• Preparations underway for historic hoops game on board USS Carl Vinson

    Alex Gallardo / Reuters

    Workers prepare the Carrier Classic NCAA men's basketball court on board the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, Calif., Nov. 10, 2011.

    Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

    Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks to his players during practice for the Carrier Classic NCAA college basketball game aboard the USS Carl Vinson on Nov. 10, 2011 in San Diego, Calif.

    Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

    Members of North Carolina Tar Heels practice for the Carrier Classic NCAA college basketball game on board the USS Carl Vinson on Nov. 10, 2011 in San Diego, Calif.

    By James Cheng

    Wow, that is one big aircraft carrier.

    From AP: As long as the rain stays away from the Carrier Classic on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson on Friday afternoon, coaches Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Roy Williams of No. 1 North Carolina are confident their teams will put on a great Veterans Day show for the approximately 7,000 in the crowd, including the nation's basketball-fan-in-chief, President Barack Obama, plus a national TV audience.

    Izzo and Williams said they and their players were blown away when they boarded the nuclear-powered carrier, which stretches 1,092 feet, weighs 95,000 tons and has four steam catapults that can accelerate a jet fighter from 0 to 165 mph in just more than two seconds. 

    Read the full story here. Also, listed below are other stories from our site related to the ball game.