Men's College Basketball Season Tips Off with 54 Games in Six Days

Armed Forces Classic, Champions Classic, Tip-Off Marathon & Six of Top 10 Teams

ESPN's comprehensive coverage of the 2012-13 men's college basketball season will tip off Friday, Nov. 9, with 54 games in the first six days. Highlights:

· The season will open on Friday, Nov. 9, with 14 games across ESPN networks beginning with an ESPN doubleheader involving a game from Europe and the defending National Champion: No. 14 Michigan State vs. Connecticut in the Sears Armed Forces Classic from the Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany, at 5:30 p.m. ET followed by Maryland vs. defending National Champion No. 3 Kentucky in the Barclays Center Classic Presented by Sheets from Brooklyn, N.Y., at 8:30 p.m.

· ESPN's fifth annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon - a season-opening celebration with a marathon of coverage across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU on Tuesday, Nov. 13 - will include 11 men's games over 24 consecutive hours on ESPN. The action, which includes matchups on ESPN2 and ESPNU, will begin at midnight with West Virginia at No. 21 Gonzaga in the Old Spice Classic.

· For the second straight year, ESPN will showcase four of the all-time winningest programs in the State Farm Champions Classic doubleheader as part of the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Tuesday, Nov. 13. The matchups from Atlanta's Georgia Dome, site of this year's Final Four, will pit No. 14 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Kansas at 7 p.m. and No. 8 Duke vs. No. 3 Kentucky at 9 p.m. Kentucky holds an 11-8 all-time series lead against Duke but lost the last meeting between the programs 95-92 in 2001. Michigan State has won five of the nine games against Kansas, including two victories in 2009. Both games will also be available on ESPN 3D.

· ESPN2 will televise No. 23 Wisconsin at No. 10 Florida in an early non-conference showdown between ranked teams on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m.

· 15 of the telecasts are part of five early-season tournaments: 2K Sports Classic, EA Sports Maui Invitational, Progressive Legends Classic, NIT Season Tip-Off and Old Spice Classic.

· The networks will combine to televise six of the top 10 teams in the Associated Press preseason poll and 13 ranked teams overall: No. 3 Kentucky, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 NC State, No. 7 Kansas, No. 8 Duke, No. 10 Florida, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 21 Gonzaga, No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 23 Wisconsin, No. 24 Cincinnati and No. 25 Florida State.

Two Games and a Home Sweet Home Between

Analyst Fran Fraschilla will work two games and take a trip "home" to meet a friend between games as part of the Tip-Off Marathon on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Fraschilla, a native of Brooklyn, will begin his day working the Stony Brook at Rider telecast at 6 a.m. on ESPN. At the conclusion of the game, he will make his way to a basketball park in Brooklyn where he played pickup basketball. While there, he will meet up with St. John's great Chris Mullin who often joined Fraschilla in the games. The two will then depart for Queens to call the Detroit at St. John's game at 2 p.m. on ESPN. ESPN will cover their trek throughout the 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon games.

To Europe and Back Again

Analyst Jay Bilas, commentator Dan Shulman and reporter Andy Katz will work a game in Europe and the United States within five days. The trio will travel to Germany to call the No. 14 Michigan State vs. Connecticut matchup from the Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany on Friday, Nov. 9, at 5:30 p.m. They will then fly back to the United States and work the Champions Classic doubleheader from Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Shulman and Katz will call both games (No. 14 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Kansas at 7 p.m. and No. 8 Duke vs. No. 3 Kentucky at 9 p.m.). Bilas will serve as an analyst for the on-site College GameDay at 6 p.m. and pre-game, halftime and post-game segments as well as for No. 14 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Kansas.

ESPN's 2012-13 men's college basketball schedule will include more than 1,450 games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN Regional Television, Longhorn Network and ESPN FULL COURT.

All live telecasts of college basketball games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN Buzzer Beater as well as exclusive games on ESPN3 - ESPN's live multi-screen sports network - will be available on computers at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. WatchESPN is currently available in 40 million households nationwide to fans who receive their video subscription from Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity TV or Midcontinent Communications.

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and Longhorn Network schedule through November 14

Date Time (ET) Matchup / Commentators Network

Fri, Nov 9

5:30 p.m. Sears Armed Forces Classic: No. 14 Michigan State vs. Connecticut (from Ramstein Air Base, Germany) Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas & Andy Katz ESPN

5:30 p.m. Stetson at Miami Drew Stellios & Daymeon Fishback ESPN3

5:45 p.m. Barclays Center Classic Presented by Sheets: Morehead State vs. Long Island University Brooklyn (Brooklyn, N.Y.) Dave Popkin & Tim O'Toole ESPN3

6 p.m. Mount Saint Mary's at Pittsburgh Tim Neverett & Darrin Horn ESPN3

7 p.m. Georgia State at No. 8 Duke Dave Flemming & Fran Fraschilla ESPNU

7 p.m. Miami (Ohio) at No. 6 NC State BookerCorrigan & Dino Gaudio ESPN3

7 p.m. Radford at Wake Forest Roy Philpott & Stan Lewter ESPN3

7 p.m. South Alabama at No. 25 Florida State ESPN3

7 p.m. St. Peter's at Rutgers Mike Corey & John Celestand ESPN3 & BIG EAST Network

7:30 p.m. Belmont @ Lipscomb ESPN3

8 p.m. Fresno State at Texas Longhorn Network

8:30 p.m. Barclays Center Classic Presented by Sheets: Maryland vs. No. 3 Kentucky (Brooklyn, N.Y.) Dave O'Brien & Dick Vitale ESPN

9 p.m. 2K Sports Classic (Regional): South Dakota State at Alabama Lou Canellis & Kara Lawson ESPNU

9 p.m. Denver at Iona Doug Sherman & Rob Kennedy ESPN3

Sat, Nov 10

2 p.m. East Tennessee State at Virginia Tech John Sadak & Glenn Consor ESPN3

2 p.m. Evansville at No. 22 Notre Dame Shawn Kenney & Sean Kearney ESPN3 Sun, Nov 11 1 p.m. Marshall at Villanova Dave Leno & John Celestand ESPN3

2 p.m. Southeastern Louisiana at No. 23 Wisconsin Mike Couzens & Brooke Weisbrod ESPN3

2 p.m. Florida International at Boston College Dave Popkin & Malcolm Huckaby ESPN3

2:30 p.m. EA Sports Maui Invitational (Maui on the Mainland): Florida Atlantic at No. 11 North Carolina Mike Corey & Jimmy Dykes ESPNU

4:30 p.m. EA Sports Maui Invitational (Maui on the Mainland): Colgate at Marquette Jim Barbar & Tim Welsh ESPNU

6:30 p.m. Progressive Legends Classic (Regional): Duquesne at Georgetown Bob Picozzi & Bill Raftery ESPNU

9:30 p.m. 2K Sports Classic (Regional): New Mexico State at Oregon State Roxy Bernstein & Tim McCormick ESPNU

Mon, Nov 12

6 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off (Regional): Fordham at Pittsburgh Tim Neverett & Mark Adams ESPN3

7 p.m. Progressive Legends Classic (Regional): Youngstown State at Georgia Tom Hart & Matt Doherty ESPNU

7 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off (Regional): Fairfield at Virginia John Sadak & Cory Alexander ESPN3

7 p.m. Monmouth at No. 22 Notre Dame Mike Couzens & Sean Kearney ESPN3

7 p.m. Buffalo at No. 25 Florida State ESPN3

7 p.m. Rhode Island at Virginia Tech Dave Nathan & Stan Lewter ESPN3

7 p.m. Presbyterian at Clemson ESPN3

8 p.m. Coppin State at Texas Longhorn Network

8 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off (Regional): Lamar at Kansas State ESPN3

8 p.m. St. Francis (NY) at Illinois Jim Barbar & Brooke Weisbrod ESPN3

9 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off (Regional): IUPUI at No. 5 Michigan Jon Sciambi & Bruce Pearl ESPNU

Tue, Nov 13

Midnight Tip-Off Marathon: Old Spice Classic: West Virginia at No. 21 Gonzaga Dave Pasch & Sean Farnham ESPN

2 a.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Davidson at New Mexico Dave Flemming & Miles Simon ESPN

4 a.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Houston Baptist at Hawaii Kanoa Leahy & Bob Valvano ESPN

6 a.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Stony Brook at Rider Bob Picozzi & Fran Fraschilla ESPN

8 a.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Northern Illinois at Valparaiso Beth Mowins& LaPhonso Ellis ESPN

10 a.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Harvard at Massachusetts Sean McDonough & Bill Raftery ESPN

Noon Tip-Off Marathon: Temple at Kent State Carter Blackburn & Mark Adams ESPN

2 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Detroit at St. John's John Saunders, Fran Fraschilla & Chris Mullin ESPN

4 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Butler at Xavier Bob Wischusen & Dan Dakich ESPN

7 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: State Farm Champions Classic: No. 14 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Kansas (from Atlanta) Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, Bob Knight & Andy Katz ESPN & ESPN 3D

7 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: Wichita State at Virginia Commonwealth Clay Matvick & Len Elmore ESPNU

7 p.m. NIT Season Tip-Off: TBD (from Charlottesville, Va.) John Sadak & Cory Alexander ESPN3

7 p.m. Mississippi Valley State at No. 24 Cincinnati Tom Gelehrter & Darrin Horn ESPN3

7 p.m. Vermont at Connecticut Eamon McAnaney & Ron Perry ESPN3 & BIG EAST Network

8 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: NIT Season Tip-Off: TBD (from Ann Arbor, Mich.) Jon Sciambi & Bruce Pearl ESPN2

9 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: State Farm Champions Classic: No. 8 Duke vs. No. 3 Kentucky (from Atlanta) Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale, Bob Knight & Andy Katz ESPN & ESPN 3D

9 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: NIT Season Tip-Off: TBD (from Pittsburgh) Rich Hollenberg & Tim Welsh ESPNU

10 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: NIT Season Tip-Off: TBD (from Manhattan, Kan.) Mark Neely & Stephen Bardo ESPN2

Wed, Nov 14

7 p.m. No. 23 Wisconsin at No. 10 Florida Mark Jones & Jimmy Dykes ESPN2

7 p.m. Presbyterian at Georgia Tech ESPN3