With talk of the Final Four being dominated by upperclassmen, one rookie will be featured prominently tonight.

CBS analyst Clark Kellogg.

For the first time in more than 30 years, someone other than Billy Packer will be the analyst. Kellogg gave us some "chow time at the buffet line" as he talked about North Carolina-Michigan State.

Carolina beat Michigan State by 35 points earlier this season. Does that benefit the Tar Heels or the Spartans tonight?

I always think psychologically, when you know that you can compete with a team and they've beaten you, you are relishing getting another chance at them. So … I think it's a slight benefit to Michigan State. You don't want revenge to be the primary motivator, but it can be a slight injection for you especially when you're now a different team as the Spartans are.

No one is playing as well as North Carolina. And no one can take you out of your game like Michigan State. What does that mean for tonight?

(Michigan State) can ugly it up but I think you saw the Michigan State team (against UConn) that Tom Izzo likes to see. That is a transition team. They want to push the ball. Now, can they push it at the pace and efficiency that Carolina can? That's a question.

Any first-time jitters?

No nightmares at all. Had the butterflies a little bit (Saturday) but I was so excited and happy to be there and the venue was so magnificent, the energy, the buzz … I know there are more people watching and I know the magnitude of the game. But at the end of the day it is two rings, one ball, 10 players.

What will make for a perfect game?

I would love to see all the key players not have issues with injuries or foul trouble. A good, crisp, fast-paced game. … I like to see good defense, but I like to see teams make shots. If that happens fans will enjoy it and we as broadcasters will have a good time calling it.

Coaches in first class

CBS studio analyst Greg Anthony played for Jerry Tarkanian when UNLV won a national title in 1990 and then lost the 1991 title game to Mike Krzyzewski's Duke team.

Tonight the coaches are Tom Izzo and Roy Williams.

"I don't think its fair to say (who is) the best coach," Anthony said of coaching in the Final Four. "The coach you have is the best coach. That is the only one you know.

"In college it is more of a father-son relationship. In the pros it is more peer-to-peer. So the way (the coach) carries himself is going to have a huge impact on you. … In the heat of the moment whatever adversity you are dealing with you want to feel your coach has the answers."

Anthony is hoping for someone to win tonight rather than someone losing.

"It is all about excellence," he said. "These kids are putting their hearts and soul into this. I hope for them they are able to go out and perform at a high level that if it doesn't turn out in their favor that it (is not due) to the fact that they didn't play well."

Ratings

Coverage of the Final Four got CBS an overnight rating of 9.0. That is up 7% from last year's Saturday games. The Michigan State-Connecticut game got an 8.7, up 12% from Memphis-UCLA. The North Carolina-Villanova game got a 9.3, up 2% from the Kansas-North Carolina.

Start spreading the news

On Saturday's telecast, CBS' Jim Nantz and Kellogg chided the media for being critical of Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun's silence on possible recruiting violations, saying the NCAA had put a gag order on the coach. But NCAA spokesman Bob Williams e-mailed USA TODAY's Steve Wieberg that no "gag order" was issued. "It never happened."