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Carrier Classic already set to be an annual event

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Mike Miller

Michigan State and North Carolina haven’t even played the inaugural Carrier Classic, but the second edition is all but a done deal.

Connecticut and Arizona will play in the 2012 edition, according to Jeff Goodman. The contract isn’t signed yet, but Goodman says the date likely will be Nov. 9, 2012.

The 2011 version between the Spartans and Tar Heels features two of college basketball’s premier programs and is set to be played on Nov. 11 in San Diego harbor. As an added patriotic bonus, it’ll be on USS Carl Vinson, the ship that buried Osama bin Laden at sea.

They’re planning to accommodate about 7,000 people for the game, most of it active military personnel and their families. If it rains, the game will be played below the flight deck – which may not help the aesthetic aspects.

“Could be windy. Could be sunny. Could be cloudy,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “They’ll put up lights and they’ll put up wind screens and all those kind of things. But the elements could be the most drastic we’ve ever been involved in.”

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