Inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games Begin Tonight

FS1 and BTN celebrate Dave Gavitt, the BIG EAST Conference’s founding father one and of the most influential people in college basketball history, with six Gavitt Tipoff Games this week from Tuesday, Nov. 17 through Friday, Nov. 20. The inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games, a new early-season series between the BIG EAST and Big Ten conferences, celebrates Gavitt’s legacy with what are sure to be eight exciting games.

FS1 has an on-site studio presence at three games, including Steve Lavin’s return to Carnesecca Arena on the St. John’s campus where he led the Red Storm a season ago. Lavin is in his first season as an analyst with FOX Sports and anchors halftime and postgame coverage alongside host Rob Stone during Nebraska at No. 11 Villanova (Tuesday, Nov. 17, 8:30 PM ET), Illinois at Providence (Wednesday, Nov. 18, 7:00 PM ET) and Rutgers at St. John’s (Thursday, Nov. 19, 7:00 PM ET). FS1 presents a Gavitt Games doubleheader on Thursday, as Iowa at Marquette follows at 9:00 PM ET. Former Ohio State All-American and NBA veteran Jim Jackson is in FOX Sports’ Los Angeles studio providing additional analysis on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

FOX Sports’ lead college basketball game analyst Bill Raftery calls three games in three nights for FS1, reuniting with Gus Johnson for the first time this season for Nebraska-Villanova on Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday, Raftery teams with play-by-play veteran Tim Brando for Illinois-Providence and Rutgers-St. John’s. Brian Anderson and Stephen Bardo have the call for Iowa-Marquette.

This week is “Gavitt Tipoff Games Week” on BTN, as the nightly studio show BTN LIVE gets fans ready for the network’s two games, both featuring top-25 programs. On Thursday night at 7:00 PM ET, Creighton takes on No. 14 Indiana with Kevin Kugler and Seth Davis on the call, and on Friday at 9:00 PM ET, Davis teams with Jeff Levering for Xavier at No. 24 Michigan.

The telecasts on FS1 and BTN also include conversations with some of the most influential individuals in college basketball. During Wednesday night’s Illinois-Providence matchup, Stone and Lavin sit down at halftime with the commissioners of both conferences – Val Ackerman from the BIG EAST and Jim Delany with the Big Ten. During the game, Brando and Raftery speak with Dan Gavitt, son of Dave, NCAA Vice President of Men’s Basketball Championships, and Raftery, one of the most legendary voices in the sport, is sure to share memories and stories of time spent with Dave Gavitt as FS1 pays homage to the architect of college hoops, celebrating his legacy with exciting basketball.

Beginning in 2015 and scheduled through 2022, the Gavitt Tipoff Games will be played on four consecutive days in the first full week of the college basketball campaign. The series will span eight years, with games played at home sites. Each BIG EAST team will participate a minimum of six times, while Big Ten programs will take part a minimum of four times. Teams from both conferences already meet in some traditional rivalry games, and those matchups will continue in the upcoming seasons.

The unique series between the two conferences is named to honor the late Gavitt, who had a profound and lasting influence on the sport of basketball on the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

This year’s complete Gavitt Tipoff Games schedule is below.