Sports
ESPN Showcases Three Top-10 Men’s College Hoops Matchups on Saturday – ESPN Press Room
One of the biggest weeks of ESPN’s men’s college basketball season features 16 top-25 matchups and nine top-10 teams in action, including a Saturday tripleheader of head-to-head matchups involving six top-10 teams. This will be the fourth time in the AP Poll era there’s been three regular season top-10 matchups on a single day and the first time since Dec. 3, 1994.
Saturday’s trio of top-10 games on ESPN begins with No. 4 Houston at No. 8 Kansas in the Big 12 at 4 p.m. Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla and Kris Budden will have the call from historic Allen Fieldhouse. The Saturday Prime game follows with a battle of the bluebloods when No. 7 Duke takes on ACC rival and No. 3 UNC at 6:30 p.m. with the ace team of Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Jess Sims on the call. At 8:30 p.m., the SEC takes center stage when No. 5 Tennessee visits No. 10 Kentucky with Tom Hart and Jimmy Dykes calling the game from Rupp Arena.
Saturday’s slate also includes a pair of premier Big 12 battles on ESPN2 – Texas at No. 25 TCU (2 p.m.) and No. 12 Iowa State at No. 18 Baylor (8 p.m.).
ESPN+ will present more than 200 men’s college basketball games this week, highlighted by a trio of ranked teams in action. On Tuesday, No. 21 Dayton hosts George Washington (7 p.m.) and No. 23 Oklahoma travels to Kansas State in an important Big 12 showdown (8 p.m.). No. 18 Baylor plays at UCF on Wednesday (7 p.m.) and on Friday, Dayton plays host to St. Bonaventure in an Atlantic 10 matchup (7 p.m.)
GameDay Heads to Top-10 Tobacco Road Rivalry
ESPN’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm® heads to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a top-10 showdown between blue blood rivals No. 7 Duke and No. 3 UNC. The trip marks the 12th time UNC has hosted the pregame show – tied for most-ever with Duke, and the 18th time the Tobacco Road rivalry has been featured on GameDay. Saturday will be the first time in the last 10 meetings that both teams are ranked.
UNC’s RJ Davis and Armando Bacot – fresh off a historic game becoming the first Tar Heel to reach 1,000 career defensive rebounds during last Saturday’s win over FSU, will join the show live on Saturday. Williamson will make an early visit to Chapel Hill this week to sit down with Bacot and enjoy a “Mondo Burger,” named after the UNC star while discussing the fifth-year senior’s season.
Saturday’s show will be live from the Dean Smith Center at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN. Host Rece Davis is joined by two Duke greats, Jay Bilas and Jay Williams, along with analysts Seth Greenberg, Andraya Carter and reporter Christine Williamson.
Expanded Digital Coverage
ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show Countdown to GameDay Covered by State Farm is live each week for 30 minutes before College GameDay. Co-hosts Harry Lyles Jr., and Sam Ravech kick off the show from Bristol and are joined by Williamson ushering fans into the show and the Saturday men’s college basketball lineup at 10:30 a.m. across ESPN YouTube, ESPN Facebook and the ESPN App. This season will feature two new segments – “Magic Moments,” from State Farm and “On the Road” presented by Best Western, giving fans a glimpse of the atmosphere from onsite each week.
Live from Chapel Hill
ACC Network’s weekday afternoon show ACC PM will join GameDay in Chapel Hill this week with a show live from the Carolina Basketball Museum on Friday. Mark Packer and Taylor Tannebaum will host with special Tar Heel-related guest appearances, as well as from ESPN’s College GameDay crew. ACC PM airs live at 4 p.m. on ACCN.
Schedule Highlights
Ranked teams appearing on ESPN platforms this week: No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 7 Duke, No. 8 Kansas, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 12 Iowa State, No. 15 Texas Tech, No. 16 Auburn, No. 18 Baylor, No. 21 Dayton and No. 25 TCU.
The full weekly schedule grid with commentator game assignments can be found below and here.
On the Bubble
Gonzaga, who has made 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, faces a crucial week of action on ESPN platforms. Currently listed as one of ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s ‘First Four Out’, Gonzaga plays host to Loyola Marymount (Tue., 11 p.m., ESPN) and Saint Mary’s (Sat., 10:30 p.m., ESPN) as they look to get back into the field of 68.
Texas and Texas A&M, both among the ‘Last Four Byes’ according to Lunardi, have a chance to boost their resumes on Saturday. The Longhorns travel to No. 25 TCU (2 p.m. ESPN), while the Aggies host Florida, one of Lunardi’s ‘Next Four Out’ teams (4 p.m., ESPN2). Oregon and Kansas State, also among the ‘Next Four Out’, will look to improve their case on Selection Sunday as the Ducks travel to USC (Thu., 10:30 p.m., ESPN) and UCLA (Sat., 10 p.m., ESPN2), and the Wildcats play Oklahoma (Tue., 8 p.m., ESPN+) and Oklahoma State (Sat., 2 p.m., ESPN+). Cincinnati, one of Lunardi’s ‘First Four Out’, travels to West Virginia (Wed., 7 p.m., ESPN+) and Texas Tech (Sat., 6 p.m., ESPN+) in search of resume-enhancing wins.
2023-24 ESPN Men’s College Basketball Schedule: Week of Jan. 29- Feb 4
Additional men’s college basketball updates will be forthcoming, and the schedule is subject to change. Please continue to check @ESPNPR and ESPN Press Room for more information.
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