College basketball schedule, Nov. 9: Big East Conference game times, TV information, previews

The men's college basketball season opens Friday, as a majority of all Division I programs play season openers. The Big East Conference has eight of their 15 teams tipping off campaigns with three games featuring top-tier contests against top-25 opponents -- two are being played on the deck of aircraft carriers while the other will be played in Germany.

Below is a list of all the Big East games being played Friday with a brief preview of all of them.

St. Peter's Peacocks at Rutgers Scarlet Knights - 7:30 p.m. on Big East Network

Rutgers head coach Mike Rice and his squad will start the season with a home game at the RAC, as the Scarlet Knights host St. Peter's, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference program located in Jersey City.

The Red Cross plans to be on site to collect monetary donations for the relief effort of Hurricane Sandy.

The contest will be broadcasted locally on SNY and can be heard on WOR 710 AM.

UMKC Kangaroos at Seton Hall Pirates - 7:30 p.m.

Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard and his basketball team will begin its season with a match-up against the University of Kansas City-Missouri at Walsh Gym. The showdown is a part of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.

The Pirates' Summit League opponent enters the season with four returning starters in junior forward Trinity Hall (10.0 points per game in 2011-12), sophomore guard Estan Tyler, senior forward Thomas Staton and junior forward Kirk Korver.

Meanwhile, Seton Hall will begin the season with a starting lineup that features two returners: junior forwards Patrik Auda and Fuquan Edwin. Junior center Eugene Teague, freshman guard Tom Maayan and transfer Kyle Smyth will be the other starters.

The Pirates' bench could be limited as sophomore Aaron Cosby (knee) is questionable to play.

The contest will not be televised, but can be heard on WMTR 1250 AM and WSOU 89.5 FM.

Connecticut Huskies vs. Michigan St. Spartans - 5:30 p.m. on ESPN

The night tips off with Kevin Ollie making his UConn head coaching debut against No. 14-ranked Michigan State. The non-conference showdown is being played in Germany at Ramstein Air Force Base.

The Huskies will be led by junior guard Shabazz Napier, a Preseason All-Big East Second Team selection, and sophomore guard Ryan Boatright. However, after the duo the Huskies' roster features a slew of players with little experience.

Michigan State will serve as a tough season-opening test, as they feature returning senior center Derrick Nix, junior power forward Adreian Payne and junior point guard Keith Appling.

Mount St. Mary's, Md. Mountaineers at Pittsburgh Panthers - 6 p.m. ET on ESPN3

Head coach Jamie Dixon and his Panthers squad opens up with a contest against visiting Mount St. Mary's, a member of the Northeast Conference.

Pitt was voted sixth out of 15 teams in the Big East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, and feature senior guard Tray Woodall, a solid Player of the Year candidate, and Preseason Big East Rookie of the Year, Steven Adams.

Marquette Golden Eagles vs. Ohio St. Buckeyes - 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network

The year's first outdoor game on an aircraft carrier will held on the USS Yorktown off of Mount Pleasant, SC. The contest will feature the No. 4-ranked Buckeyes against a gutted-but-still-talented Golden Eagles squad led by head coach Buzz Williams.

Somehow, Marquette will need to find a way to outperform an opponent that last year made it to the Final Four and still has Preseason All-American Deshaun Thomas, junior guard Aaron Craft and talented sophomore forward LaQuinton Ross.

Not to mention, the Golden Eagles will be without last season's Big East Player of the Year, forward Jae Crowder, another top scorer, Darius Johnson-Odom, and sophomore guard Todd Mayo, who was ruled academically ineligible earlier in the week.

Early on, this will be a very good test for the Golden Eagles, who were picked to finish seventh in the Big East's Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Also, playing at 7 p.m., Villanova Wildcats host the UDC Firebirds, a Division II opponent, in first-round play of the 2012 2KSports Classic.

The game will not be televised, but will be shown live on 'Nova Nation All-Access.

Georgetown Hoyas vs. Florida Gators - 9 p.m. on NBC Sports Network

The night rounds out with another showdown on the deck of an American aircraft carrier. This time the No. 10-ranked Gators play the Hoyas on the USS Bataan off of Jacksonville, FL.

Preseason All-Big East First Teamer Otto Porter leads a Hoyas squad, which will need to find a way to replace its two top scorers from last season -- guards Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson.

Meanwhile, the Gators will be playing without starting point guard Scottie Wilbekin, who was suspended indefinitely Thursday for an undisclosed reason, and swingman Casey Prather, who's recovering from a concussion.

Regardless, Florida will have enough talent, including guard Kenny Boynton, to make this a solid season-opening match up.

Also, playing at 9 p.m., will be the DePaul Blue Demons who will host UNC Riverdale. The Blue Demons, who feature talented juniors Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young, were predicted to finish 13 of 15 teams in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.