NEW YORK – The BIG EAST and Big Ten Conferences have announced the matchups for the sixth annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, with eight men’s basketball contests set for Nov. 15-18, 2021. Game times and television network assignments will be announced at a later date. All games will be televised on FS1 or BTN.
The BIG EAST and Big Ten Conferences mutually agreed to cancel last year’s series after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the 2020-21 NCAA basketball season and presented scheduling and timing issues.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games is a unique early-season series played between the two conferences and named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, founder of the BIG EAST and basketball visionary.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games are played in the first full week of college basketball’s regular season. The annual series, which is played on school home courts, features games between some area opponents as well as some attractive intersectional matchups.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games schedule begins on Monday, Nov. 15, with Providence at Wisconsin and Illinois at Marquette.
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Big Ten teams are both at home when Michigan hosts Seton Hall and Nebraska meets Creighton at home.
The slate for Wednesday, Nov. 17, has both contests in the state of Indiana. Butler hosts Michigan State and Indiana plays at home against St. John’s.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games conclude on Thursday, Nov. 18, with both BIG EAST teams at home. Ohio State plays at Xavier and Rutgers travels to DePaul.
The 2021 Gavitt Tipoff Games schedule
Monday, Nov. 15
Providence at Wisconsin
Illinois at Marquette
Tuesday, Nov. 16
Seton Hall at Michigan
Creighton at Nebraska
Wednesday, Nov. 17
Michigan State at Butler
St. John’s at Indiana
Thursday, Nov. 18
Ohio State at Xavier
Rutgers at DePaul
The Gavitt Tipoff Games began in 2015 and is played annually on consecutive days early in the college basketball season. Throughout the series, each BIG EAST team is scheduled to participate a minimum of six times, while Big Ten programs are slated to 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 distinctive series between the two conferences is named to honor the late Gavitt, who had a profound and lasting influence on the sport of basketball at the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.