ESPN Doesn't Want You To Watch The Best College Basketball Games

The Worldwide Leader in Sports does not want you to watch the best college basketball games in its inventory. You may think that’s illogical. Why would they self-sabotage their own product? It doesn’t need to make sense. Their actions make it clear that they don’t want you to watch college basketball. If they did, all they would need to do is make a small change.

ESPN had a loaded Saturday of hoops that started with the NBA in Paris in a game between two teams nobody cares about. It was a 30-point snoozefest. Thanks to multiple replay reviews in the final two minutes, the action bled into the Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt broadcast.

This is nothing new to college basketball fans. We’re used to checking the ticker for, “Your game is currently airing on ESPNews.” Except that didn’t happen on Saturday. You didn’t know that Kentucky started the game playing from behind until we saw the Pacers dribble out the final seconds and the feed cut from Paris to Nashville after two minutes of live game action.

Like many Kentucky fans, I was frustrated in the moment, but this isn’t my first rodeo. As the day went on, it hit me. ESPN hates college basketball fans.

A Classic College Basketball Ending Interrupted a Contentious Top-Ranked Battle

The Saturday slate on the Worldwide Leader ended with two bangers, No. 7 Houston at No. 12 Kansas at 6:30 pm EST, followed by No. 6 Tennessee at No. 1 Auburn at 8:30 pm EST.

Any college basketball fan who breathes air will tell you that neither of those games had a snowball’s chance in hell of finishing within two hours. In fact, we were only ten minutes away from a 3-hour basketball game in Lawrence.

Houston and Kansas took a trip to Banana Land. It felt like March at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks were up by six points with 90 seconds left in regulation and the game went to overtime. They were up by six points with 30 seconds left in overtime when Houston forced double overtime, thanks to this incredible three from Mylik Wilson.

CHAOS IN KANSAS 🤯

HOUSTON STEALS THE BALL AND NAILS THE 3-POINTER TO SEND IT TO DOUBLE OT 😱

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/qR7gTa4HeU

— ESPN (@espn) January 26, 2025

The Cougs won 92-86 in double overtime. It was an incredible game, one that interfered with ESPN’s Saturday “Blockbuster” on The Plains.

By the time Houston walked off the floor at Phog Allen with a victory, there was only 7:38 left in the first half of the game between No. 6 Tennessee and No. 1 Auburn. ESPN didn’t broadcast more than one quarter of its biggest game of the week. That game went down to the wire too. Auburn hit a three with 30 seconds left to take a one-point lead and hold on for a 53-51 win.

Does ESPN actually want college basketball fans to watch their biggest games? If they did, they would stagger tip-off times. Fans have been begging them to change their start times FOR YEARS. It’s rarely an issue in college football because they have allocated enough time for each game. College basketball games aren’t getting shorter. Late-game replay stoppages are making them longer.

Maybe one day ESPN will decide to give college basketball games enough time to broadcast them in their entirety. That’ll be the same day Dickie V grows a full head of hair.