ESPN's College Basketball Schedule is Highlighted With North Carolina-Duke

This week wraps up the regular season for college basketball. Some conferences are starting their tournaments this week as well, so it’s an eclectic mix of games as we get ready for one of the best parts of sports calendar, March Madness. For me, my three favorite months of the sports calendar are January for the NFL playoffs, March for the conference tournaments and NCAA Tournament and October for the MLB Postseason and World Series.

So we have the beginning of what should be an exciting month of college basketball and it begins with this weekend’s mid-major conference tournaments and the jockeying for positioning for seeding in the “BCS” conferences and we have the 2nd North Carolina-Duke game on Saturday which ESPN will carry.

We have the schedule of games for the ESPN family of networks coming up, but first, ESPN tells us that College GameDay will be live in Durham, NC for Carolina-Duke and for the first time, the show will have a special Friday night presentation on ESPNU.

College GameDay Returns to Duke-UNC Rivalry on Saturday

ESPN’s College GameDay returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University on Saturday, March 3 (10 a.m., ESPNU & ESPN 3D; 11 a.m. & 6 p.m., ESPN & ESPN 3D). Rece Davis serves as the College GameDay host, and is joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Hubert Davis.

The weekly show originates from the site of ESPN’s Saturday Primetime telecast – this week, pitting the top two teams in the ACC – No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke (7 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN3 & ESPN 3D). Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews will call the telecast. GameDay is at the site of the Duke-UNC rivalry for the fourth time since the show’s debut in 2005.

Coverage will begin with a special first-time Friday edition of College GameDay, March 2, at 11 p.m.  The following day, ESPNU will dedicate eight hours of Duke vs. UNC programming, including the recent thriller from February 8 when the Blue Devils stunned the Tar Heels with a last second, three-pointer from freshman Austin Rivers.

Date Time (ET) Program Network
Fri, March 2 11 p.m. College GameDay: North Carolina vs. Duke Special (Durham, N.C.)

ESPNU

Sat, March 3 3:30 a.m. Re-air: College GameDay: North Carolina vs. Duke Special (Durham, N.C.) ESPNU
4 a.m. Duke vs. North Carolina (Feb. 5, 1992) ESPNU
6 a.m. North Carolina vs. Duke (Feb. 9, 2005) ESPNU
7:30 a.m. Duke vs. North Carolina (Feb. 8, 2012) ESPNU
9 a.m. Re-air: College GameDay: North Carolina vs. Duke Special (Durham, N.C.) ESPNU
9:30 a.m. First Take: College Basketball ESPNU
10 a.m. College GameDay (Durham, N.C.)
Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps & Hubert Davis
ESPNU/ESPN 3D
11 a.m. & 6 p.m. College GameDay (Durham, N.C.)
Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps & Hubert Davis
ESPN/ESPN 3D
7 p.m. Saturday Primetime:
No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke

Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Erin Andrews
ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN 3D

And here’s that ESPN schedule for the rest of the week.

Men’s College Basketball: No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke Showdown

ESPN’s men’s college basketball schedule will be highlighted by No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke in a showdown between the ACC rivals, which have identical 12-2 records in the conference. Duke defeated North Carolina in a thrilling 85-84 last-second victory on February 8.

Date

Time (ET)

Matchup

Network

Wed, Feb 29

7 p.m.

Maryland at No. 6 North Carolina
John Saunders & Dick Vitale

ESPN/ESPN3

No. 7 Marquette at Cincinnati
Bob Wischusen & Bob Knight

ESPN2/ESPN3

St. John’s at Pittsburgh
Adam Amin & Bob Valvano

ESPNU

9 p.m.

Oklahoma at Texas
Jon Sciambi & Fran Fraschilla

ESPN2/ESPN3

Iowa at Nebraska
Mitch Holthus & Miles Simon

ESPNU

Thu, March 1

7 p.m.

No. 16 Michigan at Illinois
Dave O’Brien, Stephen Bardo & Jalen Rose

ESPN/ESPN3

No. 22 Florida State at Virginia
Mike Patrick, Len Elmore & Jeannine Edwards

ESPN2/ESPN3

9 p.m.

Georgia at No. 1 Kentucky
Rece Davis & Hubert Davis

ESPN/ESPN3

Villanova at Rutgers
John Saunders & Tim Welsh

ESPN2/ESPN3

11 p.m.

New Mexico State at Nevada
Dave Flemming & Miles Simon

ESPN2/ESPN3

Fri, March 2

7 p.m.

Akron at Kent State
TBD & Dan Dakich

ESPN2/ESPN3

Sat, March 3

Noon

Pittsburgh at Connecticut
Dave Pasch & Doris Burke

ESPN/ESPN3

2 p.m.

Cincinnati at Villanova
TBD & TBD

ESPN/ESPN3

4 p.m.

Vanderbilt at Tennessee
Brad Nessler & Jimmy Dykesw

ESPN/ESPN3

7 p.m.

No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke
Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Erin Andrews

ESPN/ESPN3

9 p.m.

Texas at No. 4 Kansas
Brent Musburger & Bob Knight

ESPN/ESPN3

Sun, March 4

Noon

Clemson at No. 22 Florida State
Mike Patrick & Len Elmore

ESPN2/ESPN3

1 p.m.

No. 16 Michigan at Penn State
TBD & Dan Dakich

ESPN/ESPN3

6 p.m.

ACC Sunday Night Basketball: N.C. State at Virginia Tech
Jon Sciambi, Hubert Davis & Jeannine Edwards

ESPNU

That will do it.

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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