The Missouri Tigers will begin the 2023-24 men’s basketball season on November 6, with a home game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
ESPN has announced the network schedule for the inaugural ACC/SEC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Challenge, a multi-night event that matches men’s and women’s college basketball teams from two of the top conferences, the ACC and the SEC.
The ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge will take place over consecutive days Tuesday, November 28 and Wednesday, November 29, while the ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge is slated for November 29 and 30. Both men’s and women’s Challenge events will feature games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network.
The Men’s Challenge features a total of eight teams in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Men’s Basketball Top 25 -Duke (No. 2), North Carolina (No. 15) and Miami (No. 18) from the ACC, and Tennessee (No. 8), Arkansas (No. 14), Kentucky (No. 17), Texas A&M (No. 19) and Alabama (No. 22) from the SEC.
The marquee ESPN matchups on November 28, include 2023 Final Four participant Miami at Kentucky (7:30 p.m.), followed by Alabama – the overall top seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, hosting Clemson (9:30 p.m.). On November 29, Tennessee travels to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels (7:15 p.m.), followed by Duke at Arkansas (9:15 p.m.).
Both the University of Missouri men’s and women’s teams will participate in the event. The Mizzou men will play on November 28 against Pittsburgh, while the women will play on November 30 against Virginia.
The men’s game will be televised on ESPNU. The women’s game will air on ACC Network.
2023 ACC/SEC Men’s Basketball Challenge (Nov. 28-29)
| DATE | TIME | NETWORK | MATCHUP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tues., November 28 | 6 PM | ESPN2 | LSU at Syracuse |
| 6 PM | ACCN | Mississippi State at Georgia Tech | |
| 6 PM | SECN | Notre Dame at South Carolina | |
| 6:30 PM | ESPN | No. 18 Miami at No. 17 Kentucky | |
| 6:30 PM | ESPNU | Missouri at Pittsburgh | |
| 8 PM | ESPN2 | NC State at Ole Miss | |
| 8:30 PM | ESPN | Clemson at No. 22 Alabama | |
| Wed., November 29 | 6:15 PM | ESPN | No. 8 Tennessee at No. 15 North Carolina |
| 6:15 PM | ESPN2 | No. 19 Texas A&M at Virginia | |
| 6:15 PM | ESPNU | Florida at Wake Forest | |
| 8:15 PM | ESPN | No. 2 Duke at No. 14 Arkansas | |
| 8:15 PM | ESPN2 | Virginia Tech at Auburn | |
| 8:15 PM | ACCN | Georgia at Florida State | |
| 8:15 PM | SECN | Boston College at Vanderbilt |
The Missouri women’s team will be led by Ashton Judd (24) and Hayley Frank (43). (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
The Women’s Challenge features three Final Four teams from last season, including defending National Champion LSU and semifinalists South Carolina and Virginia Tech.
In all, a combined nine teams from ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Women’s Basketball Top 25 will participate, including LSU (No. 1), South Carolina (No. 8), Ole Miss (No. 11) and Tennessee (No. 12) from the SEC, and Virginia Tech (No. 9), Notre Dame (No. 10), Louisville (No. 14), Florida State (No. 15) and North Carolina (No. 19) from the ACC.
Matchups of note include Notre Dame at Tennessee (5 p.m., ESPN2) on Wednesday, Nov. 29, and a premier ESPN doubleheader on Thursday, Nov. 30, featuring South Carolina at North Carolina (7 p.m.) and Virginia Tech traveling to Baton Rouge to face the champion Tigers (9 p.m.).
2023 ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge (Nov. 29-30)
| DATE | TIME | NETWORK | MATCHUP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 29 | 4 PM | ESPN2 | No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 12 Tennessee |
| 4 PM | ACCN | Florida at Georgia Tech | |
| 6:15 PM | ACCN | Vanderbilt at NC State | |
| 6:15 PM | SECN | Miami at Mississippi State | |
| 8:15 PM | ESPNU | No. 14 Louisville at No. 11 Ole Miss | |
| Thur., November 30 | 4 PM | ACCN | Missouri at Virginia |
| 4 PM | SECN | Duke at Georgia | |
| 6 PM | ESPN | No. 8 South Carolina at No. 19 North Carolina | |
| 6 PM | ESPN2 | Arkansas at No. 15 Florida State | |
| 6 PM | ACCN | Alabama at Syracuse | |
| 6 PM | SECN | Boston College at Kentucky | |
| 8 PM | ESPN | No. 9 Virginia Tech at No.1 LSU | |
| 8 PM | ACCN | Texas A&M at Wake Forest | |
| 8 PM | SECN | Clemson at Auburn |