ESPN announces Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas to call SEC Tournament with Dave O'Brien, Cory Alexander to call ACC Tournament

As the regular season in college basketball closes, conference tournament week is next up on the calendar. Nobody will have more eyes on their event than the SEC in Nashville, preparing to showcase what has a chance of being the best conference of all-time. ESPN is matching the occasion too with their broadcast teams.

On Tuesday, the Worldwide Leader announced their top college basketball crew — play-by-play Dan Shulman, color commentator Jay Bilas, and sideline reporter Jess Sims — will be in Nashville. The trio will call morning session games before getting both semifinals and then the championship game.

“Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Jess Sims team up from the first round to the championship to bring fans all the action,” the ESPN press release said. “The trio are set to call the early session in the first round and second rounds on SEC Network, before moving over to ESPN for the first two quarterfinals on Friday. Shulman, Bilas and Sims continue on ESPN for each game on Semifinal Saturday and Championship Sunday.”

This is a major switch-up from years past when Shulman and Bilas have traditionally done the ACC Tournament. ESPN will instead be sending Dave O’Brien and Cory Alexander to Charlotte to cover the ACC as the top broadcasting group.

Looking at the afternoon sessions at the SEC Tournament, Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, and Molly McGrath will be on the assignment. They will be on the air Wednesday through Friday to close out the evenings.

Further information on the ACC Tournament has yet to be announced.

Awful Announcing reached out to an ESPN spokesperson, who said “This switch is not permanent and [broadcast assignments] will be determined on a year-to-year basis.”

More on the upcoming SEC Tournament in Nashville

The SEC appears set to break the all-time NCAA Tournament bid record, potentially getting as many as 14 teams into the field. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently projects 10 locks, two barely in the field, and another two on the bubble with a chance to get in.

So with quality from top to bottom, some have argued the SEC Tournament might be more difficult than a national championship path.

Auburn will be the No. 1 overall seed, already locking up the regular season title. Multiple teams are still fighting for a double-bye in their final two games. There is still plenty to play for before the entire conference congregates in Nashville for what should be an incredible weekend.