Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Part of ESPN'S College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon
9/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 24, 2008
Bristol, CT --- The Fresno State men's basketball team will participate in the inaugural College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon presented by ESPN. Fresno State will play at Saint Mary's College in the second game of the marathon, which will tip-off at 11 p.m. Pacific Time from McKeon Pavilion.
ESPN will celebrate the start of the 2008-09 college basketball season with the new College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon featuring 23 consecutive hours of live college basketball game and studio programming Tuesday, Nov. 18. The new creative way to mark the opening of the season will begin at midnight ET with a tripleheader of live games: Massachusetts at Memphis followed by Fresno State at Saint Mary's at 2 a.m. (ET) and Idaho State at Hawaii at 4 a.m. (ET). Coverage will conclude with Kentucky at North Carolina at 9 p.m.
ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will offer 33 total hours of coverage overall highlighted by 14 game telecasts, including defending National Champion Kansas on ESPNU at 9 p.m. ESPN360.com will offer a simulcast of every ESPN and ESPN2 telecast.
ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon highlights include:
- The first of ESPN's nine games will feature Memphis coach John Calipari, a participant in last year's NCAA Tournament Championship game, against Massachusetts, where he coached from 1988-96 and led the Minutemen to their only NCAA Final Four appearance.
- ESPN's coverage will conclude with a 9 p.m. showdown between the two winningest teams in college basketball history when Kentucky visits North Carolina, which returns all five starters, including National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, to a team that made it to last year's Final Four.
- College GameDay will be live from Chapel Hill, N.C., site of Kentucky at North Carolina for a one-hour show at 8 p.m.
- In addition to games at midnight, 2 a.m., 4 a.m. and 9 p.m., ESPN will televise five live games consecutively beginning at 10 a.m.
- ESPN's coverage will include a game played in five different United States time zones -- Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific and Hawaiian - and at least 14 different conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, SEC, ACC, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, WAC, WCC, Big Sky, Ivy, Colonial, Big South and Summit).
- ESPN's 2 p.m. telecast will feature Iowa at Kansas in a women's matchup.
- Coverage will include the College Hoops Tip-Off Special, a live four-hour studio show originating from ESPN's studios in Charlotte, N.C., beginning at 6 a.m.
- In addition to the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 will televise a tripleheader of 2008 NIT Season Tip-Off matchups beginning at 7:30 p.m. ESPNU will offer a doubleheader beginning with a NIT Season Tip-Off game at 7 p.m. followed by a CBE Classic game at 9 p.m. featuring defending National Champion Kansas.
College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Schedule (All Times --- Eastern)
2 a.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Fresno State at Saint Mary's
4 a.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Idaho State at Hawai'i
6 a.m. ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Special
10 a.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Penn at Drexel
Noon ESPN/ESPN360.com Liberty at UNC-Asheville
2 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Iowa at Kansas (women)
4 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Centenary at Baylor
6 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com CBE Classic: Richmond at Syracuse
7 p.m. ESPNU NIT Regional Final (from Purdue)
7:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com NIT Regional Final (from Boston College)
9 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Kentucky at North Carolina
9 p.m. ESPNU CBE Classic: Florida Gulf Coast at Kansas
9:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com NIT Regional Final (from Oklahoma)
11:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com NIT Regional Final (from Arizona)
"Join the State - Fresno State" --- The `Dogs open their non-conference season on Nov. 14 at home against Sacramento State. They will also host Oregon State on Nov. 30, UNLV on Dec. 3, and welcome WAC competition starting Jan. 3. Tickets will soon be available for purchase by clicking on the "Tickets" icon at the top of this page, calling the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS, or stop by the Bulldog Ticket Office. For the latest information on Fresno State men's basketball, log-on to www.gobulldogs.com.
