On Thursday, the Big Ten officially announced the slate for the 2021 Gavitt Games between the Big Ten and Big East. The event was cancelled last year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it should come with a little extra excitement. The conferences tied for the first three years of the event and the Big Ten won the last two outings.

Here are the matchups.

2021 Gavitt Games Schedule:

-November 15th

• Providence Friars at Wisconsin Badgers
• Illinois Fighting Illini at Marquette Golden Eagles

-November 16th

• Seton Hall Pirates at Michigan Wolverines
• Creighton Bluejays at Nebraska Cornhuskers

-November 17th

• Michigan State Spartans at Butler Bulldogs
• St. John’s Red Storm at Indiana Hoosiers

-November 18th

• Ohio State Buckeyes at Xavier Musketeers
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights at DePaul Blue Demons

Thoughts:

While this lineup doesn’t have the same “pop” as some prior years, there’s still quite a bit to like about the games here. You get marquee matchups for Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State and that’s not even to mention the rivalry game for Nebraska and some new look teams like Indiana and Wisconsin in action. Expect plenty of battles.

With that said, however, this does look to be a pretty favorable slate for the Big Ten and that shouldn’t be a surprise given how much the leagues varied last season. While the Big Ten had a record year, the Big East finished sixth nationally in KenPom’s conference ratings. We’ll see if that changes this time around, otherwise the Big Ten could roll through these matchups. Of course, fans should have more than a few great matchups in this event to look forward to at the beginning of next season.