ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon

Wanna get a head start on scouting some of Duke’s key opponents this season? ESPN’s 23-hour college basketball marathon is underway, highlighted by a couple of the Blue Devils’ premier in-state rivals.

Tonight at 9 p.m. on ESPN, No. 1 North Carolina headlines the marathon with their showdown with Kentucky. Hard to call this a showdown, especially after the ‘Cats lost their season opener at home to VMI. The only story here is if UNC will crack 100, like the Keydets did.

At 9:30 on ESPNU is the gem of the day, when No. 21 Davidson visits No. 12 Oklahoma. It’s the first meeting between ranked teams this season and pits two of the nation’s best players, Stephen Curry and Blake Griffin, against one another. It’s a big test for both teams: Can Davidson do it again, and can there interior handle Griffin? And is Oklahoma ready to challenge Texas and, to a lesser extent, Kansas for the Big XII title?

Duke’s ACC-Big Ten foe, No. 11 Purdue, is in action earlier at 7 p.m. on ESPNU, when the Boilermakers host Loyola (Chicago). Again, it’ll be interesting to see how Purdue adapts to being the hunted this season.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, another of the Blue Devils’ non-conference opponents, UNC-Asheville, just cruised past Liberty (and Stephen’s brother, freshman Seth Curry), 84-56, in their Big South opener. We’re counting down the days until December 17.