Third Annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon: Five of the Top Six Ranked Teams Showdown

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 a Dick’s Sporting Goods 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 Driven by State Farm 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 Dick’s Sporting Goods 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  

  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.  

  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.