Feb. 28, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 27, 2011 - The Big Ten Network will have exclusive, live coverage of the first nine games of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis starting on Thursday, March 3. All nine contests will air in HD.
The Big Ten Network also will have exclusive, live coverage of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Sunday, March 6 at 4:00 p.m. ET during a huge weekend of conference basketball and wrestling competition. Penn State, ranked No. 4 in the nation, will be seeking its first Big Ten wrestling crown this weekend at Northwestern. Five Nittany Lions are pre-seeded No. 1 in their weight class for the conference championships.
In addition, the Big Ten Network is televising the Nittany Lion basketball team's last two regular season games, including Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET contest at Minnesota. The network also aired Tuesday night's battle with No. 1 Ohio State.
The Penn State Lady Lions (22-8, 11-5) are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, earning their highest seed since winning the 2004 Big Ten title. The Lady Lions earned a first round bye and Friday at 11:30 a.m. will face the winner of the game between No. 7 seed Purdue and No. 10 Indiana. The Purdue-Indiana game will tip at 2:00 p.m. Thursday to begin the trio of first round games at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Penn State's quarterfinal game will be televised by the Big Ten Network and can be heard on the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com. Should the Lady Lions win Friday, they would advance to Saturday's 5:00 p.m. semifinal.
The Big Ten Network will air three tournament games on Thursday, all four quarterfinals on Friday and the semifinals on Saturday. The Big Ten Network also will air the Big Ten Tip-off Show and Big Ten Basketball Wrap-Up all three days from Indianapolis, with previews and highlights of conference men's and women's basketball games.
The Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament championship game is Sunday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
In addition to the nine women's tournament games from Conseco Fieldhouse, the Big Ten Network is televising five Big Ten men's basketball contests this week, including Penn State's last two regular season games. The Big Ten Network will televise three games from the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament on March 10 and 11.
The Big Ten Network is available in more than 75 million homes in the United States and Canada on DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse and 300 cable providers, including Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, CATV Service, Comcast, Consolidated Communications, Kuhn Communications, Nittany Media, RCN, Service Electric, Shen-Heights TV and Time-Warner in Pennsylvania.
Armstrong, Blue Ridge, Adams and MetroCast Cable in Pennsylvania, though, do not carry the Big Ten Network. More than 35,000 Penn State alumni live in the communities served by the four cable providers in Pennsylvania and the Youngstown, Ohio area.
Big Ten Network Big Ten Women's Basketball & Wrestling Championships/Penn State coverage March 2-6 (All times ET):
Thursday, March 3
1:30 p.m. - Big Ten Tip-Off Show
2:00 p.m. - Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament first round (three games)
11:00 p.m. - Big Ten Basketball Wrap-up
Friday, March 4
11:30 a.m. - Penn State vs. Purdue-Indiana winner
5:30 p.m. - Big Ten Tip-Off Show
6:00 p.m. - Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals - session No. 2 (2 games)
10:30 p.m. - Big Ten Basketball Wrap-up
Saturday, March 5
9:30 a.m. - Men's Gymnastics vs. Ohio State (delay)
4:30 p.m. - Big Ten Tip-Off Show
5:00 p.m. - Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals (two games)
5:00 p.m. - Penn State vs. TBD (if win Friday)
9:30 p.m. - Big Ten Basketball Wrap-up
Sunday, March 6
10:00 a.m. - Big Ten Men's Swimming Championships (delay)
1:00 p.m. - Nittany Lion Basketball at Minnesota
4:00 p.m. - Big Ten Wrestling Championships; at Northwestern
7:00 p.m. - Big Ten Basketball and Beyond
8:00 p.m. - The Journey - Big Ten Basketball 2011
About the Big Ten Network: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, the Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With approximately 350 live sporting events, and nearly all of them in HD, the network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The network operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, showcasing a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televising more Olympic sporting events and women's sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation's finest universities. Each year, the network offers between 35 and 40 football games, 105 regular season men's basketball games; 55 women's basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches' shows; and classic games. For updated information on the Big Ten Network, go to www.BigTenNetwork.com.
