Culminates from New York City with the State Farm Champions Classic
Four-Time Defending Women’s National Champion UConn Opens Marathon
ESPN’s ninth annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon will feature 13 men’s and women’s college basketball games beginning on Monday, Nov. 14 and continuing Tuesday, Nov. 15, across ESPN and ESPN2, bringing more than 24 hours of game action to mark the start of the 2016-17 season. The schedule includes 11 men’s games and two top-15 women’s matchups concluding with the sixth annual State Farm Champions Classic from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The neutral-site, early-season men’s doubleheader that matches four of the winningest programs against each other begins with College GameDay Covered by State Farm from inside the arena at 6 p.m. ET, followed by preseason-ranked No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Michigan State at 7 p.m. and No. 1 Duke vs. No. 4 Kansas at 9:30 p.m. – all on ESPN.
College Football Playoff: Top 25 – ESPN’s exclusive reveal of the College Football Playoff weekly rankings – will air from inside Madison Square Garden between the Champions Classic games with host Rece Davis and analysts Joey Galloway, Kirk Herbstreit and David Pollack onsite.
ESPN2’s Marathon schedule will include 11 games tipping off about every two hours beginning Monday at 6 p.m. with a tripleheader featuring four-time defending national champion UConn women.
Marathon highlights:
- Five men’s teams are ranked in in Eamonn Brennan’s com early preseason top 25 poll, including the entire State Farm Champions Classic field.
- 10 Oregon travels to Baylor at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday to cap off ESPN2’s coverage
- Schedule highlights include opening the Marathon on the men’s side with Princeton at BYU at 10 p.m. on Monday (ESPN2) and beginning the day on Tuesday, at midnight, with San Diego State at Gonzaga (ESPN2)
- Fifteen men’s teams participated in 2016 postseason play in the NCAA Championship (11) and NIT (4).
- Kansas and Oregon advanced to the Elite Eight, while Gonzaga earned a trip to the Sweet 16
- Second-round participants included Duke, Hawaii, Kentucky and Stephen F. Austin, while first-round teams were Baylor, Dayton, Green Bay and Michigan State
- BYU and San Diego State both advanced to the NIT semifinals, while Alabama and Princeton earned berths
- All four women’s teams participating in Monday’s Marathon are ranked in com Way-to-early Top 25 that was issued following the 2016 Women’s Final Four.
- Four-time defending national champion and No. 4-ranked UConn plays at Sweet 16 participant and No. 15-ranked Florida State at 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
- The second game of the Marathon pits Elite Eight participants No. 6 Texas against No. 10 Stanford at 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Sixteen conferences are represented including three appearances from the Big 12 and West Coast Conference, and two each from the Atlantic Coast, Big South, Metro Atlantic, Pac-12 and Southeastern.
- Additional appearances include America East, American, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Big West, Conference USA, Horizon, Ivy, Mountain West and Southland
Additional Marathon games will be added to ESPN platforms prior to the event.
All games aired on an ESPN network will also be available through WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
2016 College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Schedule (subject to change)
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Mon, Nov 14 | 6 p.m. | No. 4 UConn at No. 15 Florida State (women) | ESPN2 |
| 8 p.m. | No. 6 Texas at No. 10 Stanford (women) | ESPN2 | |
| 10 p.m. | Princeton at BYU | ESPN2 | |
| Tue, Nov 15 | Midnight | San Diego State at Gonzaga | ESPN2 |
| 2 a.m. | Green Bay at Pacific | ESPN2 | |
| 4:15 a.m. | Florida Atlantic at Hawaii | ESPN2 | |
| 6:30 a.m. | Niagara at Hartford | ESPN2 | |
| 8:45 a.m. | Winthrop at Manhattan | ESPN2 | |
| 11 a.m. | Longwood at Stephen F. Austin | ESPN2 | |
| 1:15 p.m. | Dayton at Alabama | ESPN2 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 10 Oregon at Baylor | ESPN2 | |
| 7 p.m. | State Farm Champions Classic (Madison Square Garden, New York): No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Michigan State | ESPN | |
| 9:30 p.m. | State Farm Champions Classic (Madison Square Garden, New York): No. 1 Duke vs. No. 4 Kansas | ESPN |
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