On Monday, ESPN announced the matchups for the 2023 Jimmy V Men’s Classic, featuring a pair of Final Four teams from earlier this year.
The doubleheader, airing on Tuesday, December 5 from Madison Square Garden, features defending 2023 national champion Connecticut taking on 2022 national runner-up North Carolina in one matchup and 2023 Final Four team Florida Atlantic facing Illinois in the other.
Times for the matchups have yet to be announced, though both games will air on ESPN.
The Jimmy V Men’s Classic has taken place annually since 1995. Last year, Illinois defeated Texas in one game and Duke beat Iowa in the other.
Participants in the Jimmy V Women’s Classic, which launched in 2002, have yet to be announced. Those games will take place on campus sites.
Given the resounding success of this spring’s NCAA Women’s Tournament, it wouldn’t be a surprise if ESPN was able to attract several top-tier schools for this year’s Jimmy V Women’s Classic. It also seems pretty plausible that the games will get featured placement on ESPN’s networks.
Marquee nonconference matchups and tournaments are a key part of the early college basketball season. In addition to the Jimmy V Classic, ESPN has seen success airing the Champions Classic (featuring Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan State, taking place on November 14 this year), the NIT Season Tip-Off, and the Maui Invitational, among others.
[ESPN]
