BTN Communications, October 2, 2013

CHICAGO - BTN will be the fans? destination for high-quality hoops this season, with more than half of all Big Ten Conference matchups airing on the network, including nine straight weeks of doubleheaders on ?Super Wednesdays.?  In all, BTN will televise 67 men?s conference basketball matchups, including four Big Ten Tournament games and an additional number of non-conference games.

?After an unbelievable 2012-13 season that included record ratings for the network, we?re looking forward to another competitive men?s basketball season,? said BTN President Mark Silverman.

BTN also has added new talent to its men?s basketball roster. The network?s lead analysts, Jim Jackson and Shon Morris, are joined by Stephen Bardo, who played basketball at Illinois as a member of the ?Flyin? Illini? and previously served as an analyst for ESPN. Seth Davis, a studio host for CBS Sports and a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, also joins the team, which includes returning analysts Mike Kelley and Greg Kelser.

Returning play-by-play announcers include Gus Johnson, Dave Revsine, Kevin Kugler, Eric Collins, Brian Anderson and Tom Hamilton.

With as many as six Big Ten teams included in 2013-14 preseason polls, BTN?s conference schedule will feature 42 appearances by a projected top-25 squads. Teams appearing in the current preseason rankings include Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

BTN?s ?Super Wednesday? lineup, sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings, will feature key matchups all season long. In addition, the network will have games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, presented by Quicken Loans, and frequent doubleheaders on Saturdays and Sundays. Also built into the schedule are six wildcard dates late in the season as teams compete for the Big Ten title. The network will carry four tournament games, which includes two opening-round games on Thursday, March 13, and two quarterfinal games on Friday, March 14.

BTN?s schedule begins with several non-conference matchups of note, including a doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 8, when St. John?s takes on Wisconsin in Sioux Falls, S.D., in the first college basketball game to be played at Heritage Court at Sanford Sports Pentagon. Immediately following the Wisconsin game, Nebraska will host 2013 NCAA tournament sensation Florida Gulf Coast, the first game in the new Pinnacle Bank Arena. Other games of note in the non-conference schedule include three games featuring in-state rivals, Marquette at Wisconsin, Butler v. Purdue in Indianapolis and DePaul at Northwestern, as well as Princeton at Penn State, in the Nittany Lions? ?retro? return to Rec Hall, their home before Bryce Jordan Center.

Men?s Conference Schedule: (All times Eastern)

Date

Visiting Team

 

Home Team

Time

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Michigan State

at

Penn State

5:00 PM

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Nebraska

at

Iowa

7:00 PM

Thursday, January 02, 2014

Michigan

at

Minnesota

7:00 PM

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Nebraska

at

Ohio State

Noon

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Penn State

at

Illinois

2:15 PM

Sunday, January 05, 2014

Purdue

at

Minnesota

TBD

Sunday, January 05, 2014

Northwestern

at

Michigan

TBD

Sunday, January 05, 2014

Iowa

at

Wisconsin

7:30 PM

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Minnesota

at

Penn State

7:00 PM

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Illinois

at

Wisconsin

9:00 PM

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Indiana

at

Penn State

Noon

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Minnesota

at

Michigan State

2:15 PM

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Nebraska

at

Purdue

Noon or 4:30 PM

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Illinois

at

Northwestern

7:30 PM

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Penn State

at

Michigan

8:00 PM

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Michigan State

at

Northwestern

7:00 PM

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Purdue

at

Illinois

9:00 PM

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Northwestern

at

Indiana

2:30 PM

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Michigan State

at

Illinois

8:00 PM

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Minnesota

at

Iowa

1:00 PM

Monday, January 20, 2014

Ohio State

at

Nebraska

7:00 PM

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Purdue

at

Northwestern

9:00 PM

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Iowa

at

Michigan

7:00 PM

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Wisconsin

at

Minnesota

9:00 PM

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Iowa

at

Northwestern

Noon

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Wisconsin

at

Purdue

5:00 PM

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Illinois

at

Indiana

3:00 PM

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Minnesota

at

Nebraska

6:00 PM

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Penn State

at

Ohio State

7:00 PM

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Northwestern

at

Wisconsin

9:00 PM

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Indiana

at

Nebraska

8:15 PM

Saturday, February 01, 2014

Northwestern

at

Minnesota

2:00 PM

Saturday, February 01, 2014

Iowa

at

Illinois

7:30 PM

Sunday, February 02, 2014

Purdue

at

Penn State

11:30 AM

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Wisconsin

at

Illinois

9:00 PM

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Nebraska

at

Michigan

6:30 PM

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Minnesota

at

Purdue

8:30 PM

Saturday, February 08, 2014

Purdue

at

Ohio State

6:00 PM

Saturday, February 08, 2014

Indiana

at

Minnesota

8:15 PM

Sunday, February 09, 2014

Illinois

at

Penn State

4:15 PM

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Penn State

at

Indiana

7:00 PM

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Illinois

at

Nebraska

9:00 PM

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Northwestern

at

Michigan State

7:00 PM

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Ohio State

at

Illinois

8:00 PM

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Nebraska

at

Michigan State

3:00 PM

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Minnesota

at

Northwestern

6:00 PM

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Northwestern

at

Ohio State

7:00 PM

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Illinois

at

Minnesota

9:00 PM

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Minnesota

at

Ohio State

6 or 8:00 PM

Saturday, February 22, 2014 or
Sunday, February 23, 2014

Wildcard

at

Wildcard

8:15 PM or
6:00 PM

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Wildcard

at

Wildcard

4:15 PM

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Iowa

at

Minnesota

7:00 PM

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Michigan

at

Purdue

7:00 PM

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Nebraska

at

Illinois

9:00 PM

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Minnesota

at

Michigan

6:00 PM

Saturday, March 01, 2014 or
Sunday, March 02, 2014

Wildcard

at

Wildcard

8:15 PM or
2:00 PM

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Wildcard

at

Wildcard

Noon

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Nebraska

at

Indiana

7:00 PM

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Purdue

at

Wisconsin

9:00 PM

Saturday, March 08, 2014

Wildcard

at

Wildcard

8:30 PM

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Penn State

at

Minnesota

5:15 PM

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Wisconsin

at

Nebraska

7:30 PM

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Wildcard

at

Wildcard

Noon

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Big Ten #9

vs.

Big Ten #8

Noon

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Big Ten #12

vs.

Big Ten #5

2:30 PM

Friday, March 14, 2014

Big Ten #10/7 Winner

vs.

Big Ten #2

6:30 PM

Friday, March 14, 2014

Big Ten #11/6 Winner

vs.

Big Ten #3

9:00 PM

About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 800 events, all in HD, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. BTN2Go is the 24/7 simulcast of BTN that delivers live and on-demand programming via the internet, smartphones and tablets to customers of participating video providers. Events include football, men?s and women?s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events; studio shows; and classic games. The network televises and streams more Olympic sporting events and women?s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation?s finest universities. The groundbreaking Student U initiative provides real-world experience for students interested in careers in sports television. The network is in more than 52 million homes across the United States and Canada, including carriage by all the major video distributors, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Communications, Comcast Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, Rogers Cable, Shaw and Shaw Direct (Canada) and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. For additional information, go to www.BTN.com.