March Madness: CBS Airing 6 Classic Games This Weekend After Coronavirus Cancellation

The NCAA made a major decision on March 12, officially opting to cancel the remaining spring and [...]

The NCAA made a major decision on March 12, officially opting to cancel the remaining spring and winter championships. This included March Madness, the highly-anticipated annual basketball tournament. Without any upcoming games to broadcast, CBS will now attempt to fill the void by replaying some historic matchups.

According to CBS Sports, there will be six classic games aired over the weekend, starting at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday. The action will start with the 1982 National Championship that featured North Carolina and Georgetown. This battle will be followed by the 1983 NCAA Championship game between NC State and Houston at 2 p.m. ET. Saturday's schedule will end with the 1992 regional final showdown between Duke and Kentucky, which will begin at 4 p.m. ET.

The classic games will continue on Sunday morning and will put the emphasis on more recent March Madness matchups. The first game to be shown is the 2008 National Championship overtime battle between Kansas and Memphis, which will air at 12 p.m. ET. The 2019 National Championship, which featured Virginia and Texas Tech, will immediately follow at 2 p.m. ET.

Sunday's schedule will culminate with the 2016 National Championship between Villanova and North Carolina, which will be shown at 4 p.m. ET. UNC's Marcus Paige tied the game with a three-point shot, which was expected to force overtime. However, Villanova junior Kris Jenkins threw up a buzzer-beater of his own, making the shot and giving his team the three-point victory and the championship.

With the NCAA tournament and other sporting events canceled or postponed due to coronavirus concerns, broadcasters have been searching for events to fill the time. CBS will be airing the classic games from years past while ESPN will be airing for a different style of event.

WWE revealed that ESPN will be airing three previous WrestleManias leading up to WrestleMania 36 on April 4 and 5. WrestleMania 30, the first of the three events, will be aired on Sunday, March 22, at 7 p.m. ET. WrestleMania 32 will be shown a week later on March 29 while WrestleMania 35 will be shown on April 7. This slate of events will give fans the opportunity to revisit some of the biggest moments featuring Becky Lynch, Hulk Hogan, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and Charlotte Flair among others.

Photo Credit: Chris Steppig/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

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