Games Highlighted by *No. 2-ranked Connecticut Versus *No. 8-ranked Gonzaga

Courtside Notes with CBS Sports Analyst Greg Anthony

Eight of the nation's top 25-ranked basketball teams take the court on CBS Sports on Saturday, Dec. 20 (2:00-6:00 PM, ET). The regional doubleheader features *No. 2-ranked Connecticut at *No. 8-ranked Gonzaga and *No. 22-ranked Davidson taking on *No. 13-ranked Purdue in the late window (4:00 PM, ET). *No. 7-ranked Xavier plays *No. 6-ranked Duke and *No. 19-ranked Michigan State battles *No. 5-ranked Texas to begin the day (2:00 PM, ET).

Verne Lundquist joins CBS Sports' lead college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg, to call the action from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. for Duke-Xavier.  Bob Dekas, CBS Sports' coordinating producer for college basketball, produces and Chris Svendsen directs.

CBS College Sports Network's Carter Blackburn and Bill Raftery are courtside for Michigan State-Texas from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Sellers Shy produces and Jim Cornell directs.

Gus Johnson and analyst Greg Anthony will be on hand at Key Arena in Seattle, Wash. to handle the call for Connecticut-Gonzaga. Steve Scheer produces and Mark Grant directs.

Analyst Jim Spanarkel joins Don Criqui for the Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. for Purdue-Davidson. Craig Silver produces and Steve Milton directs.

All four games will be broadcast in high definition.

AT THE HALFÒ, CBS Sports' halftime studio show, hosted by Tim Brando, 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. Vin DeVito produces and Linda Malino directs. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

*AP Poll as of 12/15/08

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COURTSIDE WITH CBS SPORTS ANALYST GREG ANTHONY

(On Connecticut-Gonzaga): Both teams are Final Four-caliber teams. I have picked both to get there. Gonzaga has the best team they have ever had. They have the most depth, balance, versatility and experience of any Mark Few team that I've ever seen. And, they have the confidence. With Connecticut, they are a unique team because they don't have a lot of big slashers on the perimeter but they have as much quickness in the back court as anyone in America.

(Keys to Connecticut-Gonzaga): Connecticut's perimeter is not very big or physical, but extremely quick. It's going to create some problems for Gonzaga if they can't contain their penetration. This is something that Coach Few is going to be concerned with because their trio of guards. Kemba Walker, A.J. Price and Jerome Dyson do a great job of getting in the open floor and beating people off the dribble. Gonzaga's Josh Heytvelt can cause problems for Hasheem Thabeet because he dominates the interior.  But Heytvelt is very good at being able to step up and make shots from the perimeter, which will make the game uncomfortable at times for Thabeet. Overall, this game comes down to tempo. Connecticut likes to play fast because of their quickness. Gonzaga is going to try to keep the game in the high 60's-to-low-70's because it gives them a better chance to win.

(On Stephen Curry): Stephen Curry has been as impressive a lead guard as we've seen in a long time. He doesn't play with a tremendous amount of experience or talent around him and everybody's game plan is to contain and stop him. Yet no one has had an answer, or even been able to slow him down. It's pretty impressive. He is a much better passer than people give him credit for and his ability to score off the dribble, off the catch or in the paint, a lot of times is underrated. It's going to be a treat for most of America to watch him play the game of basketball.  Stephen Curry is a much better overall lead guard than people give him credit. He is more than just a guy who can shoot the basketball.

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CBS Sports Contact:    Jen Sabatelle      (212) 975-4120         jsabatelle@cbs.com