In case you missed it, the Big East released their schedule earlier Tuesday. We’ve already made some hasty overreactions, so now it’s time to delve into a bit of a breakdown of where these games will be televised. Let’s go team-by-team and then analyze it after, shall we?
Butler
| FS1 |
FS2 |
FOX |
CBSSN |
BTN |
FSN |
Pac-12 Network |
| 17 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
(2 games TBA)
Creighton
| FS1 |
FS2 |
FOX |
CBSSN |
BTN |
FSN |
ESPN2 |
| 11 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
(1 game TBA, 1 game not televised vs. Washington State)
DePaul
| FS1 |
CBSSN |
BTN |
FSN |
ESPNU |
| 20 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
(1 game TBA)
Georgetown
| FS1 |
FS2 |
FOX |
CBS |
CBSSN |
FSN |
ESPN/ESPN2 |
| 14 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
(1 game TBA)
Marquette
| FS1 |
FS2 |
FOX |
CBSSN |
FSN |
ESPN2 |
ESPNU |
| 15 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
(1 game TBA)
Providence
| FS1 |
FS2 |
FOX |
CBSSN |
FSN |
ESPNU |
BTN |
| 11 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
(1 game TBA)
Seton Hall
| FS1 |
FS2 |
FOX |
CBSSN |
FSN |
ESPN2 |
BTN |
| 15 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
(3 games TBA)
St. John’s
| FS1 |
FS2 |
CBSSN |
FSN |
ESPNEWS |
AXS |
ESPNU |
BTN |
| 17 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
(3 games TBA)
Villanova
| FS1 |
FS2 |
FOX |
CBS |
CBSSN |
BTN |
ESPN2 |
| 14 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
(3 games TBA)
Xavier
| FS1 |
FOX |
CBS |
CBSSN |
ESPN2 |
ESPNU |
Fox College Sports |
Pac-12 Network |
| 15 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
(4 games TBA)
It’s worth mentioning that there are still a few unknowns here as indicated above. A few teams will be partaking in tournaments that may be on different ESPN networks so that’s why some of the tables vary more than the others. In addition, the flex schedule in place for two nationally broadcasted games at the end of the season will keep this from being final until that first week of March.
So, some teams might wind up on FOX or FS2 more than others depending on how the season plays itself out.
It’s not all that surprising that the Villanova Wildcats lead the way with five games being televised on big FOX. They are, after all, the defending national champions and it would behoove FOX and the Big East to showcase their premier club. The ‘Cats will also be shown on CBS in December, so that will be six over-the-air broadcasts for Villanova, which leads the Big East by a healthy margin.
None of the FS1 numbers are all that surprising, though it does appear that little faith is being shown in Providence as they rank with the fewest amount of broadcasts with 11. This is down from 16 a year ago. Providence finds themselves paired with Creighton for the fewest FS1 broadcasts as well. The Bluejays will be fielding a team that could make the NCAA Tournament but will not be shown on FS1 as often as DePaul or St. John’s. What’s the cause? Markets, perhaps, as they will be resting on the NY and Chicago markets for those teams, I guess.
Whether or not they show out is... well, left to be seen.
CBS Sports Network remains a constant backup source for Big East basketball as they will be televising 38 games this upcoming season for the conference. In total, including big CBS, 41 Big East games will broadcasted on the networks of CBS this coming year.
ESPN has 16 confirmed telecasts across their networks for the upcoming basketball season for the Big East. The lone wait here is simply for all of the tournaments that the ESPN networks will be televising which mostly impacts Georgetown who is in the Maui Invitational as well as St. John's who is in the Battle 4 Atlantis, among several others across the conference. The Red Storm get an ESPNEWS special later on in the season as well for their troubles.
