Overview
- Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley joined play-by-play voice Brian Anderson and reporter Jenny Dell on truTV to call the First Four Texas–NC State game in Dayton.
- At age 86, Vitale called his first NCAA Tournament game after decades at ESPN and a public comeback from multiple cancers with a limited broadcast schedule.
- Texas advanced on a last-second jumper and will face No. 6 BYU in Thursday’s first-round game in Portland, Oregon.
- The telecast produced viral moments, including Vitale kissing Barkley on the cheek, and drew criticism that extended commentary on topics like NIL overshadowed in-game analysis.
- The collaboration followed their December Indiana–Kentucky broadcast and was enabled by ESPN’s licensing of Inside the NBA, with CBS leaders long advocating for Vitale to get a tournament assignment.