BasketballCollege Basketball - Men's
College Basketball is Back: State Farm Champions Classic to Tip-Off on Opening Night
College basketball is back. ESPN will open the season with the State Farm Champions Classic, featuring two Sonic Blockbuster games, as No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Kansas (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), followed by No. 4 Duke facing No. 2 Kentucky (9:30 p.m.). Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Laura Rutledge will call the Spartans-Jayhawks matchup, with Jay Bilas handling analyst duties for the Blue Devils-Wildcats game.
Coverage will include:
- SpiderCam footage, bringing dynamic looks from beyond the baseline and flying into the action
- SportsCenter twitter handle will have a “Zion Warmup Cam,” following Duke freshman Zion Williamson during warmups prior to his regular season debut; the stream will have commentary from Treavor Scales and Chiney Ogwumike
College GameDay Covered by State Farm (6 p.m.) will be live from Bankers Life Fieldhouse, as host Rece Davis and analysts Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams break down the matchups and preview the 2018-19 season. The College Football Playoff: Top 25 Presented by PlayStation rankings show will also originate from the Classic, with Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway and David Pollack as they unveil the CFP Committee’s second top 25 rankings between matchups.
The games will be complemented by the sounds of Grammy-nominated artist Logic. The Return, off his fourth studio album YSIV, will be featured as the Sonic Blockbuster anthem track across ESPN platforms throughout the season.
Friday’s Armed Forces Classic, as part of ESPN’s 10th annual Veterans Week initiative, will originate from Fort Bliss, Texas, with Arkansas playing Texas. Dave Flemming, Greenberg, and Williams will be on the call.
This week’s slate features 18 ranked teams across ESPN networks, including No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 7 Nevada, No. 8 UNC, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12 Kansas State, No. 13 West Virginia, No. 15 Virginia Tech, No. 16 Syracuse, No. 17 Florida State, No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 22 Clemson, No. 23 LSU, and No. 25 Washington.
Complete weekly schedule and commentator assignments can be found here.
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup/Commentators | Network |
| Tue, Nov 6 | 12:30 p.m. | Wisconsin-Lutheran at Green Bay | ESPN+ |
| 4 p.m. | St. Francis at Buffalo | ESPN+ | |
| 6 p.m. | Cedarville at Akron | ESPN3 | |
| 6:05 p.m. | Kentucky Christian at Morehead State | ESPN+ | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Rider at UCF | ESPN3 | |
| 7 p.m. | State Farm Champions Classic: A Sonic Blockbuster No. 10 Michigan State at No. 1 Kansas Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale, Laura Rutledge |
ESPN | |
| No. 8 North Carolina at Wofford Rich Hollenberg, LaPhonso Ellis |
ESPN2 | ||
| Lenoir-Rhyne at No. 6 Tennessee Tom Hart, Jon Sundvold |
SEC Network | ||
| The Citadel at No. 22 Clemson | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Eastern Washington at No. 16 Syracuse | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Towson at No. 5 Virginia | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Youngstown State at Pittsburgh | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Milwaukee at Boston College | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Illinois-Chicago at Notre Dame | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Mount St. Mary’s at NC State | ACC Network Extra | ||
| USC Upstate at South Carolina | SEC Network + | ||
| Detroit Mercy at Western Michigan | ESPN3 | ||
| Rochester at Eastern Michigan | ESPN3 | ||
| Florida Gulf Coast at Illinois State | ESPN3 | ||
| Rivier at New Hampshire | ESPN3 | ||
| Central Connecticut at Hartford | ESPN3 | ||
| MIT at Harvard | ESPN+ | ||
| City College of New York at Fordham | ESPN+ | ||
| Stony Brook at George Washington | ESPN+ | ||
| Cleveland State at Davidson | ESPN+ | ||
| Gardner-Webb at VCU | ESPN+ | ||
| Randolph at Longwood | ESPN+ | ||
| Davis & Elkins at Radford | ESPN+ | ||
| Mid-Atlantic Christian at Hampton | ESPN+ | ||
| Indiana State at Ball State | ESPN+ | ||
| Colgate at NJIT | ESPN+ | ||
| Florida A&M at Jacksonville | ESPN+ | ||
| East Tennessee State at Georgia State | ESPN+ | ||
| Newbury College at Dartmouth | ESPN+ | ||
| Wilmington College at Northern Kentucky | ESPN+ | ||
| Kalamazoo at Oakland | ESPN+ | ||
| Bob Jones at Furman | ESPN+ | ||
| Pennsylvania at George Mason | ESPN+ | ||
| Bryant at Rhode Island | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | North Alabama at Samford | ESPN3 | |
| Texas Wesleyan at Stephen F. Austin | ESPN3 | ||
| La Salle at Temple | ESPN3 | ||
| UMass Lowell at UMass | ESPN+ | ||
| Colombia International at Charleston Southern | ESPN+ | ||
| UNC-Wilmington at Campbell | ESPN+ | ||
| Cumberland at UT Martin | ESPN+ | ||
| 8 p.m. | Southern at Alabama | SEC Network + | |
| Winthrop at Vanderbilt | SEC Network + | ||
| Central Arkansas at Missouri | SEC Network + | ||
| Northland College at North Dakota | ESPN3 | ||
| Grand Canyon at South Dakota State | ESPN3 | ||
| Huston-Tillotson at Lamar | ESPN3 | ||
| Oral Roberts at Missouri State | ESPN3 | ||
| Concordia (Chicago) at Valparaiso | ESPN3 | ||
| Louisiana Tech at Wichita State | ESPN3 | ||
| Alcorn State at Tulsa | ESPN3 | ||
| Tennessee Tech at Memphis | ESPN3 | ||
| Eastern Illinois at Texas Lowell Galindo, Lance Blanks |
Longhorn Network | ||
| UT Tyler at UT Arlington | ESPN+ | ||
| Southeast Missouri State at Saint Louis | ESPN+ | ||
| Mars Hill at Appalachian State | ESPN+ | ||
| University of the Pacific at SIU-Edwardsville | ESPN+ | ||
| Cornell at Binghamton | ESPN+ | ||
| Bemidji State at Northern Iowa | ESPN+ | ||
| 8:15 p.m. | Sewanee at Lipscomb | ESPN+ | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana at No. 23 LSU | SEC Network + | |
| 9 p.m. | Florida at No. 17 Florida State Bob Wischusen, Cory Alexander |
ESPN2 | |
| South Alabama at No. 11 Auburn Mike Morgan, Andy Kennedy |
SEC Network | ||
| UMKC at Loyola-Chicago | ESPN+ | ||
| 9:30 p.m. | State Farm Champions Classic: A Sonic Blockbuster No. 4 Duke at No. 2 Kentucky Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, Laura Rutledge |
ESPN | |
| 10:30 p.m. | Western Kentucky at No. 25 Washington Eric Rothman, Corey Williams |
ESPNU | |
| Wed, Nov 7 | 6 p.m. | Ohio State at Cincinnati Jason Benetti, Dan Dakich |
ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | Wilberforce at Ohio | ESPN3 | |
| North Florida at Dayton | ESPN+ | ||
| Bucknell at St. Bonaventure | ESPN+ | ||
| Marshall at Eastern Kentucky | ESPN+ | ||
| Johnson University Florida at Stetson | ESPN+ | ||
| Western Carolina at Wright State | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Oglethorpe at Kennesaw State | ESPN+ | |
| 8 p.m. | Wisconsin-Parkside at Bradley | ESPN+ | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Savannah State at Texas A&M | SEC Network + | |
| Thu, Nov 8 | 7 p.m. | Nicholls at Louisville | ACC Network Extra |
| Chicago State at Notre Dame | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Ferrum at Lynchburg | ESPN3 | ||
| Morehead State at Connecticut | ESPN3 | ||
| Siena at George Washington | ESPN+ | ||
| St. Andrews at UNC Asheville | ESPN+ | ||
| Maine Fort Kent at Liberty | ESPN+ | ||
| Southeastern at Florida Gulf Coast | ESPN+ | ||
| SUNY Canton at Cornell | ESPN+ | ||
| Hiawassee College at East Tennessee State | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Southwestern University at Sam Houston State | ESPN3 | |
| Southwestern Assemblies of God at Stephen F. Austin | ESPN3 | ||
| 8 p.m. | Alabama State at South Dakota State | ESPN+ | |
| Buena Vista at Drake | ESPN+ | ||
| Fri, Nov 9 | 11 a.m. | Chicago State at Central Michigan | ESPN3 |
| 2 p.m. | Antelope Valley at CSU Bakersfield | ESPN3 | |
| 4:30 p.m. | Indiana State at Green Bay | ESPN3 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | Limestone at Mars Hill | ESPN3 | |
| 7 p.m. | Armed Forces Classic Arkansas at Texas Dave Flemming, Seth Greenberg/Jay Williams |
ESPN | |
| North Carolina at Elon Kevin Fitzgerald, Malcolm Huckaby |
ESPNU | ||
| Southern Illinois at No. 2 Kentucky Mike Morgan, Dane Bradshaw |
SEC Network | ||
| North Carolina Central at No. 22 Clemson | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Lehigh at Miami | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Gardner-Webb at No. 15 Virginia Tech | ACC Network Extra | ||
| VMI at Pittsburgh | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Louisiana at No. 6 Tennessee | SEC Network + | ||
| Charleston Southern at Florida | SEC Network + | ||
| Stony Brook at South Carolina | SEC Network + | ||
| Drexel at Eastern Michigan | ESPN3 | ||
| Toledo at Oakland | ESPN3 | ||
| Piedmont College at Mercer | ESPN3 | ||
| Detroit at Temple | ESPN3 | ||
| Northeastern at Harvard | ESPN+ | ||
| American at George Mason | ESPN+ | ||
| Longwood at Richmond | ESPN+ | ||
| Dartmouth at Davidson | ESPN+ | ||
| Hampton at VCU | ESPN+ | ||
| New Hampshire at UMass | ESPN+ | ||
| Northern Kentucky at Northern Illinois | ESPN+ | ||
| DeSales at Princeton | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Lamar at Georgia Tech | ACC Network Extra | |
| Austin Peay at No. 18 Mississippi State | SEC Network + | ||
| Belmont Abbey at Wingate | ESPN3 | ||
| Jacksonville State at Samford | ESPN3 | ||
| Old Dominion at Saint Joseph’s | ESPN+ | ||
| Coastal Carolina at Campbell | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:45 p.m. | James Madison at East Carolina | ESPN3 | |
| 8 p.m. | UNC Greensboro at No. 23 LSU | SEC Network + | |
| Kennesaw State at No. 12 Kansas State | ESPN3 | ||
| Robert Morris at Missouri State | ESPN3 | ||
| Furman at Loyola-Chicago | ESPN3 | ||
| Air Force at Texas State | ESPN+ | ||
| NJIT at Binghamton | ESPN+ | ||
| Rice at Pennsylvania | ESPN+ | ||
| 8:30 p.m. | Savannah State at Georgia | SEC Network + | |
| 9 p.m. | Buffalo at No. 13 West Virginia Chuckie Kempf, Tim Welsh |
ESPNU | |
| UIC at Radford | ESPN+ | ||
| 9:30 p.m. | No. 25 Washington at No. 11 Auburn Richard Cross, Daymeon Fishback |
SEC Network | |
| UC Irvine at Texas A&M | SEC Network + | ||
| 10 p.m. | Pacific at No. 7 Nevada | ESPN3 | |
| 11 p.m. | Pac-12 China Game presented by Alibaba Group Yale at California Roxy Bernstein, Sean Farnham |
ESPNU | |
| Sat, Nov 10 | Noon | College of Charleston at Western Carolina | ESPN3 |
| 1 p.m. | Eastern Illinois at IUPUI | ESPN3 | |
| Shenandoah at UMBC | ESPN3 | ||
| Wagner at UMass Lowell | ESPN3 | ||
| 2 p.m. | Maryland-Eastern Shore at NC State | ACC Network Extra | |
| North Carolina A&T at Wake Forest | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Southeast Missouri State at Bradley | ESPN3 | ||
| Jackson State at St. Bonaventure | ESPN+ | ||
| Wofford at High Point | ESPN+ | ||
| 3 p.m. | Lafayette at La Salle | ESPN+ | |
| 4 p.m. | Western Michigan at Ole Miss | SEC Network + | |
| Brevard at USC Upstate | ESPN+ | ||
| Tennessee State at Lipscomb | ESPN+ | ||
| Oklahoma State at Charlotte | ESPN+ | ||
| 4:30 p.m. | Akron at Youngstown State | ESPN3 | |
| 5 p.m. | William & Mary at Duquesne | ESPN+ | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Alabama A&M at Houston | ESPN3 | |
| 7 p.m. | Morehead State at No. 16 Syracuse | ACC Network Extra | |
| Wilberforce at Toledo | ESPN3 | ||
| Kent State at Cleveland State | ESPN3 | ||
| North Dakota at Milwaukee | ESPN3 | ||
| Coppin State at Dayton | ESPN+ | ||
| Presbyterian at Tennessee Tech | ESPN+ | ||
| 8 p.m. | Northern Iowa at UT Arlington | ESPN+ | |
| Troy at Saint Louis | ESPN+ | ||
| Illinois State at Belmont | ESPN+ | ||
| Winthrop at SIU-Edwardsville | ESPN+ | ||
| 8:30 p.m. | Wright State at Murray State | ESPN+ | |
| 9 p.m. | Blue Mountain College at North Alabama | ESPN+ | |
| Sun, Nov 11 | Noon | St. Mary’s College at Lynchburg | ESPN3 |
| 1 p.m. | Army at No. 4 Duke Doug Sherman, Chris Spatola |
ESPN | |
| St. Francis – Brooklyn at Boston College | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Colgate at Cornell | ESPN+ | ||
| 2 p.m. | George Washington at No. 5 Virginia | ACC Network Extra | |
| Goshen at Eastern Michigan | ESPN3 | ||
| Brown at NJIT | ESPN+ | ||
| UC Santa Barbara at North Dakota State | ESPN+ | ||
| 3 p.m. | Southern Miss at SMU | ESPN3 | |
| Florida Atlantic at UCF | ESPN3 | ||
| 4 p.m. | Stetson at Missouri State | ESPN3 | |
| Lamar at East Carolina | ESPN3 | ||
| Southeastern Louisiana at Nebraska Jon Meterparel, Brooke Weisbrod |
ESPNU | ||
| 5 p.m. | Hartford at No. 18 Mississippi State Richard Cross, Daymeon Fishback |
SEC Network | |
| UMKC at Connecticut | ESPN3 | ||
| 5:05 p.m. | Huntingdon at South Alabama | ESPN+ | |
| 6 p.m. | Wabash College at Northern Kentucky | ESPN+ | |
| 7 p.m. | Appalachian State at Alabama Mike Morgan, Pat Bradley |
SEC Network | |
| Florida State at Tulane | ESPN3 | ||
| Hofstra at Marshall | ESPN+ | ||
| Mon, Nov 12 | 1 p.m. | Mount Saint Vincent at New Hampshire | ESPN+ |
| 7 p.m. | Stanford at No. 8 North Carolina Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas |
ESPN2 | |
| North Carolina A&T at Maryland Will Flemming, Adrian Branch |
ESPNU | ||
| Troy at Pittsburgh | ACC Network Extra | ||
| Campbell at Ohio | ESPN3 | ||
| Midway at Miami (Ohio) | ESPN3 | ||
| Misericordia at Binghamton | ESPN3 | ||
| Bowling Green at VCU | ESPN+ | ||
| Monmouth at Saint Joseph’s | ESPN+ | ||
| Welch at Presbyterian | ESPN+ | ||
| Heidelberg at Youngstown State | ESPN+ | ||
| Manhattan at UMBC | ESPN+ | ||
| Mid-Atlantic Christian at The Citadel | ESPN+ | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Quincy at Southeast Missouri State | ESPN+ | |
| Kennesaw State at Samford | ESPN+ | ||
| 8 p.m. | UC Davis at Arkansas | SEC Network + | |
| Louisiana-Monroe at Texas Lowell Galindo, Lance Blanks |
Longhorn Network | ||
| UIC at Duquesne | ESPN+ | ||
| Northern Arizona at South Dakota | ESPN+ | ||
| Buffalo at Southern Illinois | ESPN+ | ||
| 8:15 p.m. | Middle Tennessee State at Belmont | ESPN+ | |
| 9 p.m. | Vermont at No. 1 Kansas Tom Hart, Fran Fraschilla |
ESPN2 | |
| Denver at No. 12 Kansas State | ESPN3 |
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