A DOUBLE DIP OF BASKETBALL ACTION

The NCAA Basketball Championship numbers game is down to four today, or “The Final Four,” as the scribes like to dramatically label it.

CBS covers the action from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., beginning at 12:30 p.m., Channels 2 and 8, with the first semifinal featuring the Villanova Wildcats (23-10) vs. the Memphis State Tigers (31-3).

That will be followed by the other semifinal, pitting the Georgetown Hoyas (34-2) against St. John’s (31-3). Brent Musburger and Billy Packer will go it alone for the double dip.

The sporting gentry have it all figured out. Memphis is a 2 1/2-point pick over Villanova, and Georgetown is a big 6 1/2-pick over St. John’s. The winners meet for the title Monday at 6 p.m. over CBS.

To hear the experts tell it, there’s really not much suspense as to who will win it all. Al McGuire (and Billy Packer) is in print everywhere with his syndicated predictions, and he’s seldom wrong. The headline the other day said it all: “It Will Take Divine Intervention to Stop Georgetown.”

That doesn’t leave much left for the gregarious McGuire to talk about on his “Championship Special” show Sunday at 12:30 p.m., Channels 4 and 36.

The NCAA semifinals figure to lose some of their audience at 1 p.m. today, and with good reason. The “new, improved” Angels are making their bow for the television audience over Channel 5 in a preseason warm-up from Palm Springs. The San Francisco Giants are the visitors.

The Cubs play the Angels Sunday, also at 1 p.m.

There also is an improvement in the booth to call the TV coverage this season. The new team is Bob Starr and Joe Torre, a couple of ex-St. Louis Cardinal buffs back a few years ago. Starr broadcast the Cardinal games for seven years and Torre played behind the plate for several seasons, catching Bob Gibson.

Torre, of course, is well-known in this area, having played with the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium in the early ‘60s, winning the batting title one year, and later he was manager of the Atlanta Braves.

In this 25th anniversary season for the Angels, the club will televise 37 games, including two home games from Anaheim Stadium.

ROUNDUP: Today, Baseball, Cardinals vs. Braves, 10:30 a.m. (WTBS) . . . Golf, Tournament Players, 11 a.m. (2)(8) . . . Baseball, Cubs vs. Seattle, noon (WGN) . . . Tennis, Paine Webber tourney, noon (4) . . . Pro Bowlers Tour, from Baltimore, 3 p.m. (tape-delayed) (7)(3)(10)(42) . . . Soccer, Mexico vs. Switzerland, 4 p.m. (34) . . . Wide World of Sports, 4:30 p.m. (7)(3)(42); 5:30 (10) . . . NBA Basketball, Clippers vs. Suns, 6:30 p.m. (11) . . . USFL Football, New Jersey vs. Arizona, 7 p.m. (ESPN).

SUNDAY: NCAA Women’s Basketball, title game, 10 a.m. (2)(8) . . . Tennis, Paine Webber Tourney, finals, 10 a.m. (4)(36)(39) . . . Baseball, Braves vs. Dodgers, 10:30 a.m. (11) . . . USFL Football, Baltimore vs. Houston, 11:30 a.m. (7)(3)(10)(42) . . . SportWorld, “Superstars,” 4 p.m. (4) . . . NBA Basketball, Suns vs. Lakers, 7 p.m. (ON).