Two ACC games – Duke at Clemson (Jan. 23) and North Carolina at Duke (March 6) – headline ESPN’s 2009-10 weekly “College GameDay Driven by State Farm®” college basketball series and the Saturday Primetime game-of-the-week. The ACC leads all conferences with two “College GameDay” and “Saturday Primetime” dates in men’s basketball. The Big 12, the Big Ten, the SEC, the Big East and the Pac-10 each have one “College GameDay” and “Saturday Primetime” date.
All three ACC teams involved in this year’s series earned NCAA Tournament berths last season and have highly-regarded recruiting classes set to debut this year. North Carolina capped off the 2008-09 season by capturing the league’s 11th national title with an 89-72 win over Michigan State in Detroit’s Ford Field.
Clemson: Oliver Purnell’s Tigers list seven returning players who averaged 13 minutes or more, including two starters, from last year’s team that posted a 23-9 record and earned the program’s second-straight NCAA Tournament bid. Clemson has won 20 or more games three years in a row, a first in school history. Clemson has averaged 24 wins over the last three years.
Duke: Mike Krzyzewski welcomes back six of his top 10 players, including three starters, from last year’s ACC Championship team that finished 30-7 and made the program’s 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Blue Devils’ ACC title was their eighth league crown in 11 years and 17th overall. Duke has averaged 27 wins per season over the last three years.
North Carolina: Coming off a season that saw the Tar Heels capture the ACC’s fourth national title in nine years and 11th overall, head coach Roy Williams welcomes back six key returnees, including one starter, from a team that won 20 of its last 22 games to finish 34-4 overall. North Carolina has averaged 34 wins per season over the last three years.
In all, North Carolina, Duke and Clemson have averaged 28 wins per season between each of them over the past three years.
The college basketball version of the popular “College GameDay” football series – featuring two one-hour shows each Saturday at 11 a.m. ET and at 8 p.m. – will originate from the site of the Saturday Primetime game (at 9 p.m. except Jan. 30) for eight consecutive weeks and will generally be presented from inside or around the arena.
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