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After spending the past couple of weeks padding the non-conference schedule with buy games, Indiana is getting a date in the Big Ten’s annual showdown with the Big East.
That’s according to CBS Sports analyst Jon Rothstein, who reported Thursday that the Hoosiers will host St. John’s as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games this fall. Indiana hasn’t participated in the Gavitt Games, an eight-game showcase event pitting Big Ten and Big East teams against one another, since 2018 when it throttled Marquette. The Gavitt Games were not held last year due to the pandemic.
St. John’s, which is entering coach Mike Anderson’s third year at the helm, finished 16-11 last season, ending up ranked No. 69 in the KenPom ratings and No. 67 at BartTorvik.com. The latter site forecasts Anderson’s group as the No. 124 team heading into next season. St. John’s is IU’s sixth non-conference opponent that we know about, with all but one of those rated in the 100s in Bart Torvik’s preseason T-Ranks. Here’s the breakdown:
- Merrimack: No. 173
- Northern Kentucky: No. 142
- Louisiana Lafayette: No. 130
- Marshall: No. 172
- Notre Dame: No. 27
- St. John’s: No. 124
We’re also still waiting on word of IU’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge assignment, which — at this point — feels like it could come at any time now.
Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Illinois, Rutgers and Nebraska are also reportedly representing the Big Ten in the Gavitt Games. We’ll link you to Rothstein’s blog for the full list of matchups.
Indiana is 4-2 all-time against the Red Storm, taking the last meeting, 83-73, during the 2015 Maui Invitational. St. John’s has made two previous trips to Bloomington — a 105-80 Indiana victory in 1992 and a 65-55 Hoosiers loss in 1952. IU recently saw Anderson twice during the 2018-19 season, splitting a home-and-home that spanned the non-conference portion of the schedule and the NIT.