The Gavitt Tipoff Games were an annual eight-game NCAA Division I men's college basketball series played between the Big Ten Conference and the Big East Conference early in the season. The games were played annually from 2015 through 2023 except in 2020, when they were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the 2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment, the final year of the series was 2023.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games were played on the home courts of participating schools, with four hosted by Big Ten schools and four hosted by Big East schools each year. The eight-year deal — initially planned to run from 2015 to 2022, but instead running through 2023 because of the cancellation of the 2020 games — had each Big East team participate a minimum of six times and each Big Ten program take part a minimum of four times. The only exception was UConn, which moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East in 2020 and never played in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
Each game played at a Big East campus was televised by Fox Sports 1 and each game played on a Big Ten campus was televised by Fox Sports 1 or the Big Ten Network.
The Big Ten won three series and the Big East won one. The other four series were tied.
The series was named in honor of the late Dave Gavitt (1937–2011), former athletic director at Providence College who served from 1979 to 1990 as the first commissioner of the original Big East Conference of 1979–2013.
Conference records
Big East Conference (1–3–4) InstitutionWinsLossesDNPWin %Total attendance Butler Bulldogs24224,837 UConn Huskies003—— Creighton Bluejays43152,377 DePaul Blue Demons43110,827 Georgetown Hoyas 15227,354 34156,894 Providence Friars33230,352 Seton Hall Pirates33231,436 St. John's Red Storm43127,313 Villanova Wildcats33219,502 Xavier Musketeers33231,277 OVERALL303419312,169 NOTE: UConn moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East Conference in 2020.
Big Ten Conference (3–1–4) InstitutionWinsLossesDNPWin %Total Attendance Illinois Fighting Illini14341,454 Indiana Hoosiers41351,916 Iowa Hawkeyes23320,352 Maryland Terrapins31434,267 Michigan Wolverines32335,901 Michigan State Spartans40429,594 22417,299 Nebraska Cornhuskers14331,652 Northwestern Wildcats22411,588 Ohio State Buckeyes31427,508 Penn State Nittany Lions31411,785 Purdue Boilermakers32344,598 Rutgers Scarlet Knights23315,102 Wisconsin Badgers14333,060 OVERALL343048406,076
Results 2015 Tied 4–4 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeaderTue., Nov. 17 DePaul Penn State 68–62 Bryce Jordan Center • University Park, PA ESPNU 5,023 Big Ten (1–0) No. 11 Villanova Nebraska 87–63 The Pavilion • Villanova, PA FS1 6,500 Tied (1–1) Georgetown No. 3 Maryland 75–71 XFINITY Center • College Park, MD ESPN2 17,950 Big Ten (2–1) Providence Illinois 60–59 Dunkin' Donuts Center • Providence, RI FS1 8,069 Tied (2–2)Thu., Nov. 19 St. John's Rutgers 61–59 Carnesecca Arena • Queens, NY FS1 4,540 Creighton Indiana 86–65 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Bloomington, IN BTN 17,472 Tied (3–3) Marquette Iowa 89–61 BMO Harris Bradley Center • Milwaukee, WI FS1 13,297 Big Ten (4–3)Fri., Nov. 20 Xavier No. 24 Michigan 86–70 Crisler Center • Ann Arbor, MI BTN 11,967 Tied (4–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 16).Did not participate: Butler, Seton Hall (Big East); Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin (Big Ten)
2016 Tied 4–4 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeaderMon., Nov. 14 No. 3 Villanova No. 15 Purdue 79–76 Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, IN BTN 14,846 Tue., Nov. 15 Georgetown Maryland 76–75 Verizon Center • Washington, D.C. FS1 13,145 Tied (1–1) No. 22 Creighton No. 9 Wisconsin 79–67 CenturyLink Center • Omaha, NE FS1 17,879 Butler Northwestern 70–68 Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, IN FS1 7,858 Thu., Nov. 17 Providence Ohio State 72–67 Value City Arena • Columbus, OH BTN 11,089 DePaul Rutgers 66–59 Allstate Arena • Rosemont, IL FS1 4,057 Tied (3–3)Seton Hall Iowa 91–83Carver–Hawkeye Arena • Iowa City, IABTN10,391Fri., Nov. 18 St. John's Minnesota 92–86 Williams Arena • Minneapolis, MN BTN 8,873 Tied (4–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 14). Sources:Did not participate: Marquette, Xavier (Big East); Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State (Big Ten)
2017 Tied 4–4 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeaderMon., Nov. 13 Providence No. 14 Minnesota 86–74 Dunkin' Donuts Center • Providence, RI FS1 10,214 Big Ten (1–0) Tue., Nov. 14 Marquette No. 19 Purdue 86–71 BMO Harris Bradley Center • Milwaukee, WI FS1 13,307 Big Ten (2–0) No. 22 Seton Hall Indiana 84–68 Prudential Center • Newark, NJ FS1 8,452 Big Ten (2–1) Butler Maryland 79–65 Xfinity Center • College Park, MD FS1 16,317 Big Ten (3–1) Creighton No. 20 Northwestern 92–88 Allstate Arena • Rosemont, IL BTN 6,384 Big Ten (3–2) Thu., Nov. 16 St. John's Nebraska 79–56 Carnesecca Arena • New York City, NY FS1 4,652 Tied (3–3) No. 15 Xavier Wisconsin 80–70 Kohl Center • Madison, WI FS1 17,287 Fri., Nov. 17 DePaul Illinois 82–73 State Farm Center • Champaign, IL BTN 11,254 Tied (4–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 13). Sources:Did not participate: Georgetown; Villanova (Big East); Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers (Big Ten)
2018 Big Ten 5–3 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Tue., Nov. 13 Xavier Wisconsin 77–68Cintas Center • Cincinnati, OHFS1 10,312 Georgetown Illinois 88–80 State Farm Center • Champaign, IL FS1 14,656 Tied (1–1) No. 8 Villanova No. 18 Michigan 73–46 Finneran Pavilion • Villanova, PA FS1 6,501 Big Ten (2–1) Seton Hall Nebraska 80–57 Pinnacle Bank Arena • Lincoln, NE BTN 15,713 Big Ten (3–1) No. 24 Marquette Indiana 96–73Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Bloomington, IN FS1 17,222 Big Ten (4–1) Thu., Nov. 15 Creighton Ohio State 69–60 CHI Health Center Omaha • Omaha, NE FS1 17,146 Big Ten (5–1) DePaul Penn State Wintrust Arena • Chicago, IL FS1 3,926 Big Ten (5–2) Fri., Nov. 16 St. John's Rutgers 84–65 Louis Brown Athletic Center • Piscataway, NJ BTN 7,102 Big Ten (5–3) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 12).Did not participate: Butler; Providence (Big East); Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue (Big Ten)
2019 Big Ten 5–3 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Mon., Nov. 11 DePaul Iowa 93–78 Carver–Hawkeye Arena • Iowa City, IA FS1 9,961 Tue., Nov. 12 Creighton Michigan 79–69 Crisler Center • Ann Arbor, MI FS1 11,398 Tied (1–1) Butler Minnesota 64–56 Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, IN FS1 7,879 No. 10 VillanovaNo. 16 Ohio State 76–51 Value City Arena • Columbus, OH FS1 16,419 Tied (2–2) Marquette Purdue 65–55 Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, WI FS1 15,659 Providence Northwestern 72–63 Welsh–Ryan Arena • Evanston, IL BTN 5,204 Tied (3–3) Thu., Nov. 14 Georgetown Penn State 81–66 Capital One Arena • Washington, DC FS1 8,691 Big Ten (4–3) No. 12 Seton Hall No. 3 Michigan State 76–73 Prudential Center • Newark, NJ FS1 14,051 Big Ten (5–3) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll (Nov 12).Did not participate: St. John's; Xavier (Big East); Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Rutgers, Wisconsin (Big Ten)
2020 — Cancelled
Plans announced in May 2020 called for Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Villanova, and Xavier to represent the Big East and Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Purdue, Rutgers, and Wisconsin the Big Ten in the 2020 Gavitt Tipoff Games,Cohen, Matt, "IU men’s basketball to compete in 2020 Gavitt Games," Indiana Daily Student, May 19, 2020 Accessed March 27, 2021 which were scheduled for November 16–20, 2020. After the NCAA delayed the start of the 2020–21 season from November 10 to November 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,Wang, Gene, "NCAA delays start of basketball season two weeks, plans no changes to postseason tournament," washingtonpost.com, September 16, 2020 Accessed March 9, 2021 however, the Big East and Big Ten jointly announced on October 28, 2020, that the 2020 Gavitt Tipoff Games were cancelled and the series would be on hiatus for a year. In their statement, the two conferences also announced their intention to resume the games during the 2021–22 season.
2021 Big East 6–2 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Mon., Nov. 15 Marquette No. 10 Illinois 67–66 Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, WI FS1 14,631 Providence Wisconsin 63–58 Kohl Center • Madison, WI FS1 15,773 Tue., Nov. 16 Creighton Nebraska 77–69 Pinnacle Bank Arena • Lincoln, NE FS1 15,939 Seton Hall No. 4 Michigan 67–65 Crisler Center • Ann Arbor, MI FS1 12,536 Butler Michigan State 73–52 Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, IN FS1 9,100 St. John's Indiana 76–74 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Bloomington, IN FS1 17,222 Thu., Nov. 18 Xavier No. 19 Ohio State 71–65 Cintas Center • Cincinnati, OH FS1 10,379 DePaul Rutgers 73–70 Wintrust Arena • Chicago, IL FS1 2,844 WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll.Did not participate: UConn, Georgetown, Villanova (Big East); Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue (Big Ten)
2022 Big Ten 62 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Mon., Nov. 14 DePaul Minnesota 69–53 Williams Arena • Minneapolis, MN BTN 8,426 Butler Penn State 68–62Bryce Jordan Center • University Park, PA FS1 6,762 Tied (1–1) Tue., Nov. 15 Georgetown Northwestern 75–63 Capital One Arena • Washington, D.C.\Washington, DC FS1 5,518 Big Ten (2–1) Marquette Purdue 75–70 Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, IN FS1 14,876 Big Ten (3–1) Seton Hall Iowa 83–67 Prudential Center • Newark, NJ FS1 8,933 Big Ten (4–1) Thu., Nov. 17 St. John's Nebraska 70–50 Carnesecca Arena • Queens, NY FS1 3,933 Big Ten (4–2) Fri., Nov. 18 Xavier No. 12 Indiana 81–79 Cintas Center • Cincinnati, OH FS1 10,586 Big Ten (5-2) Villanova Michigan State 73–71 Breslin Center • East Lansing, MI FS1 14,797 Big Ten (6–2) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll.Did not participate: UConn, Creighton, Providence (Big East); Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers, Wisconsin (Big Ten)
2023 Tied 44 DateTimeBig East teamBig Ten teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Mon., Nov. 13 6:30 PM St. John's Michigan 89–73 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY FS1 14,188 8:30 PM Xavier No. 2 Purdue 83–71 Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, IN FS1 14,876 Big Ten (2–0) Tue., Nov. 14 6:00 PM Providence Wisconsin 72–59 Amica Mutual Pavilion • Providence, RI FS1 12,069 Big Ten (2–1) 8:00 PM No. 4 Marquette No. 23 Illinois 71–64 State Farm Center • Champaign, IL FS1 15,544 Tied (2–2) No. 8 Creighton Iowa 92–84 CHI Health Center Omaha • Omaha, NE FS1 17,352 8:30 PM Georgetown Rutgers 71–60 Jersey Mike's Arena • Piscataway, NJ FS1 8,000 Tied (3–3) Fri., Nov. 17 6:30 PM Butler No. 18 Michigan State 74–54 Breslin Center • East Lansing, MI FS1 14,797 Big Ten (4–3) 8:30 PM No. 21 Villanova Maryland 57–40 Finneran Pavilion • Villanova, PA FS1 6,501 Tied (4–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.Game Times in EST. Rankings from AP Poll.Did not participate: UConn, DePaul, Seton Hall (Big East); Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State (Big Ten)
References