FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

“BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS” BEGINS THANKSGIVING NIGHT AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK

No. 19 Memphis vs. VCU at 7 p.m. ET No 2. Louisville vs. Northern Iowa at 9:30 p.m. ET Tournament Coverage Continues On Friday and Saturday

NEW YORK – November 20, 2012 – The second annual Battle 4 Atlantis, featuring No. 2 Louisville, No. 5 Duke, No. 13 Missouri, No. 19 Memphis, Stanford, Virginia Commonwealth, Minnesota, and Northern Iowa will tip off Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Coverage of the tournament will begin with a top-ranked matchup between No. 19 Memphis and VCU, live from the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Then at 9:30 p.m. ET, No. 2 Louisville takes on Northern Iowa.

NBC Sports Network coverage continues on Friday, November 23 with the Semifinals. At 7 p.m. ET, the winner of Memphis-Virginia Commonwealth takes on the victor of the first-round game between No. 5 Duke and Minnesota. In Friday’s nightcap, the winner of Louisville-Northern Iowa will take the court against either No. 13 Missouri or Stanford.

Coverage concludes on Saturday night with the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship at 9:30 p.m. ET., preceded by the Consolation game at 7 p.m. ET.

Dave Strader will handle play-by-play for the tournament, and will be joined by former New Jersey Nets and UCONN forward Donny Marshall. Carolyn Manno will serve as the game reporter for all matchups.

Liam McHugh and Kenny Rice will host NBC Sports Network’s coverage of the Battle 4 Atlantis.McHugh will anchor the coverage from the NBC Sports Network studios in Connecticut and New York. Rice will be located on-site in the Bahamas, and will contribute to pre-game, halftime and post-game segments. Rice will also provide on-site interviews with players and coaches participating in the tournament.

In addition to the Battle 4 Atlantis, NBC Sports Network has college basketball action on tonight at 8 p.m. ET when Saint Joseph’s hosts Harvard at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Scott Graham will manage play-by-play duties and will be joined by former Northern Illinois coach and current CSN Chicago sports analyst Dave Kaplan.

On Wednesday night, Miami (Ohio) travels to Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, VA. to take on William & Mary at 7 p.m. ET. Veteran CAA play-by-play announcer Mike Corey will be joined by former Georgetown point guard Ronnie Thompson for the call.

The NBC Sports Network will televise more than 60 college basketball games this season — the most in its history — featuring more than 40 different schools. The majority of the games and teams will come from the Atlantic 10, Mountain West, Colonial Athletic Association and Ivy League conferences.

Following is the NBC Sports Network 2012-13 college basketball schedule (all times ET):

Date Game Time (ET)
Tues., Nov. 20 Harvard at Saint Joseph’s 8 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 21 Miami (Ohio) at William & Mary 7 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 22 Memphis vs. VCU 7 p.m. ***
Thurs., Nov. 22 Louisville vs. Northern Iowa 9 p.m. ***
Fri., Nov. 23 Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinal 7 p.m. ***
Fri., Nov. 23 Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinal 9 p.m. ***
Sat., Nov. 24 Battle 4 Atlantis Consolation 7 p.m. ***
Sat., Nov. 24 Battle 4 Atlantis Final 9 p.m. ***
Wed., Nov. 28 George Washington at James Madison 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 8 Northern Iowa at George Mason 6 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 8 Villanova at Penn 8 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 22 George Mason vs. Richmond 3 p.m. ****
Sat., Dec. 22 Virginia vs. Old Dominion 5:30 p.m. ****
Fri., Dec. 28 Providence at Brown 7 p.m.
Thurs., Jan. 3 Northeastern at George Mason 7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 5 Lehigh at VCU 5 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 6 Florida at Yale 5:30 p.m.
Thurs., Jan. 10 Old Dominion at George Mason 7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 12 Butler at Dayton 2 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 12 Drexel at James Madison 4 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 12 Penn at Princeton 6 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 12 Colorado State at San Diego State 8 p.m.
Sat., Jan 19 Columbia at Cornell 3 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 19 Hofstra at George Mason 5 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 19 UNLV at Colorado State 7 p.m.
Sat., Jan 26 Dartmouth at Harvard 2 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 26 New Mexico at San Diego State 4 p.m.
Mon., Jan. 28 Delaware at Drexel 7 p.m.
Thurs., Jan. 31 Drexel at George Mason 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 2 Dayton at Saint Louis 2 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 2 Columbia at Princeton 6 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 2 Nevada at New Mexico 8 p.m.
Mon., Feb. 4 George Mason at Old Dominion 7 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 7 Old Dominion at Drexel 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 9 New Mexico at UNLV 9 p.m.
Mon., Feb. 11 Old Dominion at Delaware 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 16 Saint Joseph’s at La Salle 1 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 16 Princeton at Harvard 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 16 San Diego State at UNLV 9 p.m.
Mon., Feb. 18 Hofstra at Drexel 7 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 21 Drexel at Delaware 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 23 New Mexico at Colorado State 4 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 23 Nevada at San Diego State 6 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 28 Drexel at Old Dominion 7 p.m.
Sat., March 2 George Mason at Delaware 2 p.m.
Sat., March 2 UNLV at Nevada 4 p.m.
Sat., March 2 Harvard at Penn 6 p.m.
Thurs., March 7 Butler at Massachusetts 7 p.m.
Sat., March 9 La Salle at Saint Louis 1:30 p.m.
Sat., March 9 San Diego State at Boise State 3:30 p.m.
Sat., March 9 Cornell at Harvard 5:30 p.m.
Sun., March 10 CAA Conference Semifinal Game # 1 2:00 p.m.
Sun., March 10 CAA Conference Semifinal Game # 2 4:30 p.m.
Mon., March 11 CAA Conference Championship Game 7 p.m.

–NBC Sports Group–