Release

CBS SPORTS' WEEKEND OF NFL PLAYOFFS AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL TIPS-OFF WITH SEC AND BIG 12 SHOWDOWNS ON SATURDAY, JAN. 12

BIG TEN AND PAC-10 HIGHLIGHTED ON SUNDAY, JAN. 13

 

CBS Sports' Road to the Final Four® continues with regional action on Saturday, Jan. 12 (1:30-4:00 PM, ET) featuring  an SEC match-up as *No. 13-ranked Vanderbilt takes on Kentucky and a Big 12 showdown with Texas Tech playing Oklahoma State.

 

On Sunday, Jan. 13 (4:30-6:00 PM, ET) regional action continues as Illinois visits Big Ten foe and *No. 10-ranked Indiana and in Pac-10 conference play *No. 23-ranked Stanford takes on Oregon.

 

All four games will be broadcast in HDTV.

 

Gus Johnson and analyst Clark Kellogg will be on hand at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. to handle the call for Vanderbilt-Kentucky. Steve Scheer produces and Jim Cornell directs. Craig Bolerjack and Dan Bonner are courtside at the Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. for Texas Tech-Oklahoma State. Ross Schniederman produces and Mark Grant directs

 

On Sunday, Verne Lundquist joins CBS Sports' lead college basketball analyst, Billy Packer, to call the action from Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. for Illinois-Indiana.  Bob Dekas, CBS Sports' coordinating producer for college basketball, produces and Cathy Barreto directs. Carter Blackburn and Bill Raftery will be in Eugene, Ore. to call Stanford-Oregon.

 

AT THE HALFÒ, CBS Sports' halftime studio show, hosted by James Brown, along with 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.

  

Tony Petitti is Executive Vice President and Executive Producer, CBS Sports.

 

(*AP poll rankings as of 01/07/08)

 

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Jump Shots with CBS Sports' and Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis

 

(On Bobby Knight's 900th win): It would be very fitting if Bob Knight got his 900th win in Stillwater. One of Knight's true heroes and mentors was Hank Iba, who innovated many of the modern principles of man-to-man defense as the coach at Oklahoma State. I also believe there's a 60% chance that Knight will retire at the end of this season, so this could be his last visit to Stillwater as a head coach. That aside, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are both badly in need of wins. Sean Sutton, in particular, is really under the gun.

(On Vanderbilt): This will be a chance for a lot of viewers nationally to see what I regard as the second-best team in the SEC. The Commodores have a very intriguing freshman center in A.J. Ogilvy, a native of Australia who has very good skills for a man his size. Vandy has the front-runner for SEC player of the year in Shan Foster.

 

(On undefeated teams): Vanderbilt is one of five remaining unbeaten teams. One month from now, the undefeated question could really loom huge over this sport. I highly doubt that either Vanderbilt or Washington State could get through their conference schedules without losing. It is quite possible that any of the other three -- North Carolina, Memphis and Kansas -- can pull that off. It's a bad thing for a team to go into the NCAA tournament undefeated because it only adds to the pressure. But as we get into March, this could be a fascinating storyline.