Our list of Brian Anderson’s best calls in men’s NCAA Tournament

Baseball is back this week, and that means the sound of TV announcer Brian Anderson on Wisconsin televisions … of course, by now, Milwaukee Brewers fans realize that’s because Anderson is calling basketball, not baseball, during March.

The Milwaukee-area resident Anderson, who first started calling Brewers games in 2007, has risen to national prominence with Turner sports broadcasting, with a docket that includes the men’s NCAA Tournament, French Open tennis, golf, national baseball and more. While he still gets to about 50 Brewers games a year, Brewers fans know they have to share him.

So, when the Brewers open the regular season March 26 at American Family Field, Anderson will be in San Jose, California, the same night, calling Texas against Purdue and Arkansas against Arizona in the Sweet 16.

Anderson has been working NCAA Tournament games since 2012. Last week, he had to miss a batch of games because of an illness, with another prominent baseball announcer, Jason Benetti, taking his spot momentarily. Anderson was back for second-round weekend games in Buffalo, New York.

What are the greatest tournament games Anderson has called? Take a look at these six:

February 20, 2019 Steve Stricker (right) gets presented with a Milwaukee Brewers jersey by Brian Anderson after being introduced as the captain for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. The event was held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Mamadi Diakite saves Virginia (2019 Elite Eight)

Virginia famously made a turnaround from the first No. 1 seed ousted by a No. 16 seed in 2018 to national champion a year later, but it required a wild finish in the Elite Eight in Louisville to pull it off. After a missed free throw with 5.8 seconds left, Virginia scrambled into the backcourt for a loose ball against Purdue, and future Milwaukee Bucks player Mamadi Diakite – who had back-tapped the rebound in the first place – wound up with a quick-release jumper that fell through to tie the game at 70-all. Virginia won the game in overtime and went on to the title.

The game was the centerpiece of a crazy three-overtime run for Anderson. He called Tennessee’s 83-77 win in the second round over Iowa in Columbus, Ohio, when the Hawkeyes rallied from a 43-22 deficit that would have been the biggest comeback win in NCAA Tournament history had the Volunteers not prevailed in overtime. Then, Anderson called Purdue beating Tennessee in overtime, 99-94, when Purdue’s Carsen Edwards was fouled on a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left and made two of three to force overtime tied at 82.

Bronson Koenig’s buzzer beater (2016 second round)

Wisconsin sports fans know it well. UW guard Bronson Koenig took an inbound and elevated for a corner three-pointer that splashed through at the buzzer, giving Wisconsin a stunning win over second-seeded Xavier in St. Louis.

Undefeated Kentucky survives Notre Dame (2015 Elite Eight)

Before Wisconsin shocked undefeated Kentucky in the Final Four in 2015, the Wildcats barely survived future Bucks player Pat Connaughton and Notre Dame in Cleveland at the Elite Eight level. The teams were tied with 34 seconds left, but Aaron Harrison drew a foul with six seconds left and put UK ahead, 68-66. Jerami Grant’s three-pointer at the buzzer failed to draw iron. Anderson was also on the call when Connaughton swatted a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, and Notre Dame won in overtime in the second round in Pittsburgh over Butler, 67-64.

The magic of Sister Jean (2018 Sweet 16)

Loyola of Chicago became the story of the tournament, with nonagenarian nun Sister Jean bringing divine inspiration as the Ramblers’ biggest fan. The 11th seed won close games over Miami, Tennessee and Nevada to reach the Elite Eight, then thumped ninth seed Kansas State to make the Final Four. In Atlanta, Anderson was on the call for both Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games, with Marques Townes hitting an all-but-clinching three-pointer with 6.3 seconds on the clock to beat Nevada.

It was the same tournament in which Anderson called Buffalo’s 89-68 blowout of Arizona in the first round, a win for the 13th seed over a No. 4 in Boise, Idaho.

‘From the First Four to the Final Four’ (2021 Elite Eight)

Michigan’s Franz Wagner’s three-pointer just before the buzzer was no good at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and UCLA held on for a 51-49 victory that made them the second “First Four” team to reach the Final Four. Anderson accentuated that reality with his call, “UCLA! From the First Four to the Final Four!” UCLA went on to lose to Gonzaga in overtime in the national semifinal, 93-90, in an epic that ended on Jalen Suggs’ buzzer-beater.

The Markquis Nowell show, until Florida Atlantic arrived (2023 Sweet 16)

Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell put on an epic show at Madison Square Garden, finishing with 20 points, 19 assists and five steals as the third-seeded Wildcats defeated seventh-seeded Michigan State in the Sweet 16, 98-93 in overtime. Tyson Walker tied the game with five seconds left for the Spartans, and Nowell’s drive to the basket was short at the regulation buzzer. But in overtime, Nowell’s 18th assist was a lob that turned into a reverse slam dunk for Keyontae Johnson. Nowell added a basket at the buzzer, but the game was already in hand.

Then came the Elite Eight game, where ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic broke through for a stunning Final Four run, toppling the Cougars, 79-76. Nowell passed this time with time running down, but Kansas State never got a shot off in the nail-biter.

Two others of note

In Orlando in 2014, St. Louis tied the game with 18.8 seconds left and forced overtime against upset-minded North Carolina State, the 12th seed, during a first-round game. Wolfpack guard Tyler Lewis had a potential game-winner from the free-throw line go halfway down and out in regulation, and Austin Turner had a game-tying three-pointer in overtime come up short. St. Louis, which had been down 14 points with 5 minutes to go, prevailed, 83-80.

Anderson’s first NCAA Tournament call was a memorable one in 2012, including a 62-59 win by No. 12 seed VCU over Wichita State in Portland, Oregon, one year after VCU made a run to the Final Four. Then, Indiana beat VCU in the second round, 63-61, thanks to Will Sheehey’s go-ahead basket with 11 seconds left.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brian Anderson has had some great March Madness calls over the years

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