ESPN’s men’s college basketball coverage returns with a schedule of more than 4,200 games during the 2024-25 regular season. In all, over 750 games will air across ESPN networks – ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and ACC Network. An additional 3,500 games will be available across ESPN digital platforms, including on ESPN+ – the leading sports streaming service, SEC Network+ and ACC Network Extra.
ESPN will present more than 25 tournaments and marquee events during the first half of the season, including the State Farm Champions Classic, Maui Invitational Presented by Novavax, Battle 4 Atlantis, the SEC/ACC Men’s Challenge presented by Continental Tire, Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona and more. In addition, 24 of the preseason Top 25 teams will appear on ESPN platforms this season.
Extensive coverage of 30 conferences, including the ACC, the American, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Missouri Valley, SEC, West Coast Conference and more, will be featured across ESPN platforms. The signature men’s basketball franchises Sonic Blockbuster, Saturday Prime, Big Monday and Super Tuesday presented by Progressive return this season, and the sport’s premier pregame show, College GameDay Covered by State Farm returns in 2025.
The season starts off strong with four top-10 matchups in the month of November, including No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 6 Gonzaga (Nov. 4), No. 9 North Carolina at No. 1 Kansas (Nov. 8), No. 7 Duke at No. 10 Arizona (Nov. 22) and the seventh-ranked Blue Devils vs. the top-ranked Jayhawks (Nov. 26) from Las Vegas.
2024-25 ESPN Men’s College Basketball Schedule Highlights:
- State Farm Champions Classic (Nov. 12): The 14th annual Champions Classic heads to State Farm Arena in Atlanta this year and will feature a marquee doubleheader with four of college basketball’s historically elite programs – top-ranked Kansas vs. Michigan State (6:30 p.m.) followed by No. 23 Kentucky under first-year coach Mark Pope vs. No. 7 Duke, led by freshman sensation Cooper Flagg (9 p.m.).
- Maui Invitational Presented by Novavax (Nov. 25-27): The eight-team field for one of the sport’s marquee events features four preseason Top 25 teams – back-to-back national champions and No. 3-ranked UConn, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 9 North Carolina and No. 11 Auburn – as well as perennial national powers Michigan State. The tournament returns to Maui after last year’s event was held in Honolulu following the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui in August 2023.
- Terry’s Chocolate Vegas Showdown (Nov. 26): The marquee matchup of the ESPN Events doubleheader features the Duke Blue Devils facing preseason All-American Hunter Dickinson and the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (9 p.m., ESPN). Furman meets Seattle in the second game of the night (11:30 p.m., ESPNU).
- Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 27-29) – The Battle 4 Atlantis welcomes a star-studded field to the Bahamas during Thanksgiving Week, including three ranked teams – No. 6 Gonzaga, No. 10 Arizona and No. 17 Indiana. The field also includes Louisville, Oklahoma, Providence, West Virginia and Davidson.
- Big 12/Big East Battle (Dec. 1-5) – ESPN platforms will feature five games of the Big 12/Big East Battle, including No. 18 Marquette at No. 5 Iowa State on Dec. 4 (8 p.m., ESPN+) and Butler at No. 4 Houston on Dec. 7 (5:30 p.m., ESPN2).
- SEC/ACC Men’s Challenge presented by Continental Tire (Dec. 3-4): The second annual SEC/ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge expands to 16 matchups and takes place Dec. 3-4 across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and ACC Network as two of the nation’s best conferences go head-to-head. A combined 10 programs are ranked in the preseason Top 25. The event’s marquee matchups include No. 2 Alabama at No. 9 North Carolina, No. 11 Auburn at No. 7 Duke and first-year SEC competitor No. 19 Texas at 2024 Final Four participant NC State. The two conferences split last year’s inaugural event with seven wins apiece.
- Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona (Dec. 10) – In its 30th year, the Jimmy V Men’s Classic features two ranked SEC teams, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 16 Arkansas, taking on tough challenges in an ESPN doubleheader on Dec. 10 at Madison Square Garden. The Volunteers meet Miami at 6:30 p.m. and new-look Arkansas under coach John Calipari takes on Michigan under first-year coach Dusty May.
- ESPN Events Tournaments – In addition to the State Farm Champions Classic, the Terry’s Chocolate Vegas Showdown and the Jimmy V Men’s Classic Presented by Corona, ESPN will televise the full schedule of ESPN owned and operated tournaments, including the Shriners Children’s Hospital Charleston Classic (Nov. 21-24), Myrtle Beach Invitational (Nov. 21-24), ESPN Events Invitational (Nov. 28-29) and NIT Season Tip-Off (Nov. 28-29) – all part of ESPN’s Feast Week presented by Lowes programming. Plus, the third annual Jumpman Invitational presented by Novant Health returns December 17-18 to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., featuring four of the original Jordan Brand-sponsored programs: No. 9 North Carolina, No. 21 Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma.
Other notable early-season matchups on ESPN networks featuring ranked teams:
- Mon, Nov. 4 – No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 6 Gonzaga (11:30 p.m., ESPN2)
- Fri, Nov. 8 – No. 9 North Carolina at No. 1 Kansas (7 p.m., ESPN2)
- Sat, Nov. 9 – No. 11 Auburn at No. 4 Houston in the Mattress Firm Battleground 2k24 (9:30 p.m., ESPNU)
- Thu, Nov. 21 – Syracuse vs. No. 19 Texas in the Legends Classic at Barclays Center (7 p.m., ESPN2)
- Fri, Nov. 22 – No. 7 Duke at No. 10 Arizona (10:30 p.m., ESPN2)
- Sun, Dec. 8 – No. 3 UConn at No. 19 Texas (5 p.m., ESPN)
- Sat, Dec. 14 – No. 22 UCLA vs. No. 10 Arizona at Jerry Colangelo’s Hall of Fame Series in Phoenix (3 p.m., ESPN2)
- Sat, Dec. 14 – NC State at No. 1 Kansas (3:15 p.m., ESPN)
- Sat, Dec. 21 – No. 14 Purdue at No. 11 Auburn at the Battle in Birmingham (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
Rivalry games, both new and old, will be on full display throughout the season, including:
- Xavier at No. 20 Cincinnati – Sat, Dec. 14 (2 p.m., ESPN+)
- No. 22 UCLA vs. 10 Arizona – Sat, Dec. 14 (3 p.m., ESPN2)
- Louisville at No. 23 Kentucky – Sat, Dec. 14 (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
- Illinois vs. Missouri – Sun, Dec. 22 (1 p.m., ESPN)
- BYU-Utah – Sat, Jan. 18 (9 p.m., ESPN+) and Sat, March 8 (10:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)
- No. 12 Tennessee-No. 23 Kentucky – Tue, Jan. 28 (7 p.m., ESPN) and Tue, Feb. 11 (7 p.m., ESPN)
- No. 7 Duke-No. 9 North Carolina – Sat, Feb. 1 (6:30 p.m., ESPN) and Sat, March 8 (6:30 p.m., ESPN)
- No. 6 Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s – Sat, Feb. 1 (11 p.m., ESPN) and Sat, Feb. 22 (8 or 10 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2)
- No. 4 Houston-No. 8 Baylor – Mon, Feb. 10 (9 p.m., ESPN) and Sat, March 8 (9 p.m., ESPN2)
- No. 10 Arizona at No. 1 Kansas – Sat, Mar. 8 (4 p.m., ESPN)
February 1 will be one of the most anticipated dates on the entire 2024-25 calendar with several marquee matchups taking place. Baylor hosts Kansas (4 p.m., ESPN) in a Big 12 Conference game between preseason top-ten teams and Duke hosts North Carolina in the first of two regular season matchups between the heated rivals (6:30 p.m., ESPN). Plus, John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena for the first time as head coach of Arkansas (9 p.m., ESPN). Calipari, the winningest active head coach in men’s college basketball, led Kentucky for 15 years – including the 2012 National Championship season – before taking over the Razorbacks in April.
Many of basketball’s top NBA prospects will be showcased across ESPN platforms throughout the 2024-25 college basketball season. Thirteen of the top 15 NBA draft prospects on ESPN’s 2025 NBA Draft Big Board are college-based, with 11 of them appearing on ESPN platforms this year. The list is led by the No. 1 prospect, preseason All-American Cooper Flagg, whose Duke Blue Devils appear on ESPN platforms 29 times throughout the regular season and Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, the No. 4 prospect, who appears on ESPN platforms 26 times throughout the regular season.
SEC Network
More than 100 men’s basketball games will be featured on SEC Network (SECN) during the 2024-25 season. The campaign begins Monday, Nov. 4 with the preseason No. 21 Florida Gators taking on the South Florida Bulls in Jacksonville, Fla. Conference play begins Jan. 4, at noon with more than 10 straight hours of coverage on SECN. The season culminates with the 2025 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament (March 12-16) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. SECN’s full schedule.
ACC Network
ACC Network will highlight more than 100 men’s basketball games during the 2024-25 season, beginning with a Tobacco Road doubleheader on Nov. 4, while conference play on the network gets underway on December 7. In addition to the regular season slate, three first round games from the 2025 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament (March 11-15) in Charlotte, N.C., will air on ACC Network. ACCN’s full schedule.
Big 12 Basketball on ESPN+
Big 12 basketball is set for nearly 80 matchups streaming exclusively on ESPN+. Top-ten programs Kansas (No. 1), Houston (No. 4), Iowa State (No. 5), Baylor (No. 8) and Arizona (No. 10) combine for more than 25 conference matchups on the leading sports streaming service. Top matchups slated for ESPN+ include No. 20 Cincinnati at No. 8 Baylor (Jan. 7), No. 1 Kansas at No. 20 Cincinnati (Jan. 11) and BYU at Utah (Jan. 18).
ESPN+
More than 3,200 games are slated exclusively for ESPN+, including 800 in the month of November alone.