ESPN Networks Showcase 19 Games during Seventh Annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon

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ESPN Networks Showcase 19 Games during Seventh Annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon

Culminates from Bankers Life Fieldhouse with the State Farm Champions Classic in Indianapolis

CBB_tip-off_marathon_keyableESPN’s seventh annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon – more than 24 hours of consecutive coverage to mark the start of the 2014-15 season over Monday, Nov. 17 and Tuesday, Nov. 18 – will feature 19 men’s and women’s college basketball games across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The schedule includes 17 men’s games and two top-25 women’s matchups concluding with the fourth annual State Farm Champions Classic from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The neutral-site, early-season men’s doubleheader that matches four of the winningest programs against each other begins with College GameDay Covered by State Farm from inside the arena at 6 p.m. ET, followed by preseason-ranked No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Duke at 7 p.m. and No. 10 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky at 9 p.m. – all on ESPN.

The Marathon will include nine straight games tipping off every two hours beginning Monday with an ESPN2 tripleheader at 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., plus two games on ESPNU. ESPN’s schedule of five consecutive games starts at noon on Tuesday and concludes with the State Farm Champions Classic. ESPN2 will also televise a Tuesday primetime doubleheader at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Marathon highlights:

  • Eleven teams in the ESPN.com men’s preseason top 25 poll are playing in this year’s Marathon, including the State Farm Champions Classic field.
    • No. 9 Florida hosts in-state rival Miami in a marathon-opening game at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
    • A top-25 matchup of No. 12 SMU at No. 15 Gonzaga closes out ESPN2’s Monday night’s play at 11 p.m.
      Also on Monday at 11 p.m. in a Legends Classic matchup, No. 22 Oregon hosts Detroit on ESPNU.
    • No. 5 Wichita State, which had a magical 35-1 season in 2013-14, plays Memphis at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Tuesday, at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
    • Tuesday’s schedule also includes No. 20 San Diego State hosting Utah at 4 p.m. on ESPN and No. 14 VCU at home against Toledo at 6 p.m. on ESPNU as part of the Legends Classic.
  • Twenty-six men’s teams participated in 2014 postseason play in the NCAA Championship (19) and NIT (7).
    • Kentucky played for the national title, Florida advanced to the Final Four, Michigan State was an Elite Eight participant and Baylor earned a Sweet 16 berth.
    • Second-round participants included Duke, Colorado, Manhattan, New Mexico State, Ohio State, UMass, VCU and Wofford, while third-round teams were Gonzaga, Kentucky, Memphis, Oregon, San Diego State, Stephen F. Austin and Wichita State.
    • SMU played for the NIT title, while High Point, Iona, LSU, Saint Mary’s, Toledo and Utah all earned berths.
  • Four women’s teams ranked in espnW.com 2014-15 pre-preseason top 25 open the seventh annual marathon with an ESPN2 doubleheader on Monday.
    • Two-time defending national champion Connecticut plays at 2014 Final Four participant and No. 20 Stanford in the second game at 9 p.m.
    • No. 13 Baylor will face off against Kentucky (ranked No. 6), a team they knocked off in the 2014 Sweet 16, in the first matchup at 7 p.m.
  • Nineteen conferences are represented including six appearances from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and four from the Big 12 and Pac-12.
    • Additional conferences featured: Atlantic Coast (2), American (3), Atlantic 10 (2), BIG EAST (1), Big Ten (2), Big South (1), Big West (1), Horizon (1), Mid-American (1), Metro Atlantic Athletic (2), Missouri Valley (2), Mountain West (1), Southern (1), Southland (1), West Coast (2) and Western Athletic (1).

All telecasts will also be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

2014 College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Schedule (subject to change)

Date Time (ET) Game Network
Mon, Nov 17 7 p.m. No. 13 Baylor at No. 6 Kentucky women ESPN2
  Miami at No. 9 Florida ESPNU
  9 p.m. No. 1 Connecticut at No. 20 Stanford women ESPN2
  11 p.m. No. 12 SMU at No. 15 Gonzaga ESPN2
  Legends Classic: Detroit at No. 22 Oregon ESPNU
Tue, Nov 18 1 a.m. Auburn at Colorado ESPN2
  3 a.m. New Mexico State at Saint Mary’s ESPN2
  5 a.m. High Point at Hawaii ESPN2
  7 a.m. Iona at Wofford ESPN2
  9 a.m. Northern Iowa at Stephen F. Austin ESPN2
  11 a.m. Manhattan at UMass ESPN2
  Noon Baylor at South Carolina ESPN
  2 p.m. No. 5 Wichita State vs. Memphis (Sioux Falls, S.D.) ESPN
  4 p.m. Utah at No. 20 San Diego State ESPN
  6 p.m. College GameDay (Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis) ESPN
  Legends Classic: Toledo at No. 14 VCU ESPNU
  7 p.m. State Farm Champions Classic (Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis): No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Duke ESPN
  7:30 p.m. Marquette at Ohio State ESPN2
  9:30 p.m. State Farm Champions Classic (Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis): No. 10 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky ESPN
  9:30 p.m. Texas Tech at LSU ESPN2

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Rachel Margolis Siegal

A part of the Internal Communications team at ESPN, I began with the network in 2010 as part of the College Sports PR team. Always an avid sports fan and not an athlete – I grew up a huge fan of the Hartford Whalers, while also watching my brother compete at different levels. I became the manager of several high school sports teams and continued that hobby into college. While at Quinnipiac, I worked in the Sports Information Department, which led me to a summer internship at the New Haven Ravens, a AA baseball team, and an eventual job with the Athletic Communications Department at the University of Connecticut. After my five-year stint at Connecticut, I spent six years as Director of Communications at the BIG EAST Conference in Providence, R.I. before joining ESPN.
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