BTN.com staff, September 6, 2011

The college football season just kicked off this past week, but there's some college basketball news to report. On Tuesday, the Big Ten announced that 44 men's hoops conference games will be televised on CBS Sports or an ESPN network.

This hoops season, don't forget about our awarding winning series, "The Journey." We'll also have "Big Ten Basketball And Beyond," and the "Tip-off Show" back for another season. Oh, and give our expert analyst, @BTNJimJackson, a follow on Twitter.

Check out the full release from BigTen.org:

"Forty-four Big Ten men?s basketball conference games will be televised on CBS Sports or an ESPN network, the conference office announced on Tuesday. CBS Sports will carry eight weekend games this season, while 36 contests will appear on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

ESPN will air its first Big Ten conference matchup on Dec. 27, the first day of the conference schedule, with Nebraska hosting Wisconsin at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The first CBS Sports broadcast of the conference season comes on Jan. 8 as Michigan hosts Wisconsin. The game will tip off at 1:30 or 4:30 p.m. ET. The network?s conference schedule also includes wildcard selections on the final three weekends of the regular season.

During conference play, the Big Ten will have one game on an ESPN network every Tuesday at 7 or 9 p.m. ET as part of the network?s Super Tuesday lineup. ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU will televise at least one conference game every Thursday night beginning on Jan. 5. ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU will also show games during seven of the nine weekends of the conference regular season.

The Big Ten Men?s Basketball Tournament will be held Thursday, March 8, through Sunday, March 11, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. With the expansion of the Big Ten to 12 teams, the tournament will feature 11 games for the first time in history. ESPN2 will carry the third and fourth games of the tournament, while ESPN will air Games 5 and 6. CBS Sports will once again broadcast the tournament?s semifinals and championship game."