By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information in conjunction with Ohio Valley Conference
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Not one, but two Tennessee Tech basketball regular season games will broadcast nationally during the upcoming year, as the Ohio Valley Conference announced its slate of Conference basketball games across ESPN networks for the 2019-20 season on Thursday.
The Golden Eagle women's basketball team's league contest against Austin Peay on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 will be the first of the two games to air. The in-state battle will take place in the Hooper Eblen Center and will be broadcast live on ESPNU beginning at 4:00 p.m. CT.
Last season the women's team put together a remarkable campaign, finishing 22-11 while producing the third-best turnaround in NCAA Division I. The Golden Eagles secured their first national postseason berth since 2011-12 and earned their first national postseason tournament victory since 2006, a 73-59 win over Akron.
The second game set for national broadcast is the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team's home tilt with in-state foe Belmont. That match-up will take place Thursday, Jan. 30 at 8:00 p.m. CT and will also be broadcast live on ESPNU from the Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagle men's squad will be 21 games into its first season under the direction of head coach John Pelphrey, who took over the program in April. Pelphrey became the 13th head man in program history and enters his first year leading the purple and gold with a career record of 149-122 with stops at South Alabama and Arkansas.
The full schedule of league broadcasts includes nine total men's basketball games (six regular season contests and three OVC Tournament games) that will appear on one of the linear networks during the season. Five of the regular season matchups and the OVC Tournament semifinals will air on ESPNU, while one regular season game and the OVC Tournament championship game will air on ESPN2.
The schedule also includes a women's basketball matchup on Thursday, January 9 as Tennessee Tech hosts Austin Peay at 4 p.m. CT on ESPNU. In addition, all seven games of the OVC Women's Basketball Tournament, as well as the first round and quarterfinals of the men's tournament (four total games), will air on either ESPN3 or ESPN+, the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service.
The 2020 OVC Championship tournament will be held at The Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana for the third consecutive year from March 4-7.
An additional 209 regular season conference games (102 men's, 107 women's) and approximately 110 non-conference contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
Games aired on an ESPN network will also be available through the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now. Call (931) 372-3940, visit the Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUSports.com for details.
2019-20 OVC ESPN Television Schedule
Thursday, January 2
Jacksonville State at Morehead State, 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Thursday, January 9 - WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Austin Peay at Tennessee Tech, 4:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Thursday, January 9
Murray State at Jacksonville State, 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Thursday, January 16
Eastern Kentucky at Belmont, 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Thursday, January 23
Belmont at Murray State, 6:00 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
Thursday, January 30
Belmont at Tennessee Tech, 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Thursday, February 13
Murray State at Austin Peay, 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Friday, March 6
OVC Men's Tournament Semifinal #1, 7:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
OVC Men's Tournament Semifinal #2, 9:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Saturday, March 7
OVC Men's Tournament Championship, 7:00 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
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Photos by Thomas Corhern
