NCAA Basketball: 2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games matchups announced
Now coming back for the third edition, the match-ups for the 2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games have been announced for NCAA Basketball. Let’s take a look.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games began in 2015 as a set of eight games played between the Big East and Big Ten conferences, They are set to occur every year from 2015-2022 and are named in honor of former Big East commissioner Dave Gavitt. In each of the first two seasons, the series finished in a tie, with each conference taking four of the games.
Per Jon Rothstein, the matchups have been announced, so let’s take a quick look at what headlines the event for this upcoming season.
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Providence Friars
Date: November 13th, 2017
Prior history in the event: Minnesota is 1-0, Providence is 1-1
History against each other: Minnesota leads the series 2-0. Minnesota won the last meeting 76-70 in 1993.
Minnesota looks to enter the 2017-18 season as one of the top teams in the Big Ten and a top-25 team in the country. They return much of the roster that led them to a five seed last year and look to build off of that momentum. As for Providence, they made the tournament in 2016-17 as an 11 seed but fell in the First Four against USC. Both teams will be looking for a solid non-conference victory.
Purdue Boilermakers at Marquette Golden Eagles
Date: November 14th, 2017
Prior history in the event: Purdue is 0-1, Marquette is 0-1
History against each other: Purdue leads the series 4-0. Purdue won the last meeting 75-73 in 1969.
Purdue will likely be without star player Caleb Swanigan as he pursues a career in the NBA, but the Boilermakers will still have a strong team with big man Isaac Haas in the middle. Purdue was a four seed a season ago. Marquette remains a team on the rise, despite dropping their first game of the NCAA Tournament to the Final Four-bound South Carolina Gamecocks. They will be led by sophomore guard Markus Howard.
Creighton Bluejays at Northwestern Wildcats
Date: November 15th, 2017
Prior history in the event: Creighton is 1-0, Northwestern is 0-1
History against each other: Northwestern leads the series 3-2. Creighton won the last meeting 87-79 in 2011.
Both of these teams made the tournament last season, but for Northwestern is was a special one. The Wildcats made it to their first ever NCAA Tournament and were able to snag their first win as well before losing to National Runner-up Gonzaga. Creighton had to deal with an injury to star guard Maurice Watson Jr., but still made the Big Dance. Northwestern could enter the year as a top-25 team and Creighton will be losing center Justin Patton to the NBA.
Indiana Hoosiers at Seton Hall Pirates
Date: November 15th, 2017
Prior history in the event: Indiana is 1-0, Seton Hall is 1-0
History against each other: Indiana leads the series 2-1. Indiana won the last meeting 83-69 in 1998.
It was a underwhelming season for the Indiana Hoosiers last year due to missing the NCAA Tournament. Although injured for much of the season, the Hoosiers lose OG Anunoby to the NBA Draft, but also picked up new head coach Archie Miller. Seton Hall did make the tournament this past season as a nine seed but fell in the first round.
Butler Bulldogs at Maryland Terrapins
Date: November 15th, 2017
Prior history in the event: Butler is 1-0, Maryland is 2-0
History against each other: Butler leads the series 1-0. Butler won the last meeting 62-59 in 2007.
Butler is coming off their best seed in the NCAA Tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance. They return Kelan Martin and Kamar Baldwin as top players in the Big East Conference and will likely hover near the top of the conference all season. Maryland lost to Xavier in the first round of the Big Dance and will be without Melo Trimble, who has declared for the NBA Draft.
Nebraska Cornhuskers at St. John’s Red Storm
Date: November 16th, 2017
Prior history in the event: Nebraska is 0-1, St. John’s is 1-1
History against each other: These two teams have never matched up against each other.
St. John’s, despite missing the tournament, made major strides as a program getting better this past year. They have two outstanding guards in Shamorie Ponds and Marcus Lovett who could surprise some people. Nebraska also missed the Big Dance and they will look to rebound this year. Getting a road non-conference victory would be a great way to start for the Cornhuskers.
Xavier Musketeers at Wisconsin Badgers
Date: November 16th, 2017
Prior history in the event: Xavier is 1-0, Wisconsin is 0-1
History against each other: Series is tied at 2-2. Wisconsin won the last meeting 66-63 in 2016.
Both of these teams made the Big Dance last year, with both also reaching the Sweet 16 (Xavier went on the Elite Eight). They met in the 2016 NCAA Tournament in the second round as well, where Bronson Koenig hit a corner three at the buzzer to advance. This time the Badgers will be without Koenig, along with a large group of other seniors as they look to continue their run of NCAA Tournament appearances behind Ethan Happ. Xavier will lose Edmond Sumner and possibly Trevon Bluiett as well as this could be a very interesting matchup.
DePaul Blue Demons at Illinois Fighting Illini
Date: November 17th, 2017
Prior history in the event: DePaul is 0-2, Illinois is 0-1
History against each other: Illinois leads the series 7-2. Illinois won the last meeting 75-70 in 1957.
A battle of teams within the state of Illinois, DePaul looks to get revenge after being dominated by the Fighting Illini in the 1950’s. Both teams are coming off disappointing seasons and will want to prove that they are the better in-state team. In addition, both teams are looking for their first win in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, as they are a combined 0-3. Something is going to have to give, but what is it going to be?
Next: Best available transfers for 2017-18
The Gavitt Tipoff Games are a great way to kick off the 2017-18 NCAA Basketball season between two of the best conferences. Some great matchups are bound to turn into great games when November rolls around.