1977-78 College Basketball Season

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Originally written by Jeff Haggar

Regular Season

Sat 11/12/77, Cuban national team @ Marquette (exhibition), NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sat 12/31/77, #4 Notre Dame vs #1 Kentucky (at Louisville), NBC, 4 pm, Dick Stockton, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sun 1/15/78, #11 UNLV @ #4 Marquette, NBC, 1 pm, Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer

Sun 1/15/78, Soviet national team @ UCLA (exhibition), NBC, 3 pm, Dick Enberg, Al McGuire

Sun 1/22/78, #3 UCLA @ #7 Notre Dame, NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sun 1/29/78, Maryland @ #5 Notre Dame, NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sun 2/5/78, #3 Marquette @ South Carolina, NBC, 4 pm, Dick Stockton, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sun 2/12/78, #7 North Carolina @ #20 Providence, NBC, 1 pm (regional), Dick Stockton, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sun 2/12/78, #11 DePaul @ #4 Notre Dame, NBC, 1 pm (regional), Merle Harmon, Allie McGuire

Sun 2/19/78, #9 Louisville @ Minnesota, NBC, 4 pm, Dick Stockton, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sun 2/26/78, #1 Marquette @ #9 Notre Dame, NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

Sat 3/4/78, UNLV @ #1 Kentucky, NBC, 1 pm, Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer

Sat 3/4/78, #15 Duke vs Wake Forest (at Greensboro - ACC final), ABC, 3 pm, Keith Jackson, Bill Russell, Jim Lampley

Sun 3/5/78, Michigan @ #2 UCLA, NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Al McGuire

- For this season, NBC added Al McGuire to the #1 team. Early in the season, NBC stationed McGuire in a remote location and went to him only for periodic commentary. Eventually, NBC moved McGuire courtside to form a three-man announcer team.

- Dick Stockton filled in for Enberg on four games. (Enberg called the AFC title game in Denver on 1/1 and had a boxing assignment on 2/5.)

- ABC televised the ACC tournament final as part of Wide World of Sports. This was the first time Duke was ever on national TV.

- CD Chesley (who controlled the ACC rights) wanted NBC to televise some ACC conference games as part of its national package as it had the previous few years. However, NBC wanted to feature intersectional games. This ticked off Chesley who sold the rights to the ACC tournament final to ABC and also explains the absence of ACC home games on the above NBC schedule.

NCAA Tournament

Sat 3/11 (first round) - doubleheader (all regionalized)

Kentucky vs Florida St (at Knoxville), NBC, 2 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer

Michigan St vs Providence (at Indianapolis), NBC, 2 pm, Merle Harmon, Fred Taylor

Arkansas vs Weber St (at Eugene), NBC, 2 pm, Curt Gowdy, Al McGuire

Western Ky vs Syracuse (at Knoxville), NBC, 4 pm, Jim Thacker, Billy Packer

San Francisco vs North Carolina (at Tempe), NBC, 4 pm, Jay Randolph, Gary Thompson

UCLA vs Kansas (at Eugene), NBC, 4 pm, Curt Gowdy, Al McGuire

other NCAA Productions games

Miami-Ohio vs Marquette (at Indianapolis), NCAAProd, 12 pm, Merle Harmon, Fred Taylor

CS Fullerton vs New Mexico (at Tempe), NCAAProd, 6 pm, Jay Randolph, Gary Thompson

Sun 3/12 (first round) - doubleheader (all regionalized)

Indiana vs Furman (at Charlotte), NBC, 2 pm, Jim Thacker, Billy Packer

Villanova vs La Salle (at Philadelphia), NBC, 2 pm, Marv Albert, Bucky Waters

Louisville vs St John's (at Tulsa), NBC, 2 pm, Dick Enberg, Al McGuire

Duke vs Rhode Island (at Charlotte), NBC, 4 pm, Jim Thacker, Billy Packer

Penn vs St Bonaventure (at Philadelphia), NBC, 4 pm, Marv Albert, Bucky Waters

Notre Dame vs Houston (at Tulsa), NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Al McGuire

other NCAA Productions games

Utah vs Missouri (at Wichita), NCAAProd, 3:30 pm, Ron Jacober, Frank Fallon

DePaul vs Creighton (at Wichita), NCAAProd, 6 pm, Ron Jacober, Frank Fallon

Thu 3/16 (regional semifinals) - local

Michigan St vs Western Ky (at Dayton), NCAAProd, 7 pm, John Ferguson, Merle Harmon

Arkansas vs UCLA (at Albuquerque), NCAAProd, 9 pm, Connie Alexander, Bill Strannigan

Kentucky vs Miami-Ohio (at Dayton), NCAAProd, 9:30 pm, John Ferguson, Merle Harmon

CS Fullerton vs San Francisco (at Albuquerque), NCAAProd, 11:30 pm, Connie Alexander, Bill Strannigan

Fri 3/17 (regional semifinals) - local

* Villanova vs Indiana (at Providence), NCAAProd, 7 pm, ??, Fred Taylor

DePaul vs Louisville (at Lawrence), NCAAProd, 8 pm, Jay Randolph, Gary Thompson

* Duke vs Penn (at Providence), NCAAProd, 9:30 pm, ??, Fred Taylor

Notre Dame vs Utah (at Lawrence), NCAAProd, 10:30 pm, Jay Randolph, Gary Thompson

Sat 3/18 (regional finals)

Kentucky vs Michigan St (at Dayton), NBC, 2 pm, Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer, Bryant Gumbel

Arkansas vs CS Fullerton (at Albuquerque), NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Al McGuire

Sun 3/19 (regional finals)

Duke vs Villanova (at Providence), NBC, 2 pm, Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer

Notre Dame vs DePaul (at Lawrence), NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Al McGuire

Sat 3/25 (Final Four)

Duke vs Notre Dame (at St. Louis), NBC, 2 pm, Curt Gowdy, Billy Packer, Al McGuire, Bryant Gumbel, Dick Enberg

Kentucky vs Arkansas (at St. Louis), NBC, 4 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Al McGuire, Bryant Gumbel, Curt Gowdy

Mon 3/27 (consolation/championship)

Arkansas vs Notre Dame (at St. Louis), NCAAProd, 6:30 pm, Jay Randolph, Gary Thompson

Kentucky vs Duke (at St. Louis), NBC, 9 pm, Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, Al McGuire, Curt Gowdy

* any help appreciated on missing announcers

- I suspect that Billy Packer (probably with Jim Thacker) likely worked the Charlotte games on 3/12, but have never been able to confirm this.

- For the first time, NBC aired all four regional finals games nationally, moving two of the games to Sunday.

- NBC split up the analysts from its #1 announcer team for the first 2 weekends of the tournament.

- Gowdy served in a host role for the title game.

- NCAA Productions covered all games not televised by NBC.