'Cuse To Host ESPN GameDay And Duke Feb. 1

Syracuse will host ESPN's College GameDay Covered by State Farm when the Orange play Duke for the first time in the Carrier Dome on Saturday, February 1.

It marks the fourth time the Orange have had the ESPN GameDay crew on site. Syracuse also welcomed the program to the Dome when the 'Cuse played Notre Dame in 2005 (W, 60-57), Louisville in 2006 (W, 79-66) and Villanova in 2010 (W, 95-77).

The matchup will mark the first time Syracuse and Duke will meet as ACC members. The overall series is tied, 2-2. Syracuse defeated Duke in the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden in 1971-72, 74-72. The Orange also beat the Blue Devils in 1989-90, in an ACC-BIG EAST Challenge game in Greensboro, 78-76. Duke has won NCAA Tournament meetings with Syracuse twice, in 1965-66 (91-81) and 1997-98 (80-67).

Entering its 10^th season, ESPN's College GameDay Covered by State Farm – the eight-week Saturday morning and evening college basketball program originating from the site of ESPN's Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV telecast – begins Saturday, Jan. 18 with a special split-site show. The first hour begins at 10 a.m. ET on ESPNU, continuing at 11 a.m. on ESPN with a one-hour evening edition leading into the Saturday Primetime game-of-the-week on ESPN.

For the 10^th year, Rece Davis will serve as host for College GameDay. He will be joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose to preview all the day's action and discuss the biggest storylines in college basketball.

"Over the past ten years, College GameDay and the Saturday Primetime series have become a weekly showcase of the best the sport has to offer and this year's schedule promises to deliver a collection of the biggest and best games from across the country," said Nick Dawson, Senior Director, Programming & Acquisitions. "There is no sport with more passionate fans than college basketball and there is no more passionate setting than a Saturday on-campus with GameDay and Saturday Primetime on-site."

Split Site
The split site returns for the second straight season – this year opening weekend – at a new site and a veteran campus. The historic Palestra in Philadelphia will be the first stop on the GameDay tour showcasing Philadelphia Big 5 rivals La Salle vs. Temple (ESPN or ESPN2, Noon). The game at the Palestra will conclude ESPN's "My Home Court" initiative – a week-long celebration of college basketball's greatest venues. The show will then caravan to Storrs, Conn. – location of two previous GameDay's, including the first telecast in 2005 – to showcase an American Athletic Conference meeting between Connecticut and Louisville as part of the Saturday Primetime game (ESPN, 9 p.m.).

Super Bowl Week
College GameDay's visit to Syracuse on February 1 is in conjunction with NBA games in the state of N.Y. during Super Bowl week and will lead into the Miami Heat at the New York Knicks NBA game at 8:30 p.m. Super Bowl XLVIII is scheduled to be held on Sunday, Feb. 2, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.

Flex Pick
The "flex pick" appears for the third consecutive year – heading out west to the Pac-12 Conference on February 22. College GameDay will originate from either Boulder, Colo., for the Arizona at Colorado game or Palo Alto, Calif., for the UCLA at Stanford tilt. The game selected will be part of the Saturday Primetime schedule, while the other game will be at 6 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2. Colorado or Stanford will be a first-time site.

Additional highlights

Fifteen schools, including nine of the top 10, on the Saturday Primetime schedule are top 25 picks in ESPN.com writer Jason King's preseason top 25 poll: No. 1 Kentucky, No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Arizona, No. 5 Kansas, No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Florida, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 15 Memphis, No. 18 Gonzaga, No. 21 Connecticut and No. 23 UCLA.
Kentucky will host for the second-straight year and for a record-tying fifth time at Rupp Arena when it plays SEC opponent Florida on Feb. 15.
Duke will make two GameDay appearances and host at Cameron Indoor Stadium for a record-tying fifth time prior to its ACC matchup against North Carolina on March 8.
Syracuse will face Duke for the first time as ACC opponents in the primetime game on Feb. 1.
A special 30-minute College GameDay will be live from the third-installment of the State Farm Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. – prior to the Michigan State vs. Kentucky (7:30 p.m.) and Kansas vs. Duke (9:30 p.m.).

WatchESPN
All telecasts will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members and on Apple TV to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

2014 ESPN College GameDay Covered by State Farm

Date	GameDay Site	Show Times (ET)	Game	Time (ET)
1/18	Philadelphia, Pa. Storrs, Conn.	10 a.m. 8 p.m.	Temple vs. La Salle Louisville at Connecticut	Noon 9 p.m.
1/25	East Lansing, Mich.	10 a.m., 6 p.m.	Michigan at Michigan State	7 p.m.
2/1	Syracuse, N.Y.	10 a.m ., 6 p.m.	Duke at Syracuse	6:30 p.m.
2/8	Memphis, Tenn.	10 a.m., 8 p.m.	Gonzaga at Memphis	9 p.m.
2/15	Lexington, Ky.	10 a.m., 8 p.m.	Florida at Kentucky	9 p.m.
2/22	Boulder, Colo. or Palo Alto, Calif.	10 a.m., 8 p.m.	Arizona at Colorado or UCLA at Stanford	9 p.m.
3/1	Stillwater, Okla.	10 a.m., 8 p.m.	Kansas at Oklahoma State	9 p.m.
3/8	Durham, N.C.	10 a.m., 8 p.m.	North Carolina at Duke	9 p.m.

About College GameDay Covered by State Farm
College GameDay Covered by State Farm debuted Jan. 22, 2005 from the University of Connecticut, the same season as the debut of the Saturday Primetime Presented by DIRECTV game-of-the-week. The eight-week road show is hosted by Rece Davis (since 2005) with analysts Jay Bilas (2005), Digger Phelps (2006) and Jalen Rose (2013). Forty-four different campuses have served as College GameDay sites, plus the ACC Tournament Semifinals (March 12, 2005), in a total of 71 stops through 2013.

The largest attendance for an ESPN College GameDay contest was the 34,616 at the Villanova at Syracuse game. The biggest crowd assembled for the morning show was 22,144 at Kentucky's Rupp Arena, Feb. 10, 2010.

Syracuse University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos