ESPN Tip-off Marathon 2013 Schedule: Full Breakdown for Slate of Games

The 2013 college basketball regular season is officially underway, but the excitement won't reach its peak until ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon takes place on Monday, Nov. 11 and Tuesday, Nov. 12.

The event's schedule consists of 24 straight hours of college hoops and features several excellent matchups. If you love basketball, you won't want to miss the non-stop action to officially kick the season off right!

*All stats and schedule information via ESPN.com.

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	Channel	Prediction
Nov. 11	Kent State at Temple	7 p.m.	ESPNU	Temple
Nov. 11	Colorado at Gonzaga	9 p.m.	ESPN2	Gonzaga
Nov. 11	BYU at Stanford	11 p.m.	ESPN2	BYU
Nov. 12	Western Kentucky at Wichita State	1 a.m.	ESPN2	Wichita State
Nov. 12	Akron at Saint Mary's	3 a.m.	ESPN2	Saint Mary's
Nov. 12	New Mexico State at Hawaii	5 a.m.	ESPN2	New Mexico State
Nov. 12	Hartford at Florida Gulf Coast	7 a.m.	ESPN2	Florida Gulf Coast
Nov. 12	Quinnipiac at La Salle	9 a.m.	ESPN2	La Salle
Nov. 12	LSU at Massachussetts	11 a.m.	ESPN2	LSU
Nov. 12	West Virginia at Virginia Tech	1 p.m.	ESPN	West Virginia
Nov. 12	South Carolina at Baylor	3 p.m.	ESPN	Baylor
Nov. 12	N.C. State at Cincinnati	5 p.m.	ESPN	N.C. State
Nov. 12	VCU at Virginia	7 p.m.	ESPN2	VCU
Nov. 12	Michigan State vs. Kentucky*	7:30 p.m.	ESPN	Kentucky
Nov. 12	Florida at Wisconsin	9 p.m.	ESPN2	Florida
Nov. 12	Kansas vs. Duke*	10 p.m.	ESPN	Duke

 * Games played in Chicago.

Breaking Down Matchups You Can't Miss

Kansas vs. Duke, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN

In what should be the most intriguing matchup of the entire opening week of games, the Kansas Jayhawks will square off against the Duke Blue Devils in a bitter battle of traditional college basketball powerhouses.

While the focus on these two teams will always be centered on head coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Bill Self and the kind of programs both are currently building, this particular game features the two top prospects in the sport with Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) and Jabari Parker (Duke).

It's not often that two players of this caliber go head-to-head, but with the matchup happening this early in the season, the expectations for the battle are through the roof. Both college and NBA fans have a vested interest in this game.

Predicted Final Score: Duke 80, Kansas 76

Michigan State vs. Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

The 2013 Champions Classic features the Michigan State Spartans going up against the talented Kentucky Wildcats in a matchup that has the potential to be a national championship preview.

Michigan State comes into this season with a talented roster full of experience—senior guard Keith Appling, senior forward Adreian Payne and Big Ten freshman of the year Gary Harris—and will push the always young Wildcats to their limit.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is a master on the recruiting trail and once again proved his worth by landing five of the top nine players in this year's class, which includes Julius Randle, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, James Young and Marcus Lee.

Both teams must build chemistry early to find a rhythm and make a run at another national championship, but each program has the leadership and talent to make that dream come to fruition.

Predicted Final Score: Kentucky 73, Michigan State 63

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