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ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten and BIG EAST Conferences have announced the matchups for the fourth annual Gavitt Tipoff Games. Illinois will host Georgetown at State Farm Center on Tuesday, Nov. 13, as part of the eight-game event that runs Nov. 13-16, 2018. The game time and television network will be announced at a later date.
It will mark the sixth meeting overall between Illinois and Georgetown and the first since since Dec. 8, 2005, a 58-48 Illini victory at State Farm Center. The Orange and Blue lead the all-time series 4-1 overall and 1-0 in Champaign. The Hoyas are coached by former NBA great Patrick Ewing.
This will be the Fighting Illini's third appearance in the Gavitt Tipoff Games:
» Nov. 18, 2015 at Providence – L, 59-60
» Nov. 17, 2017 vs. DePaul – W, 82-73
» Nov. 13, 2018 vs. Georgetown
About the Gavitt Tipoff Games
The Gavitt Tipoff Games are 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. This year's games will be televised on FS1 and BTN.
The annual series, which is played on campus home courts, features games between local opponents as well as attractive intersectional matchups. This year's Gavitt Games field includes Villanova, the reigning NCAA Champion, and Penn State, the 2018 NIT Champion. Among the 16 participating schools, six played in the NCAA Tournament last year and three played in the NIT. The NCAA Tournament teams are: Creighton, Michigan, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier. The three NIT squads are Marquette, Nebraska and Penn State. These nine teams won at least 20 games last year.
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 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.
2018 Gavitt Tipoff Games schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 13
Georgetown at Illinois
Wisconsin at Xavier
Wednesday, Nov. 14
Michigan at Villanova
Seton Hall at Nebraska
Marquette at Indiana
Thursday, Nov. 15
Ohio State at Creighton
Penn State at DePaul
Friday, Nov. 16
St. John's at Rutgers
