Michigan State will play an unfamiliar opponent with an unfamiliar coach in this season’s Gavitt Games.
The annual series between Big Ten and Big East men’s basketball teams will pit Michigan State against Villanova at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. All eight matchups were reported on Monday night by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
The exact dates were not announced but the series, which started in 2015, has been held over four or five days in mid-November.
Villanova went 30-8 last season, earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and reached the Final Four before losing to eventual national champion Kansas. In April, Hall of Famer Jay Wright unexpectedly retired after 21 seasons as Villanova’s head coach. He was replaced by Kyle Neptune, a former assistant under Wright who spent last season as Fordham’s head coach.
The Wildcats lost two-time Big East Player of the Year Collin Gillespie and leading rebounder Jermaine Samuels, but the other three starters return. One of those players, however, Justin Moore, isn’t expected back until midseason after tearing his Achilles in the Elite Eight win over Houston.
Michigan State and Villanova have faced off just four times previously (since 1950), with Villanova holding a 3-1 edge. The last matchup was in November of 2002.
The Spartans are 2-0 in the Gavitt Games. They won at Butler last season and at Seton Hall in 2019.
Michigan will not participate in the event this season. Here are all the reported Gavitt Games matchups:
Villanova at Michigan State
Indiana at Xavier
Iowa at Seton Hall
Marquette at Purdue
Butler at Penn State
Northwestern at Georgetown
Nebraska at St. John’s
DePaul at Minnesota
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