Nothing like news in May of a national championship rematch to get you excited about November.
Michigan and Villanova, which battled for the NCAA tournament title in March, headline the Big East and Big Ten matchups of the Gavitt Games, which were announced Tuesday.
‘Nova bested the Wolverines, 79-62, in San Antonio to win its second national championship in three years. The Wildcats will be without Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson, both of whom are pursuing NBA careers, but they’re still a national-title contender in 2019 as the No. 2 team in our preseason top 25. Michigan landed just outside at No. 26.
Not a bad little non-conference matchup.
In other notable games, Wisconsin and Xavier will meet in a rematch of a memorable 2016 second-round NCAA tournament matchup while Ohio State will visit Creighton and Marquette will head to Indiana.
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