ESPN will mark the opening of the 2014-15 college basketball season with nearly 29 consecutive hours of men’s and women’s game and studio programming as part of its seventh annual Tip-Off Marathon Presented by Dish Monday, Nov. 17 through Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The Marathon – 22 games and a special edition of College GameDay Covered by State Farm across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network – will tip off Monday at 7 p.m. ET with the first telecasts of a women’s doubleheader on ESPN2 and a men’s tripleheader on ESPNU.
Following the women’s telecasts, ESPN2 will televise seven consecutive men’s matchups beginning at 11 p.m. ESPN’s schedule of five straight men’s matchups will begin at noon on Tuesday and conclude with the fourth annual State Farm Champions Classic doubleheader – No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Duke at 7 p.m. followed by No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky at 9 p.m. – from Indianapolis. ESPN will televise a special edition of College GameDay – with analysts Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams joining the show alongside the retuning duo of host Rece Davis and analyst Jay Bilas – from the Champions Classic at 6 p.m.
Every game will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast and Roku devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
A complete schedule of games on ESPN platforms for Monday, Nov. 17 through Wednesday, Nov. 19: men’s schedule and women’s schedule.
Game Highlights
- Four of the top seven – and 13 of the top 25 – teams in the Associated Press preseason men’s poll, highlighted by four games between ranked teams on ESPN.
- 22 SMU at No. 13 Gonzaga (Monday at 11 p.m.), No. 25 Utah at No. 16 San Diego State (Tuesday at 4 p.m.), No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Duke (Tuesday at 7 p.m.) and No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky (Tuesday at 9 p.m.).
- ESPN2 will open the Marathon on Monday with a women’s doubleheader matching four teams in the Associated Press preseason poll: two-time defending national champion No. 1 Connecticut will travel to 2014 Final Four participant No. 6 Stanford at 9 p.m., while No. 8 Baylor will face No. 11 Kentucky at 7 p.m.
- Twenty-one conferences will be represented: Atlantic Coast Conference, America East, American, Atlantic 10, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Big South, Big West, Horizon, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Pac-12, Southeastern Conference, Southern, Southland, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic.
SportsCenter at the Champions Classic
- SportsCenter anchors Linda Cohn and David Lloyd will be at the site of the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. On-site coverage will begin with multiple segments in the 9 and 10 a.m. editions of the program on ESPN and continue with the entire 11 a.m. (on ESPN) and 1 and 2 p.m. (on ESPN2) shows originating from the site.
2014 Tip-Off Marathon Presented by Dish on ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPNU (Nov. 17-18)
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup / Commentators | Network |
| Mon, Nov 17 | 7 p.m. | No. 8 Baylor at No. 11 Kentucky (women’s) Beth Mowins & Carolyn Peck |
ESPN2 |
| Miami (Fla.) at No. 7 Florida Mark Jones & Stan Heath |
ESPNU | ||
| 9 p.m. | No. 1 Connecticut at No. 6 Stanford (women’s) Dave O’Brien & Doris Burke |
ESPN2 | |
| Western Carolina at Alabama Dave Neal & Darrin Horn |
SEC Network | ||
| Georgia State at No. 14 Iowa State Clay Matvick & Reid Gettys |
ESPNU | ||
| 11 p.m. | No. 22 SMU at No. 13 Gonzaga Dave Flemming & Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN2 | |
| Progressive Legends Classic: Regional Round: Detroit at Oregon Steve Quis & Corey Williams |
ESPNU | ||
| Tues, Nov 18 | 1 a.m. | Auburn at Colorado Roxy Bernstein & Miles Simon |
ESPN2 |
| 3 a.m. | New Mexico State at Saint Mary’s Mark Neely & Jon Crispin |
ESPN2 | |
| 5 a.m. | High Point at Hawaii Kanoa Leahey & Stephen Howard |
ESPN2 | |
| 7 a.m. | Iona at Wofford Roy Philpott & Craig Robinson |
ESPN2 | |
| 9 a.m. | Northern Iowa at Stephen F. Austin Adam Amin & Jeff Van Gundy |
ESPN2 | |
| 11 a.m. | Manhattan at Massachusetts Sean McDonough & Tim Welsh |
ESPN2 | |
| Noon | Baylor at South Carolina John Saunders & Len Elmore |
ESPN | |
| 2 p.m. | No. 11 Wichita State vs. Memphis (Sioux Falls, S.D.) Jon Sciambi & Sean Farnham |
ESPN | |
| 4 p.m. | No. 25 Utah at No. 16 San Diego State Dave Pasch & Bill Walton |
ESPN | |
| 6 p.m. | College GameDay Covered by State Farm (from Indianapolis) | ESPN | |
| Progressive Legends Classic: Regional Round: Toledo at No. 15 VCU Tom Hart & Cory Alexander |
ESPNU | ||
| 7 p.m. | State Farm Champions Classic: No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Duke (Indianapolis, Ind.) Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Andy Katz |
ESPN | |
| NIT Season Tip-Off: Regional Round: Stony Brook at Georgia Matt Stewart & Dane Bradshaw |
SEC Network | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Marquette at No. 20 Ohio State Bob Wischusen & Dan Dakich |
ESPN2 | |
| 9 p.m. | State Farm Champions Classic: No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky (Indianapolis, Ind.) Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas & Andy Katz |
ESPN | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Texas Tech at LSU Dave Neal & Mark Adams |
ESPN2 |
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