Weekly Big Ten Men’s Basketball Central – Nov. 11-18

Weekly Big Ten Men’s Basketball Central – Nov. 11-18

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WEEKLY RELEASE – NOV. 11

• The fifth annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, an annual early-season series of eight games played between the Big Ten and BIG EAST Conferences and named in honor of BIG EAST founder and basketball visionary Dave Gavitt, runs from Monday, Nov. 11, through Thursday, Nov. 15. Gavitt 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.
• The Gavitt Tipoff Games are played in the first full week of the college basketball season. The series will span eight years (2015-22), with games played at home sites. In each of the first three seasons, the Big Ten and BIG EAST split the eight games, 4-4. In 2018, the Big Ten claimed victories in five of the eight games including a win in the rematch of the 2018 NCAA Championship game as Michigan defeated Villanova, 73-46.
• The 2019 edition of the Gavitt Tipoff Games begins on Monday with Iowa hosting DePaul on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET. Tuesday’s action will see Michigan host Creighton (FS1/6:30 p.m. ET) and Minnesota traveling to Butler (FS1/8:30 p.m. ET).
• Two contests in the Gavitt Games will see ranked teams match up, as #16 Ohio State hosts #10 Villanova on Wednesday while #3 Michigan State travels to #12 Seton Hall on Thursday.
• Four different Big Ten teams received votes in the latest Associated Press (AP) poll, issued on Monday. Michigan State tops all teams at No. 2, followed by No. 7 Maryland and No. 16 Ohio State. Purdue is also listed among others receiving votes.
• Wisconsin’s Nate Reuvers was named the initial Big Ten Player of the Week in 2019-20 following a week in which he averaged 18.0 ppg, 10.0 rebounds and 6.5 blocked shots. He tied the school record for blocked shots in a game with nine as he nearly posted a triple-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and nine rejections vs. Eastern Illinois. He also scored a career-high 22 points against No. 20 Saint Mary’s.
• Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn collected Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades after posting 14.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He became the first Illini freshman since Efrem Winters in 1982 to record double-doubles in his first two college games.
• The Big Ten welcomes back 17 students that earned All-Big Ten distinction in 2018-19, including Big Ten Player of the Year Cassius Winston of Michigan State. Along with Winston, Penn State’s Lamar Stevens (first team), Maryland’s Anthony Cowan Jr. (second team) and Michigan’s Zavier Simpson (second team) all return joined by three members of the All-Freshman Team: Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu, Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp and Maryland’s Jalen Smith.
• Big Ten teams will compete in a 20-game conference schedule for the second time, playing seven teams both home and away and six teams once (three home and three away). All 14 Big Ten teams will play one conference home game and one road contest between Dec. 6 and Dec. 18.
• The Big Ten saw a record 10 teams qualify for postseason play in 2018-19. A record eight teams were selected for the NCAA Tournament and two in the NIT.
• An NCAA-record tying seven teams advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with Michigan State advancing to the NCAA national semifinals for the 10th time in school history.
• In the final 2018-19 NET Ratings, 13 of 14 Big Ten programs were ranked inside the Top 100 of the NET Rankings, the most teams in the Top 100 of any conference.
• The 2020 Big Ten Tournament will be held from March 11-15, and will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for a record 11th time since its inception in 1998.

The Big Ten Tournament remains in the Midwest for a four-year span as it was played at the United Center in Chicago in 2019 and will be played Indianapolis in 2020 and 2022 and in Chicago in 2021.

Weekly Schedule / Results