Here is the release:
Gophers to Host St. John's in Gavitt Games
The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team will take part in the Gavitt Tipoff Games this upcoming season, pitting the Big Ten Conference against the BIG EAST Conference in an early-season matchup. The Gophers will welcome St. John’s (N.Y.) to Williams Arena, hosting the Red Storm on Friday, November 18, 2016.
Game time and television broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
“This is a great matchup for our team and will be an exciting game at the Barn in November,” said Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino. “St. John’s is one of the most storied programs in the BIG EAST and after playing them two years ago in New York, we look forward to the challenge of hosting them this season.”
This will be the second meeting between the two teams, with the last coming two years earlier. The Red Storm defeated the visiting Gophers, 70-61, in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Minnesota is taking part in the Gavitt Tipoff Games for the first time, after the series debuted last November. In total, eight games will be played between the two conferences during the first full week of the college basketball season in mid-November. Last season, the leagues split the event, with each conference earning four wins.
In total, the Gophers own a 43-32 record against the current 10-team membership of the BIG EAST Conference.
St. John’s will be in its second season under head coach Chris Mullin, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and former Red Storm legend on the court. They defeated Rutgers, 61-59, last year in the Gavitt Games as part of an 8-24 campaign (1-17 BIG EAST).
The Gavitt Tipoff Games is a unique early-season series played between the two conferences and named in honor of Dave Gavitt, founder of the BIG EAST and basketball visionary. The BIG EAST home games will be telecast on FS1, while Big Ten home games will air on BTN or an ESPN network.
Scheduled through 2022, the Gavitt Tipoff Games will be played on consecutive days in the first full week of the college basketball season. The series will span eight years, with games played at home sites. Each BIG EAST team will participate a minimum of six times, while Big Ten programs will take part a minimum of four times. Teams from both conferences already meet in some traditional rivalry games, and those matchups will continue in the upcoming seasons.
The unique series between the two conferences is named to honor the late Gavitt, who had a profound and lasting influence on the sport of basketball on the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
2016 Gavitt Tipoff Games Schedule (times/ TV to be announced)
Monday, Nov. 14
Villanova at Purdue
Tuesday, Nov. 15
Maryland at Georgetown
Wisconsin at Creighton
Wednesday, Nov. 16
Northwestern at Butler
Thursday, Nov. 17
Seton Hall at Iowa
Providence at Ohio State
Rutgers at DePaul
Friday, Nov. 18
St. John’s at Minnesota
Gophers to Host St. John's in Gavitt Games
The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team will take part in the Gavitt Tipoff Games this upcoming season, pitting the Big Ten Conference against the BIG EAST Conference in an early-season matchup. The Gophers will welcome St. John’s (N.Y.) to Williams Arena, hosting the Red Storm on Friday, November 18, 2016.
Game time and television broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
“This is a great matchup for our team and will be an exciting game at the Barn in November,” said Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino. “St. John’s is one of the most storied programs in the BIG EAST and after playing them two years ago in New York, we look forward to the challenge of hosting them this season.”
This will be the second meeting between the two teams, with the last coming two years earlier. The Red Storm defeated the visiting Gophers, 70-61, in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Minnesota is taking part in the Gavitt Tipoff Games for the first time, after the series debuted last November. In total, eight games will be played between the two conferences during the first full week of the college basketball season in mid-November. Last season, the leagues split the event, with each conference earning four wins.
In total, the Gophers own a 43-32 record against the current 10-team membership of the BIG EAST Conference.
St. John’s will be in its second season under head coach Chris Mullin, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and former Red Storm legend on the court. They defeated Rutgers, 61-59, last year in the Gavitt Games as part of an 8-24 campaign (1-17 BIG EAST).
The Gavitt Tipoff Games is a unique early-season series played between the two conferences and named in honor of Dave Gavitt, founder of the BIG EAST and basketball visionary. The BIG EAST home games will be telecast on FS1, while Big Ten home games will air on BTN or an ESPN network.
Scheduled through 2022, the Gavitt Tipoff Games will be played on consecutive days in the first full week of the college basketball season. The series will span eight years, with games played at home sites. Each BIG EAST team will participate a minimum of six times, while Big Ten programs will take part a minimum of four times. Teams from both conferences already meet in some traditional rivalry games, and those matchups will continue in the upcoming seasons.
The unique series between the two conferences is named to honor the late Gavitt, who had a profound and lasting influence on the sport of basketball on the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
2016 Gavitt Tipoff Games Schedule (times/ TV to be announced)
Monday, Nov. 14
Villanova at Purdue
Tuesday, Nov. 15
Maryland at Georgetown
Wisconsin at Creighton
Wednesday, Nov. 16
Northwestern at Butler
Thursday, Nov. 17
Seton Hall at Iowa
Providence at Ohio State
Rutgers at DePaul
Friday, Nov. 18
St. John’s at Minnesota
