ESPN’s college basketball, football experts prep for crossover programming tonight

CHICAGO - The college football and basketball worlds collide tonight in Chicago, the site of the StateFarm Champions Classic and the third College Football Playoff rankings unveiling. ESPN college basketball analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams as well as ESPN college football analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway and David Pollack are all in the Windy City for a night of action. Anchoring it all is Rece Davis. Starting at approximately 7 p.m. ET, College GameDay, basketball edition, will lead into the first game of the Champions Classic doubleheader: No. 2 Kentucky versus No. 5 Duke (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN). At the conclusion of the game, College Football Playoff: Top 25 (airing approximately 9:30 p.m. ET) will air live from the United Center, revealing the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Following the 30-minute special, the second part of the Champions Classic tips off: No. 4 Kansas versus No. 13 Michigan State (approximately 10 p.m. ET). Front Row brings you a timeline, in pictures, of the day in Chicago thus far (all times approximate, Central Time): 9 a.m.: The College GameDay basketball production meeting takes place at The Drake Hotel. Seated on the far left, ESPN's experts Jay Williams, Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Rece Davis meet with producers to walk through the dayâ€™s schedule and events. 11:37 a.m.: Seth Greenberg (inset, right) reports from Chicago's United Center during a SportsCenter segment featuring (L-R) analyst Kara Lawson and co-anchors Chris McKendry and Jay Crawford in the network's Bristol, Conn. headquarters. 1:45 p.m.: (Far left, L-R) ESPN college football experts Rece Davis, Joey Galloway, Kirk Herbstreit and David Pollack meet with Teddy Greenstein (in front of the laptop computer) of the Chicago Tribune to talk College Football Playoff. 3:00 p.m.: The College GameDay basketball set is ready for duty. 3:57 p.m.: Jay Bilas (far left), Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo (second from left) and Seth Greenberg (far right) meet in the United Center hallways. 4:30 p.m.: Jay Williams, a former Chicago Bull, holds court with the media. 4:38 p.m.: Inside ESPN's production room at the United Center: Shannon Spake, Jay Williams, Jay Bilas, Rece Davis and Seth Greenberg prepare with producers and research.

3:00 p.m.: The College GameDay basketball set is ready for duty.

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