The 2016-17 college basketball season is finally upon us and, like in recent years, the schedule starts off with a bang for many teams due to the rise of exempt events and exempt tournaments. As college basketball continues to fight for viewers against the NFL, NBA, NHL and college football in November and December, early-season showcases between top teams have become increasingly prevalent and more and more popular.
In this article, I focus on and preview the top Big East non-conference games over the next two weeks. To read my pre-season preview of the Big East, please click here. To discuss this article on the BSL board, click here.
The Gavitt Games (November 14-18; airing on BTN and FS1)
The Gavitt Games is an annual eight-game series played between the Big Ten and Big East that is usually played in the second week of the season. It honors the late Dave Gavitt, the first commissioner of the Big East Conference. In its inaugural season last year, the two conferences split the series, 4-4. This season, the two highlight games of the event occur both on Tuesday, November 15 as Georgetown hosts Maryland at the Verizon Center at 6:30 PM, while #9 Wisconsin travels to Omaha to face #22 Creighton. Both games will air on FS1. Last year, Maryland won a close 75-71 game against the Hoyas at the XFINITY Center. While I give a slight edge to both Big East schools due to home field advantage, I could easily see Maryland and Wisconsin getting victories. The Wisconsin-Creighton tilt features a slew of top guards, highlighted by Badgers’ tournament hero Bronson Koenig and Bluejays-duo Marcus Foster and Maurice Watson. The other matchups in the event feature Villanova at Purdue (Nov. 14, 7:00 PM, BTN), Northwestern at Butler (Nov. 16, 7:00 PM, FS1), Providence at Ohio State (Nov. 17, 7:00 PM, BTN), Rutgers at DePaul (Nov. 17, 8:30 PM, FS1), Seton Hall at Iowa (Nov. 17, 9:00 PM, BTN) and St. John’s at Minnesota (Nov. 18, 9:00 PM, 9:00 PM). In the end, I believe that the Gavitt Games will finish in another tie (4-4) or one of the conferences narrowly edging out the other (5-3).
Exempt Tournaments
The three top Big East schools will all travel to exempt tournaments during the weekend of November 19th, as Villanova goes to the Charleston Classic, Xavier attends the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando and Creighton heads internationally to the US Virgin Islands for the 2016 Paradise Jam. Xavier and Villanova will start action on Thursday, November 17 while Creighton has their first game against Washington State on Friday. It will be Xavier’s second consecutive exempt tournament in Orlando, as the Tire Pros Invitational was moved from Puerto Rico due to concerns about the zika virus. All three Big East teams are favorites to win their respective tournaments. On Monday, November 21st, Georgetown heads west to participate in the Maui Invitational and faces of against national-title dark horse #5 Oregon. It is an absolutely loaded 2016 Maui field that also includes North Carolina, Wisconsin and Connecticut.
2016 Veterans Classic (Nov. 11 in Annapolis, MD)
If you are interested in something more local, the third annual installment of the Veterans Classic will be in Annapolis, MD as Navy hosts the Ohio State Buckeyes and Marquette faces off against Vanderbilt on Friday, November 11th. It will be the first game of the college basketball season for all four teams and will be played at the Naval Academy’s Alumni Hall. The Commodores-Golden Eagles game will air at 6:30 PM on CBS Sports Network, followed by Navy-Ohio State. It is Bryce Drew’s first game as head coach with Vanderbilt after his successful tenure at Valparaiso. Ohio State returns their top scorers and hopes to return to the NCAA Tournament after failing to reach it last year for the first time since 2004-05. Last season, the Navy Midshipmen finished with a 19-14 record, going 9-9 in the Patriot League.
A graduate of Xavier University, Chris began his writing career as a Xavier Musketeers Athletic Communications Intern where he wrote previews and post-game recaps for men’s basketball, women’s basketball and other Olympic sports. He has worked in the sports industry in various capacities for over 5 years. Chris is a fan of the Xavier Musketeers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles. Other hobbies and passions includes Game of Thrones and, as an Eagle Scout, volunteering as a Boy Scout Troop Assistant Scoutmaster. Chris was born in Baltimore, raised in Baltimore County and currently resides in Canton.