Courtesy USA Today

(March 13, 2009) Greg Anthony, CBS' new lead studio analyst for college basketball, has analyzed pro and college hoops on TV. He says there's no question he faces a unique challenge in his first "NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show" Sunday (6 p.m. ET).

Talking pro hoops is one thing, says the former UNLV and NBA star. Instantly opining on which team should go to the Big Dance, and which shouldn't, is another.

"In the NBA, you've got 30 teams. In college, you've got 330. Up until a certain point, you don't know what (65) are going to be in," Anthony said. "So you've got to have a feel for a lot of different scenarios, styles, who they played, how they match up. There's a lot more information that goes into this process, by far, than what you deal with at the pro level."

Anthony joins Greg Gumbel and analyst Seth Davis on "The Road to the Final Four" studio show, succeeding Clark Kelllogg who moves up to lead game analyst with Jim Nantz.

Gumbel had some advice for Anthony: "I don't care how much basketball you've watched, I don't care how much you've played, I don't care how much you know, I don't think there's anything that prepares you for the first couple of nights of the tournament."

With Billy Packer gone from CBS, viewers will be closely watching other announcers for signs of alleged bias. That comes with the territory, Anthony said. "When I played, I didn't mind if they yelled for me or booed me as long as they did one or the other. That means the passion's there and that people care. … There's no more personal sporting event in America. There really isn't. With the Super Bowl, you've got two teams. People watch it. But the vast majority don't have a vested interest in either team. With March Madness someone either went to that school or someone in their family did."

As Anthony learned at UNLV in 1991, the best team doesn't always win. His undefeated Runnin' Rebels lost to Duke in the national semifinals. "My best team in college didn't win it. My second best team (in 1990) did. … When the game starts, nobody really knows what's going to happen."