Duke-UNC TV issue?

Relax, college basketball fans. There's no way CBS is going to let the Missouri Valley Conference championship game on Sunday cut into the start of the Duke-North Carolina game if the first game runs long, at least in this market. The network will either switch to the ACC rivalry game at the Dean Smith Center in time for the scheduled 4 p.m. start or adjust the tipoff time, CBS spokeswoman LeslieAnne Wade says.

"We understand," Wade assures local viewers.

WRAL has no say in the matter and has neither the right nor the ability to air both game feeds, says John Harris, programming director for the CBS affiliate in Raleigh.

The MVC title game starts at 2 p.m. While Harris can't guarantee that WRAL will have the Duke-UNC tip, "I suspect that CBS would stay with the Missouri Valley game if there is very little time left and they think it will end close to our game’s tip," he says. "On the other hand, if it appears that it will run well beyond 4 p.m., the network will most likely switch to our game and simply update viewers on the outcome of the Missouri Valley game. They will have to make this call on the fly."