Honoring Jimmy V with good early-season matchups
Generally the first two months of college basketball feature lame games
December 6, 2016
The first two months of the college basketball season, before conference play begins, are largely marked by dull games.
Teams play light non-conference schedules, including tournaments where just one or two strong squads participate, in order to ease into the season and also collect easy money from home games against inferior opponents.
So when one of the handful of good tournaments pops up, such as tonight’s Jimmy V Classic tipping off at 8 p.m. on ESPN, it’s worth noting.
The tournament is in memory of Jimmy Valvano, the excitable and inspiring coach who led North Carolina State to an improbable title in 1983. He died of cancer 10 years later, at just 47 years old, and is remembered by many for his “Never Give Up” speech, given just before his death at the first ESPY Awards.
ESPN had a close relationship with Valvano, who called games on the network and received the first-ever Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the ESPYs. ESPN Events puts on the Jimmy V Classic, which now includes men’s and women’s games.
The four squads in this year’s men’s tourney – Arizona State, Duke, Purdue and Florida – have combined for seven national championships, and three of them (all but ASU) are ranked in the top 25.
The back-to-back games between Purdue-Arizona State and Duke-Florida should post good numbers, at least as strong as last week’s Tuesday night men’s game, which averaged a 0.6 adults 18-49 Nielsen rating.
A look at this week’s top TV draws |
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
8 p.m. |
ABC |
“The Middle” (C) |
While Frankie goes on a road trip with her neighbor, Sue tries to convince Axl to reconcile with the family. |
8:30 p.m. |
Fox |
“New Girl” (C) |
As Jess and Robby dial down their relationship to casual status, Cene and Winston argue the pros and cons of being single. |
9 p.m. |
Bravo |
“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (R) |
Lisa Vanderpump is back for the seventh-season premiere of Bravo’s reality franchise. Lisa, Rinna and Eileen are eager to catch-up with Vanderpump, who is more interested in introducing them to a friend who is having Boy George as her houseguest. |
9 p.m. |
NBC |
“This Is Us” (D) |
Fall finale. Kevin celebrates Hanukkah with Olivia’s family; Kate and the Pearsons spend Christmas Eve at the hospital, where they run into someone who could use their help. |
10 p.m. |
ABC |
“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (D) |
S.H.I.E.L.D. teams up with Ghost Rider to save Los Angeles in the last new episode of this action sci-fi series before its winter hiatus. |
10 p.m. |
Lifetime |
“Knocked Up” (R) |
Series premiere. The lives of three single women are changed when surprise pregnancies force them to adjust. Think MTV’s “Teen Mom,“ all grown-up. |
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
3 a.m. |
Hulu |
“Shut Eye” (D) |
Departing from its weekly release model, Hulu’s latest original series (a drama about a family that controls a group of L.A. psychic front stores) drops all 10 first-season episodes today. Jeffrey Donavan and Isabella Rossellini star. |
8 p.m. |
NBC |
“Hairspray Live!” (A) |
An all-star cast including Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth and Harvey Fierstein brings to life the 1962 Baltimore world from John Waters’ ‘88 cult film in NBC’s annual year-end live musical. |
8 p.m. |
Fox |
“Lethal Weapon” (D) |
The detectives investigate a homicide perpetrated by the relative of a drug lord with ties to Riggs; Murtaugh is annoyed by his neighbor’s over-the-top Christmas decorations. |
9 p.m. |
WGN |
“Salem” (D) |
A ghost from the town’s past returns and a traitor from within the group is exposed. |
10 p.m. |
Comedy Central |
“South Park (C) |
The animated series finishes its 20th season where it has been all along: In the zeitgeist of popular culture and near the top of the nightly cable ratings. |
10:30 p.m. |
TV Land |
“Impastor” (C) |
The return of Alexa’s husband changes Buddy’s plans, one of many dangling plot threads in the second-season finale of TV Land’s original comedy series. |
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
8 p.m. |
Fox |
“Taraji’s White Hot Holidays” (A) |
The star of “Empire“ welcomes celebrity guests (Taye Diggs, Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys and many more) to her second annual Christmas special. |
8:20 p.m. |
NBC/NFL Network |
“Thursday Night Football” (S) |
The AFC West Championship is on the line when the red-hot Oakland Raiders visit the Kansas City Chiefs. |
8:30 p.m. |
ABC |
“Shrek the Halls” (K) |
ABC trots out Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots and the rest of the gang for their annual cozy-Christmas-gone-awry animated special. |
9 p.m. |
History |
“Alone” (R) |
Third-season premiere of this survival reality series, with 10 new contestants left to fend for themselves in the remote Argentina region of Patagonia. |
9 p.m. |
The CW |
“Supernatural” (D) |
The president of the United States makes a deal with Lucifer, forcing the Winchester brothers and their allies to step in and fight the new dark lord. Hmm… |
10 p.m. |
Telemundo |
“El Chema” (D) |
Telemundo’s new original super series, a spinoff from “Señor de los Cielos,” continues its debut week. |
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 |
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Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
3 a.m. |
Amazon |
“Mozart in the Jungle” (D) |
The Golden Globe-award winning series, starring Gael García Bernal (who won a best actor Golden Globe), returns for its third season. All 10 episodes drop today. |
3 a.m. |
Netflix |
“Medici: Masters of Florence” (D) |
This U.S.-Italian 15th century drama, co-created by Frank Spotnitz (“Man in the High Castle”) and Nicholas Meyer (“Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan”) and starring Dustin Hoffman, has already been renewed for a second season. The complete first season (eight episodes) drops today. |
8 p.m. |
ABC |
“Last Man Standing” (C) |
Vanessa drives her family crazy after she loses her job and spends all her free time around them; Ryan and Kyle compete to see who is more prepared to survive a zombie apocalypse. |
9 p.m. |
Showtime |
“Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour” (N) |
Two-hour documentary follows the singer and the crew tasked with bringing her concert to life in many venues over several months. Think Showtime’s canceled series “Roadies,” but for real and time-compressed. |
10 p.m. |
CBS |
“Blue Bloods” (D) |
Frank Reagan deals with the fallout from the murder of the son of an African-American community activist. Fall finale of Friday night’s most-watched broadcast show in total viewers. |
10 p.m. |
SyFy |
“Van Helsing” (D) |
Already renewed for a second year, “Van Helsing” wraps its debut season with Vanessa at a crossroads when Dmitri and Rebecca reveal secrets about her past. |
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
3 p.m. |
CBS |
“College Football” (S) |
Three simple words: Navy vs. Army. |
8 p.m. |
Hallmark |
“A Nutcracker Christmas” (M) |
When (a) her niece is cast in a production of the Nutcracker and (b) an old flame resurfaces, an ex-ballerina (Amy Acker) comes to terms with the life she left behind |
8 p.m. |
Fox/Unimas |
“MLS Soccer Finals” (S) |
The Seattle Sounders and Toronto Sounders compete for what would be each team’s first-ever MLS Cup in a rare (for English broadcast) primetime soccer match. Live from BMO Field in Toronto, Canada. |
9:35 p.m. |
HBO |
“Boxing” (S) |
A 12-round junior welterweight bout between Terrence Crawford and John Molina Jr. headlines a three-fight boxing evening. |
10 p.m. |
Showtime |
“Boxing” (S) |
When it rains it pours, as boxing fans who subscribe to both HBO and Showtime have to contend with dueling live three-hour telecasts. Days like this are what the DVR and VOD were invented for. |
11:29 p.m. |
NBC |
“Saturday Night Live” (C) |
Popular WWE wrestler John Cena hosts, with Maren Morris as musical guest. |
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11 |
|||
Time |
Network |
Program |
Description |
8 p.m. |
Fox |
“The Simpsons” (C) |
Krusty and his daughter spend Christmas with Homer and his family. With the NFL late game as the lead-in, expect an uptick in numbers for Fox’s primetime lineup. |
8 p.m. |
Starz |
“Ash vs. Evil Dead” (D) |
Season finale. Ash, Ruby and Kelly fight the family from hell to try and restore the world from evil and keep Pablo alive. |
8 p.m. |
Hallmark |
“Love You Like Christmas” (M) |
Car trouble strands marketing executive Maddie (Bonnie Sommerville) in the holiday-obsessed small town of Christmas Valley. The locals’ warmth and a kind stranger (Brennan Elliott) make Maddie reconsider her life’s priorities. |
8:20 p.m. |
NBC |
“Sunday Night Football” (S) |
Expect boffo ratings (if the game is competitive) from the primetime clash between the NFC East rivals Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at the latter’s MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. |
9 p.m. |
AMC |
“The Walking Dead” (D) |
Fall finale. Negan’s reign of terror continues as he catches up with surviving members of the team in Alexandria in this 86-minute episode. |
10:30 p.m. |
HBO |
“Divorce” (C) |
Season finale for HBO’s already-renewed Sarah Jessica Parker dramedy. Tensions between Frances and Robert ease up until one of their lawyers gets involved. |
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show. |
Tags: College Basketball, duke, espn, florida, jimmy v, jimmy v tournament, sports tv, tuesday tv this week, tv this week
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