ESPN announces network choices, tip times, for Mizzou-less Big 12 / SEC Challenge

For the second straight year, the likely product of poor on-the-court performance, the Missouri Tigers are one of four Southeastern Conference schools left out of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, entering its fourth year, as ten men’s basketball games will be played on Saturday, January 28, 2017.

All ten games will be on the ESPN family of networks, with four on ESPN, and three each on ESPN2 and ESPNU.  While all 10 schools in the Big 12 have participated in the yearly event, only 10 of the 14 schools in the SEC have been chosen to participate.  The same four SEC schools that did not participate in 2016 have been left out in 2017, with Missouri joined in that group by Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Alabama.

Just as in 2016, the marquee event of the 2017 Big 12/SEC Challenge will be a matchup between blue bloods Kentucky and Kansas.  In January, KU beat the Wildcats in Lawrence, while next year, the teams will play at Rupp Arena in Lexington (5:00 PM CT/ESPN).  ESPN’s prior broadcasts that day will consist of Texas A&M at West Virginia (11 AM CT), Florida at Oklahoma (1:00 PM CT), and Texas at Georgia (3:00 PM CT).

Games to be picked up by ESPN2 will start at 1:00 PM CT, as the Kansas State Wildcats travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers.  Next up is a trip to Nashville’s Memorial Gym, where the Vanderbilt Commodores host Iowa State (3:00 PM CT).  At 5 o’clock central time, Baylor will play Ole Miss in Oxford.

The tripleheader on ESPNU will start at 1 o’clock, with LSU at Texas Tech.  At 3 o’clock, in a “border battle” from Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma State will battle Arkansas.  At 5 o’clock in Fort Worth, the TCU Horned Frogs entertain Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers.