Indiana will host St. John’s in connection with the 2021 Gavitt Games. The news was first reported by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. The game will be held on Nov. 17 in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers are 5-2 all-time against St. John’s, with the last meeting coming in 2016 in connection with the Maui Invitational. The Hoosiers won that matchup 83-73. St. John’s last win in the series was a 1999 NCAA Tournament contest. Future Indiana Pacers’ star Ron Artest had 13 points and five steals in that game.
The Red Storm were 16-11 in 2020-21. Led by now third year head coach Mike Anderson, they finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big East with a 10-9 mark. St. John’s ended the season ranked No. 69 nationally according to KenPom.com, with the No. 42 offense and No. 112 defense. Indiana faced Anderson twice during the 2018-19 season when he was the head coach of Arkansas, losing in Fayetteville and claiming a NIT win in Bloomington.
St. John’s awaits an NBA Draft decision by Big East leading scorer Julian Champagnie (19.8 PPG). He was invited to the NBA Draft Combine and is expected to be drafted. The Red Storm lost five more players from last year’s team who averaged 6.8 points per game or more. Greg Williams Jr. (9.5 PPG), Rasheem Dunn (9.4 PPG), Isaih Moore (9.2 PPG), Vince Cole (8.7 PPG), and Marcellus Earlington (6.8 PPG) have all moved on.
Expected to return for St. John’s are Posh Alexander (10.9 PPG), Dylan Addae-Wusu (6.5 PPG). They also have several newcomers via the transfer portal and high school ranks including Rafael Pinzon (three-star), Drissa Traore (three-star), O’mar Stanley (not ranked), Montez Mathis (8.3 PPG at Rutgers), Aaron Wheeler (3.9 PPG at Purdue), Stef Smith (13.6 PPG at Vermont), and Joel Soriano (10.4 PPG at Fordham).
According to Rothstein, here is a list of the Big Ten vs. Big East matchups:
- Ohio State at Xavier
- St. John’s at Indiana
- Seton Hall at Michigan
- Providence at Wisconsin
- Michigan State at Butler
- Illinois at Marquette
- Rutgers at DePaul
- Creighton at Nebraska
Indiana has not participated in the Gavitt Games since a 96-73 win over Marquette in 2018. They also defeated Creighton in 2015 and lost to Seton Hall in 2017.
Below are the updated details of Indiana’s 2021-22 schedule. Of note, Indiana does not have any games scheduled outside the state of Indiana at this time during the nonconference portion of the schedule, and they may not when the schedule is complete. After playing at Florida State last year, Indiana is also expected to host a Big Ten / ACC Challenge contest.
2021-22 SCHEDULE
- Merrimack: Home game, date TBD.
- Louisiana Lafayette: Home game, date TBD.
- Marshall: Home game, date TBD.
- Northern Kentucky: Dec. 22 (Bloomington)
- St. John’s: Nov. 17 (Bloomington)
- Notre Dame: Dec. 18 Crossroads Classic, at Indianapolis)
- Big Ten-ACC Challenge: TBD. Should be a home game. Announced summer 2021.
- Big Ten Regular Season:
Home & Away – Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Home Only – Illinois, Michigan, Rutgers
Away Only – Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern
- Big Ten Tournament: Indianapolis, Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
You can always find the latest scheduling updates under Future Schedules on the IU Basketball drop down menu.
UPDATE: IU Athletics confirmed Rothstein’s report with the following release:
Indiana Will Host St. John’s In Gavitt Tipoff Games Matchup
The Indiana University men’s basketball team will host St. John’s on Wednesday, November 17 in the Sixth Annual Gavitt Tipoff Games which matches teams from the Big Ten and Big East in mid-November each season. The Hoosiers hold a 5-2 lead in the series which began in 1952. IU won the last meeting in the 2015 Maui Invitational, 83-73. This will be the third meeting in Bloomington (1952, 1992). Television information will be announced at a later date, with games appearing on FS1 or BTN.
IU will begin the Mike Woodson Era this season and return three starters including sophomore All-American Trayce Jackson Davis. He was the only major college player to average 19 points and nine rebounds a season ago. Junior guard Rob Phinisee and junior forward Race Thompson are returning starters who also are back.
St. John’s was 16-11 last year and were led by junior forward Julian Champagnie who led the Big East in scoring at 19.8 points per game and averaged 7.4 rebounds. He has declared for the NBA Draft and has been invited to the NBA combine but could choose to return to school. Two other notable names on Coach Mike Anderson’s roster include transfers Aaron Wheeler (Purdue) and Montez Mathis (Rutgers).
IU is 2-1 in the event with home wins over Creighton in 2015 and 2018. Their lone loss came in 2017 at Seton Hall. St. John’s has a 3-1 record in the series.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games is a unique early-season series played between the two conferences and named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, founder of the BIG EAST and basketball visionary. Scheduled through 2022, the Gavitt Tipoff Games will be played on consecutive days in the first full week of the college basketball season. Each BIG EAST team will participate a minimum of six times, while Big Ten programs will take part a minimum of four times. Teams from both conferences already meet in some traditional rivalry games, and those matchups will continue in the upcoming seasons.
THE IU/ST. JOHN’S SERIES
(IU leads 5-2)
2/1/52 L 55-65 Bloomington
12/28/75 W 76-69 New York
3/13/76 W 90-70 South Bend
12/21/01 W 82-77 New York
12/23/92 W 105-80 Bloomington
3/13/99 L 61-86 Orlando
11/24/16 W 83-73 Maui
2021 Gavitt Tipoff Games
St. John’s at Indiana
Ohio State at Xavier
Illinois at Marquette
Seton Hall at Michigan
Rutgers at DePaul
Creighton at Nebraska
Michigan State at Butler
Providence at Wisconsin
About the Hoosiers
The Hoosiers return three starters, six other lettermen and will welcome four transfers and two true freshmen to the squad. IU will open up the Mike Woodson Era on November 9.
Returning Starters (All classes will be reflective of eligibility)
Sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis is a returning All-American who started all 27 games last season. He was the only high major player to average at least 19 points and 9 rebounds during the season. He was 4th in the Big Ten in scoring (19.1), 2nd in rebounding (9.0), 5th in field goal percentage (51.7) and blocked shots (1.4) and is third in minutes played (34.2)… in league games only, he finished 3rd in scoring (18.4), 2nd in rebounding (9.2), 4th in field goal percentage (50.6) and minutes played blocked shots (1.4) and 3rd in minutes played (34.2). Junior forward Race Thompson was one of only 2 players to start all 27 games (Jackson-Davis). He was the 6th most improved scorer in the Big Ten (+5.4) averaging 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds and led the team in steals with 28 and was second in blocked shots with 34. He shot 51.5% from the floor. Junior Rob Phinisee started 24 of 27 games and averaged 7.1 points, 2.3 boards and 2.9 assists.
Returning Lettermen
Freshman guard Anthony Leal appeared in 20 games and averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds. Freshman guard Khristian Lander saw action in 26 games off the bench and averaged 2.1 points and had 30 assists. Freshman guard Trey Galloway averaged 3.6 points and started seven games. Freshman forward Jordan Geronimo played in 21 games and averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds. Non-scholarship players Michael Shipp, Nate Childress and Sebastien Scott also are back.
Incoming Transfers
Junior guard Xavier Johnson played three seasons at Pitt and had 1,152 points, 311 rebounds, 415 assists and 124 steals in 84 career games, starting 81 of those games. Junior center Michael Durr played three years at South Florida and averaged 6.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots. He started 85 of the 87 games he played in for the Bulls. Junior forward Miller Kopp comes to IU after three years at Northwestern. He averaged 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.6 steals per game and started 74 games overall for Northwestern, including the last 56 contests. Junior guard Parker Stewart came to IU in the spring of 2021 and averaged 19.2 points at UT Martin as a sophomore and 10.8 points as a freshman at Pitt. He has shot 36.6% for his career from long distance.
True freshman
Freshman guard Tamar Bates played at IMG Academy and was a five-star recruit. He was ranked as the No. 23 prospect in the nation by ESPN.com, 28th by 247Sports.com and 30th by Rivals.com. Freshman center Logan Duncomb will join the Hoosiers from Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati. He is the #73 recruit nationally according to 247Sports and #72 according to Rivals.com and #87 by ESPN.com
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