Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

It’s official. Kentucky will play in the 2010 Maui Invitational. The tournament made it official on Wednesday by announcing the 2010 field.

As always, there will be rugged competition. Other 2010 teams include Connecticut, Michigan State and Oklahoma.

A return to Hawaii should take some of sting away from Kentucky’s 0-2 start.

Here’s the Maui release:

Connecticut, the 2005 tournament champion, currently ranked No. 2 in the 2008 USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, will return for its third Maui appearance. Kentucky, a seven-time NCAA champion, currently the winningest team in the history of college basketball both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage, will return to Maui with an 8-4 all-time stat including a trip to the winner’s circle in 1993.  Michigan State, the 1991 Maui champion with a 6-3 tournament record, was a part of one of the greatest games in tournament history when, in a 2005 semi-final contest, the Spartans faced off against Gonzaga and Adam Morrison, who holds a tournament record of 43 points from that game.  Oklahoma, currently ranked No. 1 in this year’s BIG 12 preseason poll, holds a 5-4 Maui record with its last appearance in 2006.  ACC team Virginia returns for its fourth tournament appearance with a 5-3 overall record.  The 1982 upset between then-ranked No. 1 Virginia and host school Chaminade University paved the way for the creation of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.  2006 NCAA Sweet Sixteen team, Washington, will make its Maui debut in 2010 along with fellow Maui newcomer Wichita State who last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2006, when they upset second-seeded Tennessee to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

ESPN plans to celebrate the start of another college basketball season by televising games for more than 24 straight hours.

Kentucky will be part of the marathon. UK’s game against North Carolina on Nov. 18 (which tips off at 9 p.m.) is in the schedule.

Here’s the ESPN news release:

ESPN will celebrate the start of the 2008-09 college basketball season with the new College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon featuring 23 consecutive hours of live college basketball game and studio programming Tuesday, Nov. 18. The new creative way to mark the opening of the season will begin at midnight ET with a tripleheader of live games: Massachusetts at Memphis followed by Fresno State at St. Mary’s at 2 a.m. and Idaho State at Hawaii at 4 a.m. Coverage will conclude with Kentucky at North Carolina at 9 p.m.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will offer 33 total hours of coverage overall highlighted by 14 game telecasts, including defending National Champion Kansas on ESPNU at 9 p.m. ESPN360.com will offer a simulcast of every ESPN and ESPN2 telecast.

ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon highlights include:

· The first of ESPN’s nine game telecasts will feature current Memphis coach John Calipari, a participant in last year’s NCAA Tournament Championship game, against Massachusetts, where he coached from 1988-96 and led the Minutemen to their only NCAA Final Four appearance.

· ESPN’s coverage will conclude at 9 p.m. with a showdown between the two winningest teams in college basketball history when Kentucky visits North Carolina, which returns all five starters — including National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough – to a team that made it to last year’s Final Four.

· College GameDay will originate from Chapel Hill, N.C., site of Kentucky at North Carolina (televised on ESPN at 9 p.m.), for a one-hour show at 8 p.m.

· In addition to games at midnight, 2 a.m., 4 a.m. and 9 p.m., ESPN will televise five live games consecutively beginning at 10 a.m.

· ESPN’s coverage will include a game played in five different United States time zones — Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific and Hawaiian – and at least 14 different conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, SEC, ACC, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, WAC, WCC, Big Sky, Ivy, Colonial, Big South and Summit).

· ESPN’s 2 p.m. telecast will feature Iowa at Kansas in a women’s matchup.

· Coverage will include the College Hoops Tip-Off Special, a live four-hour studio show originating from ESPN’s studios in Charlotte, N.C., beginning at 6 a.m.

· In addition to the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 will televise a tripleheader of 2008 NIT Season Tip-Off matchups beginning at 7:30 p.m. ESPNU will offer a doubleheader beginning with a NIT Season Tip-Off game at 7 p.m. followed by a CBE Classic game at 9 p.m. featuring defending National Champion Kansas.

College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Schedule for ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU

Kentucky basketball continues to fill up its pre-season calendar.

The Cats will begin “Boot Camp” on Monday. The camp is a lung-busting devotion to fitness. It can last anywhere from a few days to two weeks. Hopefully, the players will not be pooped when they hit the floor for Big Blue Madness on Oct. 10.

Kentucky also plans to have a Blue-White scrimmage this year. It’s tentatively scheduled for Nov. 1 in Rupp Arena. UK did not have a intra-squad scrimmage last year. Two reason: (1) In his first season as coach, Billy Gillispie had an incomplete roster. So would there be enough players to fill out the two teams? (2) The players on hand were learning a new system and adjusting to a new coach, so the time could be better spent in practice.

Of course, with 20 players (the number who posed for the team picture), Kentucky this year has enough players for a scrimmage. In fact, UK could divide the team into thirds and have one team play winners.

So UK fans will have several chances this pre-season to eyeball a team with many new faces. Those chances include Big Blue Madness on Oct. 10, the Blue-White scrimmage on Nov. 1, plus exhibition games on Nov. 3 and Nov. 7.

ESPN plans to stage its College GameDay program in conjunction with Kentucky’s basketball game against North Carolina on Nov. 18.

The GameDay show will run prior to the game from 8 to 9 p.m. Then UK will play No. 1 North Carolina.

Is there any doubt, then, that this will be a big game. College basketball’s two winningest programs and the full weight of ESPN’s coverage.

The UK-LSU basketball game next season will tip off later in the afternoon than originally scheduled. UK announced the change Wednesday.

Mark your calendars. Here’s the news release:

The game time for the Kentucky-LSU basketball game in Lexington has been changed to 4 p.m. EST.

Originally scheduled for 2:00 on Saturday, Feb. 28, the game has been moved to 4:00 p.m., but will still be carried by CBS.

Kentucky will play Kansas State in its first game in the host city for the 2008 Las Vegas Invitational. The other semifinal will pit West Virginia against Iowa.

Those games will be played on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28. The two winners and two losers will play on Nov. 29.

Tournament organizers released the pairings on Friday. The teams will each play two games in their home arenas before going to Las Vegas. But those first two games have no bearing on the matchups in Las Vegas.

A few hundred tickets remain available for the games in Las Vegas. Those tickets can be bought at www.orleansarena.com or by calling 702-284-7777.

Kentucky, Kansas State, Iowa and West Virginia headline the 2008 field for the Las Vegas Invitational, event organizers announced on Wednesday.

The 2006 championship game of the Invitational was a thrilling overtime victory by Kansas over eventual national champion Florida.

Organizers hoped for a North Carolina-Louisville final game this year. BYU foiled those hopes by beating Louisville.

The field of eight teams for 2008 includes Delaware State, Southeast Missouri, Longwood and Oakland. Each team will play four games – the first two at campus sites, and the final two at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Nov. 28-29, 2008.

Participating schools will each have their share of tickets available to sell after the 2007 basketball season finishes. But the general public may purchase a limited number of tickets for the final rounds in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena. For ticket information please contact the Orleans Arena at (702) 284-7777 or on the web at www.orleansarena.com.