BTN.com staff, October 29, 2019
With exhibition games getting underway on BTN+ and the 2019-20 Big Ten basketball season officially tipping off on Nov. 5, BTN today announced its on-air talent for an enticing lineup of 200 men?s and women?s games.
Play-by-play announcers Kevin Kugler, Brian Anderson, Brandon Gaudin, Cory Provus and Dave Revsine will be on the call all season long for BTN, with Revsine continuing to serve as lead studio host. They accompany an experienced lineup of analysts including Robbie Hummel, Andy Katz, Stephen Bardo, Mike DeCourcy, Shon Morris, Seth Davis, Nick Bahe, Brian Butch, Bob Wenzel, Dan Bonner, Ben Brust and Jess Settles.
This year, Christy Winters Scott will provide men?s basketball analysis in addition to her duties as BTN?s lead women?s basketball analyst. As part of her role, Winters Scott will be the first woman to serve as an analyst for a men?s basketball game on BTN on Tuesday, Nov. 19, when Penn State hosts Bucknell at 6:30 p.m. ET. Winters Scott will also call a Rutgers game on Nov. 26 and a Maryland game on Dec. 29.
Alongside Lisa Byington, Jeff Levering and Chris Vosters, the network?s lead play-by-play voices for women?s basketball, BTN is also home to a talented group of women?s basketball analysts. In addition to Winters Scott, Vera Jones, Shelley Till and Brenda VanLengen, the network is also adding Tyra Buss and Jantel Lavender to its roster.
Lavender, the 5th overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft and current member of the Chicago Sky, was named the Big Ten Player of the Year all four seasons at Ohio State. She is the only player in Big Ten history, male or female, to accomplish such a feat. As a prolific player at Indiana, Buss set Hoosier career records in points, steals, assists, free throws and points per game.
Men?s nonconference play begins with a doubleheader on Tuesday, Nov. 5, when Juwan Howard and Fred Hoiberg make their Big Ten coaching debuts as Michigan faces off against Appalachian State and Nebraska takes on UC-Riverside. The women?s non-conference schedule gets rolling on Wednesday, Dec. 4, with back-to-back doubleheaders in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The network?s season-long coverage includes studio shows and original programming which return this winter:
- The B1G Show - Discussion and analysis Monday through Saturday featuring postgame coverage with hosts Revsine, Pizzo and Mike Hall and a rotating group of analysts
- B1G Tip-Off Show and B1G Basketball Game Break - Airing throughout the season prior to and between games
- Big Ten Basketball & Beyond - National news from a Big Ten perspective, airing Sunday nights
- Women?s Sports Report - Airing weekly with hosts Lisa Byington and Elise Menaker
- The Journey: Big Ten Basketball 2020 - Fueled by Gatorade - Returns for its 12th season this January
Basketball games and coverage can be streamed all season long via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices on the Fox Sports app.