Jon Rothstein of CBS tweeted May 7 that IU basketball would be competing in the 2019 Jimmy V Classic along with the University of Louisville, University of Connecticut and Texas Tech University
On Thursday afternoon, the IU men’s basketball twitter account officially announced it will play UConn on Dec. 10 in the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden in New York.
Each year, the Jimmy V Classic is a doubleheader televised by ESPN, which means Louisville and Texas Tech will be the other matchup. Times for the two games have not yet been announced.
For Texas Tech, which lost to the University of Virginia in this year’s NCAA Championship game, this will mark its first appearance in the Classic. Louisville, which also made the NCAA Tournament this year but saw a first-round exit to Minnesota, will be making its third appearance.
Both IU and UConn, which didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, will be making their fourth appearances in the Classic.
The first time IU competed in the Classic was in 1999 when it defeated the University of North Carolina. IU followed that up with a win against the University of Pittsburgh in 2009, then lost to Louisville in 2014.
According to sports-reference.com, the Hoosiers and Huskies have played each other eight times dating back to 1949, with the Huskies holding the 6-2 advantage.
The last time the two teams competed was in November of 2013 as part of the 2K Sports Classic, which also took place in Madison Square Garden. UConn edged out the victory 59-58 to win the Classic.
The Jimmy V Classic is partnered with the V Foundation, which is dedicated to declaring victory over cancer and was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, who commentated at ESPN and coached at North Carolina State University. The V Foundation has funded more than $225 million in cancer research grants nationwide and awards 100% of all direct cash donations to cancer research and related programs.
“We are thrilled to welcome Indiana, Louisville, Texas Tech and UConn to this year's Classic," said Pete Derzis, ESPN senior vice president of college sports programming and ESPN Events, in a press release. "The legacy of Jim Valvano and the work of the V Foundation continue to be honored through this event, and we look forward to bringing fans two great matchups as we raise funds and awareness for cancer research.”
