Starting today, Monday, at 7 p.m., ESPN tip off the opening of the college basketball season with the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon — more than 29 hours of consecutive basketball with 16 men’s matchups and two women’s games across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.  The marathon will conclude Tuesday, Nov. 12, with the third installment of the State Farm Champions Classic – No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. and No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 4 Duke at 9:30 p.m. – from the United Center in Chicago.  For two games, coaches will wear microphones –Scott Drew of Baylor and Frank Martin of South Carolina (3 p.m.) and Mick Cronin of Cincinnati and Mark Gottfried of NC State (5 p.m.) — and for another, sound from the coaches’ mikes during the teams’ shoot-around session will be presented.

Highlights:

• The inaugural Big 12/SEC Challenge begins Thursday, Nov. 14 with Texas Tech at Alabama at 9 p.m. on ESPN. It is the first of 10 games that will be played out over six weeks.
• No. 7 Michigan travels to Iowa State for a 5 p.m. ESPN2 matchup on Sunday.
• A rematch of the first-round NIT upset between then-No. 8 seed Robert Morris at No. 1 seed Kentucky will be played Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 with the Wildcats currently ranked No. 1 in the nation.
• The Regional Round of the 2K Sports Classic on Sunday, Nov. 17 will air on ESPNU: Boston University at No. 19 Connecticut at noon and Florida Atlantic at Boston College at 8 p.m.
• No. 12 North Carolina is featured twice on ESPNU: Thursday vs. Holy Cross at 8 p.m. and Sunday vs. Belmont at 4 p.m.

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