ESPN Gets Ready For Its 3rd Annual College Hoops Marathon

The two years previous, I wasn’t all that crazy about 24 consecutive hours of college basketball to start the season. Perhaps it was the fact that I wasn’t ready for college basketball season either year, but I’m actually looking forward to this already. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve already watched a couple of games this season, maybe it’s having no baseball to tie me through. Whatever the reason, I’m ready for this year’s ESPN marathon. There will be 21 games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU plus there’s a few sprinkled in for ESPN3.com as well.

We have your schedule plus your announcing assignments.

College Hoops Bonanza November 16

Third Annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon includes 12 Straight Games on ESPN; Five of the Top Six Ranked Teams & a Women’s Showdown between No. 1 Connecticut and No. 2 Baylor

For the third consecutive year, ESPN will open the college basketball season with a marathon of games and extensive coverage across multiple platforms. The College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Tuesday, Nov. 16 will be highlighted by 21 live contests – 20 men’s and one women’s — in a minimum of 25.5 hours across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com. ESPN will air 12 consecutive games beginning at 12 a.m. ET with Miami at Memphis.

In addition to game and studio coverage across ESPN platforms, ESPN.com will provide extensive content throughout the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. Highlights include writer Dana O’Neill covering three games from three sites and Eamonn Brennan in the Cover It Live chat room for 25 straight hours (additional details below).

The schedule will include:

  • Five of the top six – and 14 overall — teams in the men’s ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll: No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Kansas State, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Villanova, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Gonzaga, No. 13 Syracuse, No. 14 Baylor, No. 18 Butler, No. 19 Memphis, No. 20 Tennessee, No. 23 Virginia Tech and No. 24 Wisconsin. Two of ESPN’s telecasts will pit ranked teams against each other: No. 23 Virginia Tech at No. 3 Kansas State at 4 p.m., followed by No. 5 Ohio State at No. 11 Florida at 6 p.m.

 

  • A women’s showdown will pit two-time defending National Champion No. 1 Connecticut against No. 2 Baylor at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. Connecticut, which enters the season with a 78-game winning streak, defeated Baylor 70-50 in the National Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament last season.

 

  • Telecasts showcasing three men’s programs that made NCAA Tournament Final Four appearances last season:

 

  • Defending National Champion No. 1 Duke against Miami (Ohio) at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU;
  • No. 18 Butler, which played in the National Championship game, at Louisville, the first men’s game at the school’s new arena, at 8 p.m. on ESPN;
  • No. 2 Michigan State, which lost to Butler in the National Semifinals, against South Carolina at 10 p.m. on ESPN.

 

  • Back-to-back afternoon games involving two teams that played in the Elite Eight: No. 14 Baylor (against La Salle) at 2 p.m. and No. 3 Kansas State (against No. 23 Virginia Tech) at 4 p.m.

 

  • The debut of new St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin, who will lead the Red Storm against St. Mary’s at 2 a.m.

 

  • A game-specific Katz’s Corner by ESPN.com senior college basketball writer Andy Katz at half time of every ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU telecast. 

 

  • Commentator Rob Stone and analyst Jay Williams working two games: Stony Brook at Monmouth on ESPN at 6 a.m. and an NIT matchup, Marist at No. 6 Villanova, at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

ESPN’s studio highlights, news and analysis will include College GameDay host Rece Davis and analysts Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and Hubert Davis on ESPN beginning at 6 p.m. Doug Gottlieb will provide live studio analysis on ESPN from noon to 6 p.m. Additional College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon details:

  • A minimum of 21 conferences will be represented: ACC, Atlantic Sun, Atlantic 10, America East, Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, Conference USA, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Pac-10, SEC, Summit, Western Athletic and West Coast. The Big West Conference could be added if Pacific meets UCLA, the host site, in the NIT Season Tip-Off

 

  • ESPN will air games from four different United States time zones — Eastern, Central, Pacific and Hawaii-Aleutian – and from 17 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. 

 

  • The 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. telecasts will mark just the second time ESPN has televised live college basketball games in those time slots. 

ESPN.com
ESPN.com’s comprehensive coverage throughout the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon will be highlighted by 25 consecutive hours of live blogging and chats; four writers at five games in three time zones, including one reporting from three different contests; and a comprehensive preview of the day’s matchups. Details include:

  • An extensive preview of the action by Andy Katz and Eamonn Brennan on Monday.

 

  • Brennan will be stationed in ESPN.com’s Cover It Live chat room for 25 straight hours, blogging and answering fan questions. Multiple ESPN reporters will file stories from game sites and post interviews with several players and coaches; Jay Bilas, Fran Fraschilla, Joe Lunardi and additional commentators will provide insights; and fan polls, trivia and insomnia storytelling.

 

  • ESPN.com writer Dana O’Neill will report from three different games beginning at midnight with Miami at Memphis. She will then travel to Carbondale, Ill., to cover Northeastern at Southern Illinois at 10 a.m. and close out her day with No. 18 Butler at Louisville at 8 p.m. O’Neill will chronicle her own marathon as part of ESPN.com’s Cover It Live. Additional assignments:
  • Diamond Leung: St. John’s at St. Mary’s at 2 a.m.
  • Andy Katz: No. 5 Ohio State at No. 11 Florida at 6 p.m.
  • Pat Forde: No. 18 Butler at Louisville at 8 p.m.

2010-11 College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Schedule for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com

Date Time (ET) Matchup Network
Tue, Nov 16 12 a.m. Miami at No. 19 Memphis
Sean McDonough & Bill Raftery
ESPN/ESPN3.com
2 a.m. St. John’s at Saint Mary’s
Carter Blackburn & Mark Gottfried
ESPN/ESPN3.com
4 a.m. Central Michigan at Hawaii
Todd Harris & Mark Adams
ESPN/ESPN3.com
6 a.m. Stony Brook at Monmouth
Rob Stone & Jay Williams
ESPN/ESPN3.com
8 a.m. Robert Morris at Kent State
Jon Sciambi & LaPhonso Ellis
ESPN/ESPN3.com
10 a.m. Northeastern at Southern Illinois
Bob Wischusen & Stephen Bardo
ESPN/ESPN3.com
Noon Oral Roberts at Tulsa
John Saunders & Bob Valvano
ESPN/ESPN3.com
2 p.m. La Salle at No. 14 Baylor
Ron Franklin & Fran Fraschilla
ESPN/ESPN3.com
4 p.m. No. 23 Virginia Tech at No. 3 Kansas State
Brent Musburger & Bob Knight
ESPN/ESPN3.com
5:30 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off (from Villanova): Marist at No. 6 Villanova
Rob Stone & Jay Williams
ESPNU
6 p.m. No. 5 Ohio State at No. 11 Florida
Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes & Andy Katz
ESPN/ESPN3.com
6 p.m. Women’s Tip-Off Classic (from Hartford): No. 2 Baylor at No. 1 Connecticut
Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Rebecca Lobo
ESPN2/ ESPN3.com
7 p.m. Legends Classic: Detroit at No. 13 Syracuse
Chris Watson & Rob Kennedy
ESPN3.com
7:30 p.m. CBE Classic (from Durham): Miami (Ohio) at No. 1 Duke
Mike Patrick & Len Elmore
ESPNU
7:30 p.m. St. Joseph’s at Penn State
John Sanders & John Celestand
ESPN3.com
8 p.m. No. 18 Butler at Louisville
Dan Shulman & Dick Vitale
ESPN/ESPN3.com
8 p.m. North Dakota at No. 24 Wisconsin
Jim Barbar & Dickey Simpkins
ESPN3.com
9:30 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off (from Knoxville): Belmont at No. 20 Tennessee
Mike Gleason, Bob Wenzel & Bob Holtzman
ESPNU
10 p.m. South Carolina at No. 2 Michigan State
Dave O’Brien & Dan Dakich
ESPN/ESPN3.com
11 p.m. CBE Classic (from Spokane): San Diego State vs. No. 12 Gonzaga
Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham
ESPN2/ESPN3.com
11:30 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off (from Los Angeles): Nevada or Pacific at UCLA
Terry Gannon & Miles Simon
ESPNU

ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic will offer a 28-hour college basketball marathon leading up to the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon beginning Sunday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m.


Date Time (ET) Game
Sun, Nov 14 8 p.m. 2010 NCAA Sweet 16: Xavier vs. Kansas State
10 p.m. 2010 NCAA second round: Northern Iowa vs. Kansas
Mon, Nov 15 12 a.m. 2009 Memphis vs. UTEP
2 a.m. 2010 NCAA second round: Saint Mary’s vs. Villanova
4 a.m. 2010 Western Athletic Conference semifinal: New Mexico State vs. Nevada
6 a.m. 2007 Georgetown vs. Memphis
8 a.m. 2010 NIT second round: North Carolina vs. Mississippi State
10 a.m. 2006 NCAA regional final: George Mason vs. Connecticut
Noon 2010 NIT first round: Jacksonville vs. Arizona State
2 p.m. 2010 NIT semifinal: North Carolina vs. Rhode Island
4 p.m. 2010 NIT championship: North Carolina vs. Dayton
6 p.m. 2010 Kansas vs. Kansas State
8 p.m. 2010 NCAA Elite 8: West Virginia vs. Kentucky
10 p.m. 2010 National Championship: Duke vs. Butler

ESPN’s 2010-11 men’s college basketball schedule on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN Regional Television and ESPN FULL COURT will total a company record 1,200 games.

And that is it for this post.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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