Longhorn Network to Televise Season Openers for UT Men’s and Women’s Basketball

Longhorn Network, ESPN’s 24-hour network devoted to The University of Texas, will air 10 Texas men’s basketball games and 14 women’s games during the 2014-15 basketball season. Both teams are ranked in the Top 10 of the Associated Press pre-season poll and will open their season on the network.
The first game on LHN will feature Oklahoma City University and the UT Women’s team at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 9, in an exhibition game from the Frank Erwin Center. Longhorn legends Fran Harris and Nell Fortner will call the action. Katie Smith, who was chosen Big Ten MVP while at Ohio State, and who set records with both the ABL and WNBA, will join the on-air lineup for LHN as the season progresses.
Five days later, LHN will televise the season opener for the men’s team against North Dakota State, as part of the 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project. Play-by-play action will be reported by veteran sportscaster Paul Sunderland. In his first LHN appearance, Lifetime Longhorn Lance Blanks, who helped lead Texas to the Elite 8 in 1990, and is former General Manager of the Phoenix Suns, will provide analysis. Reid Gettys will also join the LHN line-up during the season.
Seven of the women’s games and three of the men’s games airing on LHN feature a Big 12 opponent.
Coach Barnes currently appears in LHN’s football pregame show Texas GameDay, where he interacts with fans and tailgaters in a segment titled Barnestorming. In November, Coach Barnes’ weekly radio show, Longhorn Weekly with Rick Barnes, will also be simulcast on Longhorn Network.
Additionally, a pre-season episode of Texas Basketball All Access will debut November 11 at 9 p.m. on Longhorn Network.
The men’s team returns all five starters from last year’s team that finished with a 24-11 overall record, including an 11-7 mark in the Big 12. The squad will be led by senior forward Jonathan Holmes, who earned a spot on last year’s All-Big 12 Second Team, along with junior center Cameron Ridley, sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor and freshman forward Myles Turner.
Turner – No.2 in the ESPN 100 – is the highest-ranked recruit to come to Texas since Avery Bradley (No. 1 overall) in 2009.
The women’s team went 22-12 overall and finished third in the Big 12 last year. This year’s team will feature 10 returning letter-winners and a recruiting class ranked No. 11 by espnW HoopGurlz. Incoming McDonald’s All-American guards Ariel Atkins and Brooke McCarty complement a roster featuring six student-athletes with starting experience, including All-Big 12 posts Nneka Enemkpali and Imani McGee-Stafford.
Both Turner and Atkins spent their summers helping their respective USA U18 National Teams to win the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Texas Men’s Basketball Schedule on LHN (subject to change):
DAY | TIME (CT) | OPPONENT |
Fri, Nov. 14 | 7 p.m. | NORTH DAKOTA STATE |
Tue, Nov. 25 | 7 p.m. | SAINT FRANCIS |
Tue, Dec. 2 | 7 p.m. | UT-ARLINGTON |
Sat, Dec. 13 | 7 p.m. | TEXAS STATE |
Tue, Dec. 16 | 7 p.m. | LIPSCOMB |
Sat, Dec. 20 | 7 p.m. | LONG BEACH STATE |
Mon, Dec. 29 | 7 p.m. | RICE |
Wed, Feb, 4 | 7 p.m. | OKLAHOMA STATE |
Wed, Feb. 11 | 7 p.m. | TCU |
Sat, Feb. 14 | 7 p.m. | TEXAS TECH |
Texas Women’s Basketball Schedule on LHN (subject to change):
DAY | Proposed Start | OPPONENT |
Sun, Nov. 9 | 2 p.m. | OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY* |
Sat, Nov. 15 | 2 p.m. | UTSA |
Wed, Nov. 26 | 7 p.m. | UT-PAN AM |
Wed, Dec. 3 | 7 p.m. | NEW MEXICO |
Mon, Dec. 8 | 11 a.m. | SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY |
Sun, Dec. 14 | 2 p.m. | NORTHWESTERN STATE |
Wed, Dec. 17 | 7 p.m. | MCNEESE STATE |
Tue, Dec. 30 | 7 p.m. | RICE |
Sat, Jan. 3 | 7 p.m. | KANSAS |
Wed, Jan. 7 | 7 p.m. | WEST VIRGINIA |
Sat, Jan. 17 | noon | TEXAS TECH |
Wed, Feb. 18 | 7 p.m. | KANSAS STATE |
Wed, Feb. 25 | 7 p.m. | OKLAHOMA STATE |
Tue, Mar 3 | 7 p.m. | TCU |
Where to Watch
Longhorn Network is available on AT&T U-verse TV, DISH, Time Warner Cable, Suddenlink, and Verizon FiOS TV, as well as Bay City CableVision, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, Cox Communications, En-Touch Systems, E-Tex Communications, Grande Communications, Google Fiber (in Kansas City), Mid-Coast CableVision and Texas Mid-Gulf CableVision. Longhorn Network is available on computers, smartphones and tablets via WatchESPN to AT&T U-verse TV, DISH, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Google Fiber, Grande Communications and Verizon FiOS subscribers. It is also available at no cost to U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
About Longhorn Network
ESPN has a 20-year agreement to own and operate a year-round, 24-hour network dedicated to Texas athletics in partnership with UT and IMG College. Longhorn Network offers a variety of content, highlighted by more than 175 exclusive events annually from 20 sports, original series and studio shows, historical programming and academic and cultural happenings.
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