ROSEMONT, ILL. – The BIG EAST Conference and Big Ten Conference have announced the matchups for the sixth annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, with eight men’s basketball contests set for Nov. 15-18, 2021. All contests will be televised on FS1 or BTN, with game times slated to be announced at a later date.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games, which began in 2015, is an early-season series between the two conferences and named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, founder of the BIG EAST and basketball visionary. The BIG EAST and Big Ten split the series 4-4 from 2015-17 before the Big Ten emerged victorious in both 2018 and 2019 by a 5-3 margin. Last year, the conferences mutually agreed to cancel the 2020 series after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the 2020-21 NCAA basketball season and presented scheduling and timing issues.
The annual series, which is played on campus home courts, features games between local opponents as well as attractive intersectional matchups.
This year’s 16-team field includes 2021 Big Ten champion Michigan and 2021 Big Ten Tournament champion Illinois. Both the Wolverines and Fighting Illini earned No. 1 seeds in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will be joined in this year’s Gavitt Tipoff Games by five other NCAA Tournament teams: Creighton, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers and Wisconsin.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games begin on Monday, Nov. 15, with Wisconsin hosting Providence and Illinois traveling to Marquette. On Tuesday, Nov. 16, Michigan with face Seton Hall at home, while Nebraska hosts Creighton. On Wednesday, Nov. 17, Michigan State will play at Butler and St. John’s will play at Indiana.
The series concludes on Thursday, Nov. 18, with Ohio State playing at Xavier and Rutgers traveling to take on DePaul.
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
