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