ESPN's "College Basketball GameDay" crew will be in Tallahassee on Jan. 14, 2012 for the first time. The pregame show will kick off the 2 p.m. FSU-UNC game at the Donald L. Tucker Center. (Courtesy FSU athletics)
Florida State will be going for the “GameDay” double play this school year.
This academic session, FSU will be hosting both ESPN’s “College Football GameDay” and “College Basketball GameDay” shows before a pair of big games in each sport.
Announced by FSU on Thursday morning, the Seminoles will host the basketball “GameDay” show on Jan. 14, before they take on North Carolina in what should be a key ACC battle to determine the early conference race. In ESPN analyst Andy Katz’s preseason poll, the Seminoles are ranked No. 23, while the Tar Heels sport a No. 1 ranking.
The game will begin at 2 p.m.
The news of the basketball “GameDay” coming to the Donald L. Tucker Center comes after ESPN confirmed last week that it was going to bring its football “GameDay” set to Doak Campbell Stadium for the Sept. 17 showdown between the Seminoles and Oklahoma Sooners.
The “GameDay” appearance will be the first for the basketball team.
“To serve as a host for ESPN and “College Basketball GameDay” is certainly a huge honor and we are thankful to ESPN for giving our program this opportunity,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton told Seminoles.com. “ESPN has played such a large role in the growth of college basketball on television and this is one of the great things the network does for college basketball.”
Hamilton added that the accomplishment of hosting the pregame show is a “special tribute to our players — current and past — who have helped build this program into a ‘GameDay-worthy’ destination.”
The Seminoles advanced to the Sweet 16 last season, reaching the round for the first time since 1993. The Tar Heels are coming off a rather disappointing 2010-11 season, but with much of the roster returning, they appear primed to return to their normal ACC and national relevance.
The rest of the schedule is expected to be released in the next two to three weeks.
