ESPN to feature ACC basketball on Big Monday broadcasts

espnbigmondayESPN will again showcase Atlantic Coast Conference basketball during the 2014-15 season as part of its weekly Big Monday.

Eight ACC games will be shown, beginning on Jan. 5 and on consecutive Mondays between Jan. 19 and March 2. Big Monday will take a one-week hiatus as ESPN debuts the inaugural College Football National Championship Game on January 12.

Each Big Monday game involving an ACC team is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be televised nationally by ESPN or ESPN2.

This marks the second consecutive year that ACC basketball games have been featured as part of ESPN’s Big Monday package. Every game on the Big Monday schedule this season will include at least one team ranked in the ESPN.com preseason Top 25 poll, including No. 2 Duke, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 defending ACC champion Virginia, No. 8 Louisville and No. 21 Syracuse.

The complete 2014-15 ACC basketball schedule, with dates, starting times and television broadcast information, will be released later this month.

The ACC Big Monday lineup reads as follows:

January 5 – Notre Dame at North Carolina (ESPN or ESPN2), 7 p.m.
January 19 – Pitt at Duke (ESPN), 7 p.m.
January 26 – Syracuse at North Carolina (ESPN), 7 p.m.
February 2 – Virginia at North Carolina (ESPN), 7 p.m.
February 9 – Duke at Florida State (ESPN), 7 p.m.
February 16 – Pitt at Virginia (ESPN), 7 p.m.
February 23 – Louisville at Georgia Tech (ESPN), 7 p.m.
March 2 – Virginia at Syracuse (ESPN), 7 p.m.

NOTING THE ACC ON ESPN BIG MONDAY

A potential of three ACC top-25 matchups showcasing No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 Virginia and No. 21 Syracuse: Syracuse at North Carolina on January 26; Virginia at North Carolina on February 2 and Virginia at Syracuse on March 2.

Duke – ranked preseason No. 2 – is on the schedule twice: at home vs. Pittsburgh on January 19 and at Florida State on February 9.

The Blue Devils add the ESPN 100 top incoming recruit in center Jahil Okafor, as well as guard Tyus Jones, who is ranked fourth.

North Carolina’s one additional appearance is an opening night tilt vs. Notre Dame on January 5.

North Carolina has two top-10 incoming freshman ranked nationally in the ESPN 100: Small forwards Justin Jackson (No. 8) and Theo Pinson (No. 10).

Virginia is also scheduled against Pittsburgh on February 16, as part of Rivalry Week.

New league member Louisville, ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll, has one appearance – at Georgia Tech on February 23.

In 2013-14, for the 12th consecutive year, Louisville was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN’s regular-season telecasts, averaging a 4.5 rating.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.