As first reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein and confirmed by both schools on Wednesday, Ohio State will host Villanova on Nov. 13 as part of the 2019 Gavitt Games.
Sources: Matchups for the 2019 Gavitt Games are set.
Villanova at Ohio State
Michigan State at Seton Hall
Creighton at Michigan
Purdue at Marquette
Providence at Northwestern
Penn State at Georgetown
Minnesota at Butler
DePaul at Iowa— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 28, 2019
The Gavitt Games are an annual early-season series between the Big Ten and the Big East and named for former Providence head coach and conference commissioner Dave Gavitt. This year’s eight-game slate also features DePaul at Iowa, Creighton at Michigan, Providence at Northwestern, Minnesota at Butler, Penn State at Georgetown, Purdue at Marquette and Michigan State at Seton Hall.
This marks the fourth matchup between Ohio State and Villanova, with the Buckeyes holding a 2-1 edge after wins in the 1939 Final Four and 2003 Maui Inviational. The Wildcats’ have since become one of college basketball’s premier programs, with 14 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and two of the last four national championships.
“Villanova has proven to be a premier and model program in college basketball,” head coach Chris Holtmann said. “They have terrific players and a Hall of Fame coach. This will be an outstanding home game for our fans and a tremendous challenge to an already very difficult non-conference slate.”
This adds another early-season test to Ohio State’s non-conference schedule, as the Buckeyes also face Cincinnati at home in the season opener, meet Kentucky in Las Vegas and travel to Cleveland to take on West Virginia. That does not include what will likely be a road game in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
Ohio State is 2-0 all-time in the Gavitt Games, defeating Providence in 2016 and Creighton in 2018.
