Matchups set for 2022 Jimmy V Classic

The annual Jimmy V Classic, a college hoops event honoring the late great coach Jim Valvano, takes place in December of this upcoming college basketball season, loaded with elite participants on both the men’s and women’s sides.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reports that the Jimmy V Classic matchups for the event are set. Duke will play Iowa and Tennessee will play Illinois on the men’s side. With both games taking place in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 6. The double-header will air on ESPN that evening.

As for the women, several storied programs are involved. UCONN will visit Notre Dame as the two battle on national TV, with ABC airing the game. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech travels to Tennessee, which will air on ESPN 2. Both of those games take place on Dec. 4.

Background on teams involved

Duke, of course, is the headliner. And obviously, they’ll be without long-time head coach Mike Krzyzewski. But that won’t mean the Blue Devils have taken a step back. They still welcome the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, highlighted three of the top five players in the class, per the On3 Consensus.

They face Iowa, who just lost one of the nation’s leading scorers, Keegan Murray, to the 2022 NBA Draft, where he went fourth overall to the Kings. Of course, the Hawkeyes are used to replacing great offensive players. Heading into last season, Murray was barely on anyone’s radar nationally. Fran McCaffrey’s group boasted the National Player of the Year and the leading scorer across the power five in Luka Garza. But Murray stepped in and became nearly Garza’s equal. Hopes are high that Keegan’s younger brother, Kris, can take a similar leap this season.

On the other side of the docket, Tennessee and Illinois are two of the more consistently successful programs of the last several years, each earning top-five seeds in the last two tournaments. Now, neither made it past the first weekend, but the two clubs are steady regular season teams.

Tennessee particularly is projected to be excellent once again. The Vols lock down on defense under Rick Barnes, having ranked near the top of the country analytically on that side of the ball over the last several years. Plus, they return their second, third and fourth-leading scorers off the 2022 team. All guards too. Should be an excellent two-way team in 2022-23.

Illinois lost most of its 2022 roster, headlined by the departure of Kofi Cockburn down low, as well as its three-chucking backcourt. However, they inked a top transfer class this offseason, highlighted by the addition of Big 12 wings Terrence Shannon and Matthew Mayer — seniors from Texas Tech and Baylor, respectively.

The Jimmy V Classic hould be an awesome event once again in 2022. With some major powers going head to head on both the men’s and women’s sides.