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Providence to Host Minnesota in Third Annual Gavitt Tipoff Games
Providence’s non-conference schedule continues to come together. Jon Rothstein reported that the Friars will host Minnesota as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
Providence will host Minnesota in the 2017 Gavitt Games, per a source. #pcbb
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 20, 2017
This will be the third season of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, which pits Big East teams against Big Ten teams for eight games each season with four games being played at a Big East school and the other four at a Big Ten school. The games are all played on consecutive days during each season’s first week of play. The series is currently set to run through 2022. Providence beat Illinois at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center — on Dave Gavitt Court — in the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games in 2015 and lost at Ohio State last season in Columbus.
Minnesota is coached by Providence alumnus Richard Pitino. Pitino, who recently signed a contract extension, was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year after his Golden Gophers team won 24 games, including 11 Big Ten wins which was the most league wins Minnesota has had since 1990. Minnesota was a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament but fell to 12-seed Middle Tennessee. The Golden Gophers return 11 players from last season’s team and have top-60 point guard Isaiah Washington and 3-star combo guard Jamir Harris coming in as freshmen for 2017-18. Expect to see Minnesota ranked in the Top 25 when this game tips off.
The campus site matchups for the 2017 2K Classic were just announced a few days ago, so those two games against Houston Baptist and Belmont, respectively, bring the total number of known non-conference matchups to 10. The Friars will also face in-state rivals Brown and Rhode Island and regional rivals Boston College and Massachusetts.
Here’s the updated list of known non-conference games:
- Houston Baptist at home – November 10th
- Minnesota at home (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
- Two of Saint Louis/Virginia Tech/Washington at MSG – November 16th and 17th
- Belmont at home – November 22nd
- Houston at Mohegan Sun Arena – December 20th
- Rhode Island at the Ryan Center
- Brown at home
- Massachusetts at the Mullins Center
- Boston College at home
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