Pac-12 announces 2017-18 men’s basketball television schedule
Composite 2017-18 TV Schedule (PDF)
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced on Tuesday its 2017-18 men’s basketball television package that will feature 224 contests telecast to national and regional audiences.
The Pac-12 will carry considerable momentum into the 2017-18 campaign after sending a record seven teams to the 2016 NCAA Tournament and finishing with three teams in the top 10 in the nation in 2017, culminating with OREGON’s appearance in the Final Four in April.
Pac-12 Conference controlled broadcasts include 152 events to be aired on Pac-12 Networks (including seven preseason events and eight Pac-12 Tournament games), 45 games on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, 23 on FS1 (including three Pac-12 Tournament games) and two nationally each on FOX and CBS broadcast networks. Additional appearances will be made through other conference television agreements and various in-season tournaments to bring the comprehensive broadcast total to more than 260 events.
Every Pac-12 home contest will be televised during the 2017-18 regular season, including all 108 Conference clashes. The Pac-12 non-conference home slate features 29 games against teams that participated in postseason play in 2017, including 11 against teams from the 2017 NCAA Tournament field highlighted by matchups against defending NCAA champion North Carolina, national runner-up Gonzaga, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Saint Mary’s (Calif.) and Vanderbilt.
The regular season will begin on Friday, Nov. 10 with 10 games as part of Pac-12 Networks’ Full Court Friday as well as UCLA battling Georgia Tech in the 2017 Pac-12 China Game on ESPN.
Marquee non-league contests set to air on Pac-12 Networks include Missouri at UTAH on Thursday, Nov. 16; Texas A&M at USC on Sunday, Nov. 26; Saint Mary’s at CALIFORNIA on Saturday, Dec. 2; St. John’s versus ARIZONA STATE as part of HoopHall LA at the Staples Center on Friday, Dec. 8; Gonzaga at WASHINGTON on Sunday, Dec. 10; and Vanderbilt at Arizona State on Sunday, Dec. 17.
CBS will pick up UCLA hosting Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 16 and ARIZONA at STANFORD on Saturday, Jan. 20 along with two road non-conference tilts, while FOX broadcast will carry Utah at Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 27 and OREGON at Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 3.
As part of the 45 package games on ESPN Networks, five are set for ESPN – the 2017 Pac-12 China Game; UCLA at Oregon on Saturday, Jan. 20; UCLA at Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 8; Oregon at WASHINGTON STATE on Thursday, March 1; and UCLA at USC on Saturday, March 3 – with an additional 12 contests designated to flex on ESPN or ESPN2 and 10 others assigned to ESPN2.
FS1 will open coverage of the race to Las Vegas for the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament on Friday, Dec. 29 with Utah visiting two-time defending regular-season champion Oregon. FS1 will also cap the conference season with three broadcasts during the Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena, culminating with the championship game on Saturday, March 10 at 7 p.m. PT.
After breaking several attendance records in its debut season at T-Mobile Arena, the 2018 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament returns to Las Vegas’ newest venue from March 7-10. Check pac-12.com/tickets for the most up-to-date information on tournament on-sale dates and special offers.
2016-17 Pac-12 All-Conference performers Allonzo Trier (Arizona), Chimezie Metu (USC) and Reid Travis (Stanford) headline the list of the league’s top returners. Additionally, nine NBA Draft early-entry candidates elected to return to Pac-12 programs for the 2017-18 season, highlighted by Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Bennie Boatwright (USC), and Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh (UCLA), boosting the Wildcats, Trojans and Bruins in early national top 25 poll projections.
The Conference also boasts eight teams inside ESPN’s Top 40 recruiting class rankings and is slated to add 19 freshmen rated in the ESPN Top 100, the second-most of any league in the country.