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Jack Freifelder | NCAA.com | October 20, 2016

College basketball: Midnight Madness 2016 times & dates

  More than 16,000 fans showed up for Kansas' annual Late Night in the Phog event at Allen Fieldhouse.

With the college football slog in full swing, it's easy to forget that college basketball season is quickly approaching as well.

Teams around the country are gearing up for early action with invitational tournaments galore, but the harbinger of season's tipoff is and always has been a school's first open practice — colloquially known as Midnight Madness.

The name of the event may change a bit from campus to campus, but the message is the same: Basketball is back. More to the point, schools hosting the events look to generate some extra excitement ahead of the start to a long season.

RELATEDAllen Fieldhouse hosts 16K at Late Night in the Phog

In short, Midnight Madness is a series of events held around the country a few weeks before teams begin to take the floor in the regular season.

Former Maryland Terrapins head coach Lefty Driesell is credited with ushering in the tradition in 1971, but other well-known programs have helped promote and popularize the event — which normally features practice drills, scrimmages, hype videos, player introductions and a bevy of other activities.

The tradition originates from teams holding open practices on the earliest day permitted by the NCAA. In 2013, a new rule established some extra flexibility about when team's could hold their respective event. Most teams still tend to hold their events on or around the Friday before Oct. 15.

MOREKentucky basketball — Big Blue Madness campout reaches capacity

Take a look below at the Midnight Madness schedule that has been announced to date. More info to come.

Date Program Event Name
Saturday, Oct. 1 Kansas Late Night in the Phog
Friday, Oct. 7 Florida State Jam with Coach Ham
Saturday, Oct. 8 Gonzaga Kraziness in the Kennel
Saturday, Oct. 8 Pittsburgh #ThrowbackThrowdown
Friday, Oct. 14 Arizona McDonald's Red-Blue Game
Friday, Oct. 14 Kentucky Big Blue Madness
Friday, Oct. 14 Iowa State Hilton Madness
Friday, Oct. 14 Maryland Maryland Madness
Friday, Oct. 14 Connecticut UCONN Basketball First Night
Friday, Oct. 14 North Carolina Late Night with Roy Williams
Friday, Oct. 14 Michigan State Michigan State Madness
Friday, Oct. 14 Harvard Crimson Madness
Friday, Oct. 14 Georgetown Hoya Madness
Friday, Oct. 14 St. John's Red Storm Tip-Off
Friday, Oct. 14 Stephen F. Austin SFA Midnight Madness
Saturday, Oct. 15 Providence Late Night Madness
Saturday, Oct. 15 Oregon Block Party
Thursday, Oct. 20 Wichita State Shocker Madness
Thursday, Oct. 20 Texas Texas Tip-Off
Friday, Oct. 21 Syracuse Orange Madness
Saturday, Oct. 22 Indiana Hoosier Hysteria
Saturday, Oct. 22 Xavier Musketeer Madness
Saturday, Oct. 22 Duke Countdown to Craziness
Sunday, Oct. 23 Virginia Pepsi Blue-White Scrimmage
Sunday, Oct. 23 Wisconsin Red/White Scrimmage

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