ESPN To Feature Key ACC Matchup On 100th Episode of ‘College GameDay’

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN’s flagship college basketball program will mark a special anniversary with coverage of a key ACC men’s basketball matchup next weekend.

College GameDay Covered by State Farm will air its 100^th episode next Saturday, Feb. 18. The broadcast will come live from the site of a showdown between UNC and Virginia.

The program will air live beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN with an evening edition leading into the network’s pre-game Saturday Primetime presented by AT&T broadcast at 8 p.m. ET.  Game coverage is scheduled to begin at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Rece Davis will anchor ESPN’s 11 a.m. edition of College GameDay Covered by State Farm.  Davis will be joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams for additional commentary.

Dan Shulman will have the call for the game.  He will be joined by Jay Bilas for additional commentary.  Reporter Maria Taylor will be courtside for all of the latest in-game news and interviews.

Saturday’s broadcast will mark the 16^th time UNC has appeared on College GameDay Covered by State Farm.  The Tarheels currently sit 8^th in the AP’s NCAA Men’s College Basketball Top 25 standings while the Cavaliers currently sit 12^th.

The teams are much closer in the ACC standings. UNC currently sits second and Virginia third.  Both teams trail the Florida State Seminoles, who currently lead the conference standings at 21-4 overall and 9-3 in the conference.

More information on ESPN’s college basketball coverage is available online now along with all of the latest college basketball headlines at:

 

 

 

Website: http://espn.go.com/college-basketball

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ESPNCBB

 

 

 

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

2015 NBA Draft Pulls In Record Numbers

Courtesy: ESPN

The 2015 NBA Draft presented by State Farm is officially in the books. And even with the draft being said and done, there are still lots of story lines for basketball fans to talk about in regards to who was and wasn’t taken. Now ESPN has added another item to discuss as it has announced the ratings numbers for this year’s draft.

ESPN has announced that this year’s NBA Draft presented by State Farm is the most-watched in the event’s history. This is according to Nielsen ratings. According to Nielsen’s numbers, the 2015 NBA Draft presented by State Farm averaged 3,738,000 (P2+). That is up eight percent from ESPN’s coverage of the 2014 NBA Draft. At its highest point, this year’s broadcast had 5,131,000 viewers. That was in the fifteen minute block from 8pm – 8:15pm ET. Not only were this year’s numbers the highest in the draft’s history but they were the highest ever on ESPN, averaging a 2.4 U.S. household rating. That is up four percent from the 2014 NBA Draft. It peaked in the 8pm – 8:15pm ET block with a 3.3 rating.

Even more impressive of ESPN’s broadcast of the 2015 NBA Draft presented by State Farm is that it pushed the worldwide leader in sports to win the night across both the broadcast and cable spectrum in a number of key demos. Those demos include: P 18 – 34, M 18 – 34, P 18 -49, M 18 – 49, and M 25 – 54.

ESPN has carried the NBA Draft ever since 2003 while the draft itself has TV records dating back to 1994. More information on the ESPN networks’ NBA coverage is available online now along with all of the latest NBA news at:

Website: http://www.espn.com.nba

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NBAonESPN

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like ” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN’s College GameDay Covered By State Farm Opens 2015 Season In Iowa

Courtesy: ESPN

Officials with ESPN have announced the site of the network’s first broadcast in its 2015 college basketball broadcast season.

ESPN will open the 2015 season of College GameDay covered by State Farm on Saturday, January 17^th in Ames, Iowa. The first in the network’s eight-week season, the broadcast will come ahead of the Saturday Primetime presented by DirecTV matchup between #17 Iowa State and #12 Kansas. Tipoff for the Big 12 contest is scheduled for 9pm ET. College GameDay covered by State Farm will cover not only the matchup between Iowa State and Kansas but all of the day’s games. It all starts at 10am ET on ESPNU. ESPN picks up coverage at 11am ET and then offers another edition at 8pm ET.

Audiences will see some new faces throughout this season of ESPN’s College GameDay covered by State Farm. Analysts Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams join the returning team of host Rece Davis and analyst Jay Bilas. Dan Shulman will also be back along with reporter Shannon Spake. They will be joined by Jay Bilas for full coverage of the matchup between the Hawkeyes and Jayhawks.

Over on ESPN, #14 West Virginia will be on the road against #10 Texas the same day. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 6:15pm ET. Dave Flemming and Fran Fraschilla will have the call for the game.  The site for each week’s broadcast of College GameDay covered by State Farm will be announced a week ahead of those games within the show’s broadcast. More information on the ESPN family of networks’ college basketball coverage is available online at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ESPNCBB

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN To Broadcast NBA Draft For 12th Consecutive Year This Thursday

Courtesy: ESPN

The NBA season is over. But that doesn’t mean that the NBA is completely done for the season. Officials with ESPN have announced that the Worldwide Leader in Sports will have exclusive coverage of the league’s annual draft this year.

The 2014 NBA Draft presented by State Farm will be broadcast live this Thursday, June 26^th on ESPN. It marks the twelfth consecutive year that ESPN has broadcasted the annual draft event. It also marks the second consecutive year that the draft has come live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Rece Davis will anchor the broadcast from ESPN’s main set. Davis will be joined by ESPN college basketball inside Jay Bilas and ESPN NBA analysts Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons.

Thursday’s live broadcast from the Barclays center will be preceded by ESPN’s NBA Draft Preview Show Wednesday, June 25^th at 7pm on ESPN2. ESPNU will also broadcast the ESPNU Draft Special each day this week from 4 – 5 and the ESPNU Draft Recap at midnight Thursday after the draft.

Throughout Thursday’s broadcast of the 2014 NBA Draft presented by State Farm, audiences will get extra in-depth analysis from ESPN basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla and ESPN NBA analyst Tom Penn. Fran Fraschilla will offer insights on international prospects. Jeff Goodman, Heather Cox, Chris Broussard, Andy Katz and Jay Williams will each have reports and interviews. Marc Kestecher will anchor ESPN Radio’s simulcast of the 2014 NBA Draft presented by State Farm. Analysts P.J. Carlesimo and Ryen Rusillo will offer extra commentary for the broadcast.

More information on Thursday’s coverage of the 2014 NBA Draft presented by State Farm is available online at http://espn.go.com/nba and http://www.facebook.com/NBAonESPN. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.