The men's basketball team will play a minimum of nine nationally televised games during the 2006-2007 regular season, including an ESPN Gameday appearance for its season finale at home against Pittsburgh on March 3.

ESPN analysts will host a pre-game show from the Bradley Center beginning at 10 a.m., followed by a 7 p.m. pre-game show. Tip-off is at 8 p.m.

With both squads returning several key players, the match up likely will have postseason implications. ESPN.com analyst Andy Katz ranked Pittsburgh No. 4 in his preseason poll, with Marquette sneaking in at No. 20.

"The amount of television is a great testament to what our guys did last year, to the tradition of the program," Marquette head coach Tom Crean said in a press release. "Anytime you get an opportunity to put your program on national TV it benefits everybody, whether it's the school, the city, the students or the alums."

Marquette plays home-and-home games against Providence, Louisville and Pittsburgh. This marks the second consecutive season the Golden Eagles play Pittsburgh twice; both teams won tightly contested games at their home arenas last season.

Marquette will be one of four regional hosts to the 16-team CBE Classic, with Duke, Stanford and Texas Tech hosting the three remaining regions. If Marquette wins its region, which includes Detroit, Idaho State and Maine, the team would travel to Kansas City on Nov. 20 to face the winner of Stanford's region. If the Golden Eagles advance to the championship game, they likely would play either Duke or Texas Tech.

Marquette plays Wisconsin at the Bradley Center on Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. on ESPN. Aside from the possibility of playing Duke, the Badgers present Marquette's most formidable non-conference opponent.

Conference action kicks off Jan. 4 at Providence, and then the competition becomes fierce. Syracuse, the reigning Big East tournament champion, will play at Marquette for the first time in 23 years.

Both Louisville vs. Marquette games will be nationally televised. If the teams remain true to their rivalry, college basketball fans will see two competitive games. After missing the NCAA tournament in 2006, coach Rick Pitino's Cardinals are expected to be improved despite the loss of leader Taquan Dean.

Nine nationally televised games mark an increase of four over last year, and the same number the Golden Eagles received when Dwyane Wade led them to a Final Four in 2002-03.