Today, ESPN released the schedule for its 2nd annual 24-hour of hoops marathon. This year’s event, set for Tuesday, November 17, features what promises to be a lot of great games. There will be teams from a large collection of collegiate conferences on the Family of Networks that day, however Creighton and the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference schools will be absent.
Sure, CU has its regular season home opener that evening against Florida A&M, but it won’t be on ESPN, The Deuce, ESPNU, or any other arm of the Disney media empire. Here is the slate of games for the made-for-TV event:
Date Time (ET) Matchup Network Tue, Nov 17 12:00 a.m. Cal State Fullerton at UCLA ESPN 2:00 a.m. San Diego State at St. Mary’s ESPN 4:00 a.m. Northern Colorado at Hawaii ESPN 6:00 a.m. Monmouth at St. Peter’s ESPN 8:00 a.m. Drexel at Niagara ESPN 10:00 a.m. Clemson at Liberty ESPN 12:00 p.m. Northeastern at Siena ESPN 2:00 p.m. Arkansas Little-Rock at Tulsa ESPN 4:00 p.m. Temple at Georgetown ESPN 5:30 p.m. O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic: Binghamton at Pittsburgh ESPN2 6:00 p.m. Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT from Durham, N.C. (Duke University)* ESPN 7:00 p.m. ESPNU Road to the Championship: Tennessee vs. Texas Tech (women’s game from San Antonio) ESPNU 7:30 p.m. Hall of Fame Showcase: Arkansas vs. Louisville (from St. Louis) ESPN2 8:00 p.m. Gonzaga at Michigan State ESPN 8:00 p.m. Northern Illinois at Illinois ESPN360.com 9:00 p.m. O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic: Duquesne at Iowa ESPNU 9:30 p.m. ESPNU Road to the Championship: Connecticut vs. Texas (women’s game from San Antonio) ESPN2 10:00 p.m. Hall of Fame Showcase: Memphis vs. Kansas (from St. Louis) ESPN 11:30 p.m. Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT from Tempe, Ariz. (Arizona State University)* ESPN2
As we mentioned last week, the MVC was rumored to be offered a place in this smorgasbord of basketball goodness, but none of the member schools were overly interested in the time period offered to Valley schools. Once source said it was a 10:00 a.m. opportunity, while another mentioned a 2:00 p.m. slot.
This begs the question: was it a good decision for the Valley to not be a part of this, even though they were reportedly offered a spot? The MVC is riding back-to-back one-bid NCAA Tournaments. Certainly the exposure from what most might consider a kickoff to the college hoops season (on cable television, no less) would be a great opportunity to keep the Valley on the minds of viewers early (if not often) in the 2009-2010 season. Right?
Perhaps not. Some opine that saying no to ESPN is a good move; that it sends a message that TV exposure is not as important as commonly thought, nor is it an absolute need for teams in the at-large discussion come March.
Would you take off a morning, an afternoon, or a whole Tuesday off work to head to The Phone Booth for a game like this? Are you planning to take the day off anyway so you can watch all of this basketball?
We at White & Blue Review ask you, the rabid and casual fans, to leave your comments and share your opinions about whether you think Creighton and/or any Valley schools made a good decision to pass on this event.
Here are a few notes about the event; maybe they’ll entice you to comment!
Notes
- One certain positive about this event is the opportunity for Creighton fans to scout future opponent Arkansas-Little Rock a few days before the Jays host UALR (Sunday, November 22). The Trojans play Tulsa at 2:00 p.m. during the made-for-TV marathon.
- San Diego State plays Saint Mary’s; two teams that bracketologists bashed over the head along with the Jays last March during the doling out of at-large bids. This game has direct implications for the Valley, too, because SDSU makes a trip to Des Moines later in the season to take on Drake.
