Four historic college basketball programs — Indiana, Louisville, Maryland and Villanova – will participate in the 20th annual Jimmy V Men’s Basketball Classic doubleheader on Tuesday, Dec. 9. ESPN will televise both games from New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden, beginning with Villanova vs. Maryland at 7 p.m. ET followed by Indiana vs. Louisville at 9 p.m.
The early-season event will conclude the eighth annual Jimmy V Week, a weeklong initiative across multiple ESPN platforms and programs featuring special content to help raise funds for cancer research. In seven years, Jimmy V Week has generated $8,246,000 in total contributions for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, including a record-setting number of $1,827,000 in 2014.
Each game will include a defending conference champion that participated in the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and lost to an eventual Final Four team: Defending BIG EAST regular-season champion Villanova, a two-seed in the NCAA Championship, lost to Connecticut while American regular-season co-champion and conference champion, Louisville, lost to Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen.
Villanova vs. Maryland at 7 p.m.: Villanova has defeated Maryland in four of the five all-time meetings. Maryland, making its Big Ten Conference debut next season, will make its first appearance in the Jimmy V Classic. Villanova will play in its third Jimmy V Classic, losing the previous two games: 67-58 to Texas in 2008 and 81-71 to Missouri in 2011.
Indiana vs. Louisville at 9 p.m.: Indiana holds a 10-6 record over Louisville, but lost the last meeting between the teams in 2003. Indiana has won its previous two Jimmy V Classic games, defeating North Carolina 82-73 in 1999 and Pittsburgh 64-54 in 2009. Louisville, making its Atlantic Coast Conference debut next season, will play in its second Jimmy V Classic after losing to Arizona 72-65 in 2006.
