ESPN Ready for 24-Hour Tip Off Marathon

ESPN will mark the opening of the 2014-15 college basketball season with nearly 29 consecutive hours of men’s and women’s game and studio programming as part of its seventh annual Tip-Off Marathon Presented by Dish Monday, Nov. 17 through Tuesday, Nov. 18.

The Marathon – 22 games and a special edition of College GameDay Covered by State Farm across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network – will tip off Monday at 7 p.m. ET with the first telecasts of a women’s doubleheader on ESPN2 and a men’s tripleheader on ESPNU.

Following the women’s telecasts, ESPN2 will televise seven consecutive men’s matchups beginning at 11 p.m. ESPN’s schedule of five straight men’s matchups will begin at noon on Tuesday and conclude with the fourth annual State Farm Champions Classic doubleheader – No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Duke at 7 p.m. followed by No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky at 9 p.m. – from Indianapolis. ESPN will televise a special edition of College GameDay – with analysts Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams joining the show alongside the retuning duo of host Rece Davis and analyst Jay Bilas – from the Champions Classic at 6 p.m.

Every game will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast and Roku devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

A complete schedule of games on ESPN platforms for Monday, Nov. 17 through Wednesday, Nov. 19: men’s schedule and women’s schedule.

Game Highlights

• Four of the top seven – and 13 of the top 25 – teams in the Associated Press preseason men’s poll, highlighted by four games between ranked teams on ESPN.
  • 22 SMU at No. 13 Gonzaga (Monday at 11 p.m.), No. 25 Utah at No. 16 San Diego State (Tuesday at 4 p.m.), No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Duke (Tuesday at 7 p.m.) and No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky (Tuesday at 9 p.m.).
• ESPN2 will open the Marathon on Monday with a women’s doubleheader matching four teams in the Associated Press preseason poll: two-time defending national champion No. 1 Connecticut will travel to 2014 Final Four participant No. 6 Stanford at 9 p.m., while No. 8 Baylor will face No. 11 Kentucky at 7 p.m. 
• Twenty-one conferences will be represented: Atlantic Coast Conference, America East, American, Atlantic 10, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Big South, Big West, Horizon, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Pac-12, Southeastern Conference, Southern, Southland, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic.

SportsCenter at the Champions Classic

• SportsCenter anchors Linda Cohn and David Lloyd will be at the site of the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. On-site coverage will begin with multiple segments in the 9 and 10 a.m. editions of the program on ESPN and continue with the entire 11 a.m. (on ESPN) and 1 and 2 p.m. (on ESPN2) shows originating from the site.

2014 Tip-Off Marathon Presented by Dish on ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPNU (Nov. 17-18)

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup / Commentators	Network
Mon, Nov 17	7 p.m.	No. 8 Baylor at No. 11 Kentucky (women’s) Beth Mowins & Carolyn Peck	ESPN2
		Miami (Fla.) at No. 7 Florida Mark Jones & Stan Heath	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	No. 1 Connecticut at No. 6 Stanford (women’s) Dave O’Brien & Doris Burke	ESPN2
		Western Carolina at Alabama Dave Neal & Darrin Horn	SEC Network
		Georgia State at No. 14 Iowa State Clay Matvick & Reid Gettys	ESPNU
	11 p.m.	No. 22 SMU at No. 13 Gonzaga Dave Flemming & Fran Fraschilla	ESPN2
		Progressive Legends Classic: Regional Round: Detroit at Oregon Steve Quis & Corey Williams	ESPNU
Tues, Nov 18	1 a.m.	Auburn at Colorado Roxy Bernstein & Miles Simon	ESPN2
	3 a.m.	New Mexico State at Saint Mary’s Mark Neely & Jon Crispin	ESPN2
	5 a.m.	High Point at Hawaii Kanoa Leahey & Stephen Howard	ESPN2
	7 a.m.	Iona at Wofford Roy Philpott & Craig Robinson	ESPN2
	9 a.m.	Northern Iowa at Stephen F. Austin Adam Amin & Jeff Van Gundy	ESPN2
	11 a.m.	Manhattan at Massachusetts Sean McDonough & Tim Welsh	ESPN2
	Noon	Baylor at South Carolina John Saunders & Len Elmore	ESPN
	2 p.m.	No. 11 Wichita State vs. Memphis (Sioux Falls, S.D.) Jon Sciambi & Sean Farnham	ESPN
	4 p.m.	No. 25 Utah at No. 16 San Diego State Dave Pasch & Bill Walton	ESPN
	6 p.m.	College GameDay Covered by State Farm (from Indianapolis)	ESPN
		Progressive Legends Classic: Regional Round: Toledo at No. 15 VCU Tom Hart & Cory Alexander	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	State Farm Champions Classic: No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Duke (Indianapolis, Ind.) Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Andy Katz	ESPN
		NIT Season Tip-Off: Regional Round: Stony Brook at Georgia Matt Stewart & Dane Bradshaw	SEC Network
	7:30 p.m.	Marquette at No. 20 Ohio State Bob Wischusen & Dan Dakich	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	State Farm Champions Classic: No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky (Indianapolis, Ind.) Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas & Andy Katz	ESPN
	9:30 p.m.	Texas Tech at LSU Dave Neal & Mark Adams	ESPN2

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Record Breaking Final Four

A good read on how Arlington... err North Texas did...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/ncaa-tournament/the-game/20140406-despite-national-media-complaints-north-texas-delivers-record-breaking-final-four.ece

NCAA Tournament Plays of the Day for 3/25/12

Kansas and Kentucky

After going 2-0 yesterday, it's time to win two more.

Kansas and North Carolina.  A couple of heavyweights doing battle today in St. Louis. 

Both teams haven't played their best in reaching this point and have been pseudo escape artists.

With oddsmakers not sure of North Carolina will be at full-strength, the Tar Heels are getting 2 points.  I still like Kansas to win and cover.  I'm not sure if it is because they are playing close to home in St. Louis, or that they matchup well with North Carolina.

One other trend, not sure if it matters, but North Carolina is 6-20 ATS in their last 26 Sun. games.

Take Kansas and give the 2.

The first game today today is Baylor and Kentucky.

Can any team slow down Kentucky?

On the surface, Baylor appears to have athletes to contain what Kentucky brings to the table.  But the line is up to Kentucky -8.  This is a trap.  They are begging you to take Baylor, don't do it!

The Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite of 7.0-12.5.  They will win again by double-digits.  Everything Baylor does, Kentucky does better.

It should be a fun game to watch. 

NCAA Tournament Plays of the Day for 3/24/12

Lousiville and Ohio State

Louisville vs. Florida for a trip to the Final Four.

It's Pitino vs. Donovan, mentor vs. student.

I tend to like Louisville in this one, but it's going to be close.

The Cardinals are getting 1.5 points in this one and are really peaking.  They also are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 Sat. games.  Pitino will have them ready to play and he's great at getting teams to the Final Four.

Take Louisville and points in this one.

That brings us to Ohio State and Syracuse.

Ohio State is looking real good, while the Orange have just been eeking their way through these games.  This is a game where Syracuse is rally going to miss Fab Mello.

Even though Syracuse is getting 3 points, I like The Buckeyes to win going away.  One trend to consider is Syracuse is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall.  Ouch!

Take The Ohio St. and give the points.

College Basketball Play of the Day for 3/23/12

In this day of Sweet 16 matchups, it has to be Kentucky

Kentucky heads into this game with Indiana, not only looking to avenge a loss to the Hoosiers earlier in the season, but to continue proving they are the best college team in America.

I'm seeing Kentucky favored by 9, but look for the Wildcats to eclipse that in the first half.

Here are two noteworthy trends:

Kentuck is 9-4 ATS in their last 13 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite, while Indiana is 5-13-1 ATS in their last 19 neutral site games.

Go with Kentucky for a big win tonight.