BIG EAST Basketball Marathon Set For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
NEW YORK – The annual BIG EAST Basketball Marathon will take place this season on the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, Monday, Jan. 16. FS1 will televise five consecutive BIG EAST games from noon ET to almost midnight.
“We are proud to acknowledge Dr. King’s powerful legacy in concert with FOX Sports through this block of nationally televised men’s basketball games,” said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman. “Dr. King’s messages of hope, tolerance and reconciliation are important and timeless, and we hope this moment of recognition will remind us all that the principles he fought for are still relevant today.”
In recognition of the holiday and Dr. King’s contributions to civil rights, social justice and service to others, all 10 BIG EAST teams will wear “MLK” patches on their uniforms. FOX Sports, the conference’s television partner, will air related programming featuring BIG EAST coaches and players that will be shown throughout the day. One segment includes BIG EAST men’s and women’s basketball players reciting segments of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Follow on social with the hashtag #BEmarathonMLK.
The BIG EAST Marathon schedule on FS1 (all times are Eastern):
Marquette at Butler at Noon
Creighton at Xavier at 2:00
DePaul at St. John’s at 4:30
Seton Hall at Villanova at 6:30
Providence at Georgetown at 9:00
The lineup of games will be an all-day block of outstanding college basketball. The BIG EAST has four teams ranked among the top 15 in this week’s Associated Press poll.
The Marathon starts with Butler, ranked No. 12 by AP, hosting Marquette. Creighton and Xavier is a battle of ranked teams with the Bluejays, eighth in the AP poll, the highest ranking in school history, and Xavier is No. 15. DePaul will be aiming to avenge an earlier 79-73 home loss to St. John’s when the teams meet in Carnesecca Arena. Seton Hall versus Villanova is a rematch of the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament title game that Seton Hall won 69-67. The day concludes with Providence and Georgetown battling in Washington, D.C., where Dr. King gave his historical “I Have A Dream Speech,” one of the most iconic political events in support of human rights in U.S. history.