College basketball just got its wildest opening-day jolt in years. The Field of 68 is bringing back the 24-hour marathon on Nov. 2 with eight mid-major showdowns crammed into one nonstop stretch from midnight until late night.
Games split between Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It starts with a midnight ET tip and keeps rolling through the morning and afternoon before wrapping after dark. Five of the 16 teams reached last season's NCAA Tournament, including High Point, the only mid-major to advance to the second round. Eleven squads won 20-plus games a year ago and nine currently sit as projected league favorites. Fourteen conferences get represented.
- High Point vs. Liberty, midnight ET
- Grambling vs. Northern Illinois, 3 a.m. ET
- Appalachian State vs. Merrimack, 6 a.m. ET
- Queens vs. Winthrop, 9 a.m. ET
- Murray State vs. Tennessee State, 11:30 a.m. ET
- UTEP vs. Northern Kentucky, 2 p.m. ET
- UAB vs. McNeese State, 5:30 p.m. ET
- Furman vs. Bethune-Cookman, 8 p.m. ET
Jeff Goodman called the usual opening schedule awful, with top teams facing cupcakes or even non-D1 foes. He wanted real mid-major fights and will stay awake the entire 24 hours while calling the six Rock Hill games. Rob Dauster said it platforms elite programs that sit outside the traditional power structure and do not get enough coverage.
Tickets are already on sale for both sites. This is the event mid-major fans have been waiting on, a full day of hoops that actually matters right out of the gate.