A host of national powers will make the pilgrimage to the Mecca of college basketball this season.
In addition to St. John’s, the only college team in the nation that calls Madison Square Garden home, Alabama, Connecticut, Fordham, Georgetown, Kansas State, Michigan, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Texas, Villanova, Virginia and women’s power Connecticut, among others, will come to the Big Apple.
UConn men’s coach Kevin Ollie will take his MSG bow when the Huskies play in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 4. UConn, which is banned from postseason play because of failure to meet academic requirements, will be a story all season.
The Garden tips off its 78th season of college hoops with the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project on Nov. 15: Alabama takes on Oregon State followed by Purdue-Villanova in a Big Ten-Big East showdown. The winners meet the following night for the championship while the losers face off in the consolation game.
The 2012 Preseason Tipoff, often a launching point for NCAA Tournament hopefuls, culminates in the Garden on Nov. 21 and 23. Kansas State, Michigan, Pitt and Virginia are the four top seeds. Fordham is in the field, and the Rams will be gunning for a chance to play in front of a home crowd.
The fund-raising Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 4 features three teams with Final Four aspirations: Georgetown, N.C. State and Texas.
The women’s version of Jimmy V, the Maggie Dixon Classic, on Dec. 9, features a blockbuster field with Duke, Rutgers, St. John’s and Louisiana Tech, coached by former Liberty star Teresa Weatherspoon.
The St. John’s men make their Garden debut in the MSG Holiday Festival on Dec. 8, when they tip off against Fordham.