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Culminates from United Center with the State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago

ESPN will celebrate the start of the 2015-16 college basketball season with the eighth annual Tip-Off Marathon presented by Constant Contact, nearly 31 consecutive hours of men’s and women’s game and studio programming, Monday, Nov. 16 through Tuesday, Nov. 17.

The Marathon – 20 games and a special edition of College GameDay Covered by State Farm across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network – will tip off with a quadruple header at 5:30 p.m. ET featuring three-time defending national champion UConn women at No. 6 Ohio State. ESPN’s schedule of five consecutive games starts at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and concludes with the State Farm Champions Classic from Chicago. ESPN2 will also televise a Tuesday men’s primetime game showcasing No. 3 Maryland against Georgetown at 9 p.m.

The neutral-site, early-season men’s doubleheader that matches four of the winningest programs against each other will begin with College GameDay from inside the arena at 7 p.m. with Rece Davis, along with analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams. The games commence at 7:30 p.m. with No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Duke, followed by No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Michigan State – all on ESPN.

Davis will then host College Football Playoff: Top 25 – ESPN’s exclusive reveal of the College Football Playoff weekly rankings – live onsite in between games with analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway and David Pollack.

Announcer highlights

• ESPN2’s Big Monday team of Beth Mowins and Stephanie White will call top-ranked UConn women at No. 6 Ohio State to tip-off the Marathon Monday, at 5:30 p.m.
• Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun takes to the road, after spending most of last season in studio, to call No. 6 Virginia at George Washington on ESPN2 with Jason Benetti on Monday, at 7:30 p.m.
• Chris Spatola makes his SEC Network debut for the Oral Roberts at South Carolina tilt on Monday, at 7:30 p.m., pairing with Dave Neal.
• Fellow New Englanders Sean McDonough and Tim Welsh join together to call Valparaiso at Rhode Island on Tuesday, at 10 a.m. on ESPN2.
• ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy will call his third Marathon game (2014 & 2011), when he pairs with ESPN Radio’s Ryan Ruocco for the Alabama at Dayton matchup Tuesday, at 1 p.m. to start ESPN’s coverage.
• Bilas, along with Dan Shulman and Shannon Spake, will call the first game of the Champions Classic featuring No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Duke at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, with Dick Vitale joining Shulman and Spake for No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Michigan State.
• Mike Tirico will call a rare November game, in addition to his Monday Night Football duties, a beltway showdown between Georgetown and No. 3 Maryland with Dan Dakich on Tuesday, at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

Scott Van Pelt Brings SportsCenter to his Alma Mater
The new midnight edition of SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt will go “on the road” for the first time with a live show following the Georgetown-Maryland game on Tuesday, from Xfinity Center in College Park, Md. Van Pelt, who never hides his love for his alma mater and the Maryland Terrapins sports teams, hosts the program with his unique perspective on the world of sports. The show will air on ESPN2 immediately following the game, at approximately 11 p.m.

Marathon highlights

• The men’s 2015 Wooden Award Watch List will be part of the noon SportsCenter on Tuesday with the full list available immediately after on ESPN.com.
• 10 men’s teams in the preseason Associated Press poll: No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Kansas, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 Virginia, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 16 Utah, No. 21 LSU and No. 22 Baylor.
• Three women’s teams in the preseason Associated Press poll: No. 1 UConn, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida State.
• Sixteen conferences are represented including seven appearances from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), four from the Atlantic Coast and Big Ten and three appearances each from the Atlantic 10, Big 12 and Pac-12.
  • Additional conferences featured: American (2), BIG EAST (2), Big West (2), Horizon (2), Mountain West (2), Southland (2), Atlantic Sun (1), Missouri Valley (1), Southern (1) and West Coast (1).

All telecasts will be streamed live on WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

2015 College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Schedule (subject to change)

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