mack – 27
Rebs: A. Smith – 8
Asts: S. Mack – 4		 Pts: V. Macklin – 25
Rebs: A. Tyus – 10
Asts: E. Walker – 4
New Orleans Arena – New Orleans, LA
Attendance: 12,139
Referees: Jamie Luckie, Karl Hess, Michael Stephens
National Semi-Final between UConn and Kentucky

Final Four – Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

National semifinals
April 2 		National Championship Game
April 4
      
E4 Kentucky 55
W3 Connecticut 56
W3 Connecticut 53
SE8 Butler 41
SW11 VCU 62
SE8 Butler 70

Game summaries

CBS
April 2
6:09 pm EDT
#11 VCU Rams 62, #8 Butler Bulldogs 70
Scoring by half: 28–34, 34–36
Pts: J. Skeen – 27
Rebs: B. Burgess – 9
Asts: J. Rodriguez – 8		 Pts: S. Mack – 24
Rebs: K. Marshall – 9
Asts: M. Howard – 2
Reliant Stadium – Houston, TX
Attendance: 75,421
Referees: Jamie Luckie, Pat Driscoll, Michael Stephens[12]
CBS
April 2
9:08 pm EDT
#4 Kentucky Wildcats 55, #3 Connecticut Huskies 56
Scoring by half: 21–31, 34–25
Pts: B. Knight – 17
Rebs: T. Jones – 15
Asts: B. Knight – 5		 Pts: K. Walker – 18
Rebs: A. Oriakhi – 10
Asts: K. Walker – 7
Reliant Stadium – Houston, TX
Attendance: 75,421
Referees: Mark Whitehead, John Higgins, Les Jones[14]

Consisting of #3-seeded Connecticut, No. 4 Kentucky, No. 8 Butler, and No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), the Final Four was considered a result of one of the weakest tournament fields in history.[15][16][17] Regarding the four finalists, there was widespread belief that none of them were among the best teams in the nation.[18][19] It was the first time in the tournament's history that a No. 1 or a No. 2 seed had failed to reach the final four and it would not happen again until 2023, coincidentally in Houston.[20] 11th seeded VCU tied a record as the lowest seed to reach the final four. By virtue of their "first four" appearance, VCU became the first team to reach the final four by winning five tournament games.

The first semifinal featured Butler and VCU, with Butler winning 70–62,[21] despite VCU forward Jamie Skeen leading the scoring with 27 points.

The second semifinal match was between Kentucky and Connecticut. Connecticut had already defeated Kentucky earlier that season 84–67 at the Maui Invitational. This time, Connecticut won in a close game 56–55, led by Kemba Walker with 18 points. Connecticut were noted for their defensive effort, which held Kentucky to 34% shooting and also held Kentucky scoreless for over 5 minutes during a spell in the second half.[22]

National Championship

CBS
April 4
9:23 pm EDT
#8 Butler Bulldogs 41, #3 Connecticut Huskies 53
Scoring by half: 22–19, 19–34
Pts: S. Mack – 13
Rebs: S. Mack – 9
Asts: S. Vanzant – 2		 Pts: K. Walker – 16
Rebs: A. Oriakhi – 11
Asts: J. Lamb, S. Napier – 2
Reliant Stadium – Houston, TX
Attendance: 70,376
Referees: John Cahill, Verne Harris, Doug Shows

The National Championship game was between Butler, a mid-major university team that was a surprise finalist in the 2010 tournament, and Connecticut, a basketball powerhouse which had previously won the tournament twice under coach Jim Calhoun but had an average regular season finishing 9th in the Big East Conference before winning The Big East tournament with five wins in five consecutive days (never before accomplished in NCAA history). The championship game was won by Connecticut 53–41. It was a very defensive contest, with Butler having the fewest points in a championship game since 1949.[25] Butler led at halftime 22–19, but suffered in the second half from poor shooting, making only 6 of 37 shots in the second half.[25] Butler's 18.8 percent shooting for the entire game was the lowest ever in the NCAA final. Connecticut contributed to Butler's poor shooting by blocking 10 shots (a championship game record).[26] Butler was led in scoring by junior guard Shelvin Mack with 13 points, while UConn freshman Jeremy Lamb scored 12 points in the 2nd half.[27]

The win by Connecticut completed a season-ending 11-game win streak that began with the Big East tournament.

The game was widely viewed as a poor quality final.[28][29] In reference to the game's first half of play, CBS analyst Greg Anthony said, "This is the worst half of basketball I've ever seen in a national championship game."[30]

Record by conference

Conference # of bids Record Win % R32 S16 E8 F4 CG NC
Big East 11 13–10 .565 7 2 1 1 1 1
Horizon 1 5–1 .833 1 1 1 1 1 0
CAA 3 6–3 .667 2 1 1 1 0  
SEC 5 7–5 .583 2 2 2 1 0  
ACC 4 8–4 .667 3 3 1 0    
Atlantic 10 3 3–3 .500 3 2 1 0    
Pac-10 4 5–4 .556 3 1 1 0    
Big 12 5 5–5 .500 3 1 1 0    
Mountain West 3 4–3 .571 2 2 0      
Big Ten 7 7–7 .500 5 2 0      
OVC 1 1–1 .500 1 0        
WCC 1 1–1 .500 1 0        
C-USA 2 0–2 .000 0          

Media

Television

On April 22, 2010, it was announced that the NCAA had reached a new 14-year, US$10.8 billion deal with CBS Sports and Time Warner-owned Turner Sports (by way of TBS, TNT and truTV) for the rights to broadcast the NCAA tournament from 2011 until 2024, marking the first time every game in the tournament would be telecast on a national basis.

CBS and Turner pooled their resources for the tournament, with members of the NBA on TNT crew joining CBS's established March Madness broadcasters. Coverage will originate from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and Turner's Atlanta studios.[31]

The tournament television ratings report shows the tournament had an average of 10.2 million viewers per game, an increase from the 2005 tournament when it drew an average of 10.6 million (6.4 Nielsen rating). The championship game recorded an 11.7 rating and drew 20.1 million viewers.

TruTV, which up to that point had never aired any live sports programming, saw a surge in carriage deals for its high definition feed with several major providers including AT&T U-verse, Verizon FiOS, Comcast, Charter Communications, Cablevision, Cox Cable and RCN.[32]

Studio hosts

  • Greg Gumbel (New York City and Houston) – First Four, Second round, Third round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Ernie Johnson Jr. (New York City and Atlanta) – First Four, Second round, Third round and Regional Semi-Finals
  • Matt Winer (Atlanta) – First Four, Second round and Third round

Studio analysts

  • Greg Anthony (New York City and Houston) – First Four, Second round, Third round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Charles Barkley (New York City and Houston) – First Four, Second round, Third round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Tom Crean (Atlanta) – First Four and Second round
  • Seth Davis (Atlanta and Houston) – First Four, Second round, Third round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Tom Izzo (Atlanta) – Regional Semi-Finals
  • Phil Martelli (Atlanta) – Third round
  • Rick Pitino (New York City) – Third round
  • Kenny Smith (New York City and Houston) – First Four, Second round, Third round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Steve Smith (Atlanta) – First Four, Second round, Third round and Regional Semi-Finals
  • Jay Wright (New York City) – Regional Finals

Announcing teams

Round-by-round game schedule

All times Eastern and PM[33]

Round CBS TBS TNT TruTV
First Four
(Mar. 15 & 16)		       6:30
9:00
2nd round
(Mar. 17 & 18)		 12:00
2:30
7:00
9:30		 1:30
4:00
6:45
9:15		 2:00
4:30
7:15
9:45		 12:40
3:00
7:15
9:55
3rd round
(Mar. 19)		 12:00
2:30
5:00
7:30		 7:00
9:30		 6:00
8:00		  
3rd round
(Mar. 20)		 12:00
2:30
5:00		 7:30
Regional semifinals
(Mar. 24 & 25)		 7:00
9:30		 7:15
9:55		    
Regional finals
(Mar. 26)		 4:20
6:55		      
Regional finals
(Mar. 27)		 2:10
5:05		      
National semifinals
(Apr. 2)		 6:09
9:09		      
National championship
(Apr. 4)		 9:00      

CBS received the same number of "windows", or time slots, for its tournament coverage as in previous years. However, all games will now be nationally – rather than regionally – televised. The national television broadcasts also allowed for more flexibility in start times. CBS and the Turner networks used the same graphics package and theme music in broadcasting the tournament – the only difference between networks is the logo shown on the score bug. In addition, a banner at the top of the screen displayed the scores of other games along with what network they are being broadcast on. Replays feature all four network logos being shown, and for fair use highlight credits by local television stations and other networks such as ESPN, the Turner network name or CBS Sports, followed by "NCAA" is given as the source. CBS also kept coverage of the Division II final, which is part of the larger contract for this tournament.

Turner Sports aired full-length studio shows before and after each session of play. The pregame show was called Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off and all shows were on TruTV. The postgame show, called Inside March Madness presented by Buick, alternated between TruTV and TBS.[34]

TruTV had also added coverage of the Reese's College All-Star Game.

Number of games per network
  • CBS: 26
  • TBS: 16
  • TruTV: 13
  • TNT: 12

Radio

Westwood One had live broadcasts of all 67 games. They will be available both on terrestrial and satellite radio outlets, on NCAA.com, and on CBSSports.com. The radio contract was extended in January 2011 for multiple tournaments.[35]

First Four

Second and Third round

Regionals

  • Ian Eagle and John Thompson – East Regional at Newark, New Jersey
  • Kevin Kugler and Pete Gillen – Southeast Regional at New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Kevin Harlan and Kevin Grevey – Southwest Regional at San Antonio, Texas
  • Wayne Larrivee and Bill Frieder – West Regional at Anaheim, California

Final four

  • Kevin Kugler, John Thompson and Bill Raftery – at Houston, Texas

Internet/other video

All games are expected to be streamed at NCAA.com or CBSSports.com, as in the past; with the new rights deal, NCAA.com and the game streaming is now managed by Turner Interactive. The iPhone app which allowed streaming of games on the iPhone in previous years, and had cost about ten dollars, has received two upgrades: it is compatible with iPad, and it is now free of charge.[36] However, with the CBS-Turner agreement allowing all games in the tournament to be available on a national basis (see above), Mega March Madness, a DirecTV-only service, has been discontinued.

International

  •  Canada: TSN acquired Canadian rights for the tournament, rights which were previously held by The Score. This is apparently the result of a larger international rights deal between the NCAA and ESPN International (which owns a minority interest in TSN).[37] TSN had its own studio programming hosted by Dan Shulman and James Cybulski, and game coverage came from CBS and Turner. Unlike the Score, which had whiparound coverage, TSN and TSN2 showed entire games. Sometimes, both channels aired games, but on Friday of the first weekend, no games were shown due to previous programming commitments on both channels. TSN.ca also streamed first-round games to those with Canadian IP addresses.
  •  Philippines: Basketball TV planned to broadcast the NCAA tournament using the American feed.
  • Worldwide: The NCAA.com video and audio streams were available with no blackout restrictions anywhere in the world.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wieberg, Steve (March 11, 2011). "NCAA tournament has new look, more games, more channels". USA Today. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  2. ↑ Katz, Andy (July 12, 2010). "Last four at-large to play in first round". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". www.ncaa.org. Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ 2011 NCAA tournament information – College Basketball News | FOX Sports on MSN
  5. ↑ "Kentucky vs. North Carolina - Game Summary - March 27, 2011". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Arizona vs. UConn - Game Summary - March 26, 2011". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  7. ↑ "VCU vs. Kansas - Game Summary - March 27, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ "NCAA Basketball Scores, NCAA Tournament Betting Odds, NCAA Tournament Schedule". DonBest.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Men's Basketball vs VCU on 3/27/2011 - Box Score". University of Kansas Athletics. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Butler vs. Florida - Game Summary - March 26, 2011". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  11. ↑ "VCU vs. Butler - Game Summary - April 2, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  12. ↑ "NCAA College Basketball Box Scores". Newsday. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Kentucky vs. UConn - Game Summary - April 2, 2011". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Boxscore - Kentucky Wildcats vs. Connecticut Huskies - 04-02-2011". Covers.com.
  15. ↑ "'Weak field' produces excellent NCAA tournament". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Congrats UConn, but that was U-G-L-Y". Kansas City Star. April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Butler, VCU products of weak tournament field". Daily Utah Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  18. ↑ "This year's NCAA champ won't be best team". Chicago Tribune. March 31, 2011. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Michael Rosenberg: Best team didn't win NCAA title, but do we care?". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  20. ↑ How America Loses March Madness – Sports
  21. ↑ Virginia Commonwealth Rams vs. Butler Bulldogs – NCAA Tournament Game – Recap – April 2, 2011 – ESPN
  22. ↑ Kentucky Wildcats vs. Connecticut Huskies – NCAA Tournament Game – Recap – April 2, 2011 – ESPN
  23. ↑ "Butler vs. UConn - Game Summary - April 4, 2011". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  24. ↑ "NCAA Basketball Scores, NCAA Tournament Betting Odds, NCAA Tournament Schedule". DonBest.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  25. 1 2 Thamel, Pete (April 5, 2011). "UConn Cuts Down Nets After Butler Rattles the Rims". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ Butler Bulldogs vs. Connecticut Huskies – NCAA Tournament Game – Recap – April 4, 2011 – ESPN
  27. ↑ "Stats, scores and schedules". The Washington Post. April 13, 2011.
  28. ↑ "UConn's title win a sore sight". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Hang Up and Listen podcast". Slate.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  30. ↑ Jacobs, Jeff (April 6, 2011). "Championship finale Built Brick By Brick". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  31. ↑ Turner Sports. "CBS, Turner combine talent rosters". NCAA.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  32. ↑ TruTV Nets HD Channel Launches Multichannel News March 15, 2011
  33. ↑ CBS, Turner set to televise all NCAA tournament games nationally
  34. ↑ 2011 NCAA Tournament TV Schedule
  35. ↑ Westwood One. "Westwood One and the NCAA Announce New Multi-Year Radio Rights Agreement". PR Newswire. Retrieved January 26, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. ↑ Staff, Digital Trends (March 14, 2011). "Mobile March Madness:Best iPhone Apps". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  37. ↑ Dowbiggin, Bruce (February 24, 2011). "TSN catches March Madness". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
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