North Carolina, UConn, FAU and Illinois to participate in 2023 Jimmy V Classic

Teams and dates have just been announced for the 2023 Jimmy V Classic, which is set to take place in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. According to The Garden’s official Twitter account, tickets are now on sale for the Dec. 5 double-header event featuring two matchups: FAU vs. Illinois and North Carolina vs. UConn.

Here was the post announcing the news:

JUST ANNOUNCED: The Jimmy V Classic returns to The Garden on Dec 5, featuring matchups between @UConnMBB vs. @UNC_Basketball & @FAUMBB vs. @IlliniMBB! Sign up now for exclusive presale access at https://t.co/3WHWcld64m pic.twitter.com/zlkkKlMNd1

— MSG (@TheGarden) August 7, 2023

Once again, the Jimmy V Classic fielded four terrific ball clubs and gave us one massive blue blood clash with defending champ UConn taking on North Carolina in what could be one of the premier non-conference matchups of the season. You could also say the same for Illinois-FAU, although that contest won’t get nearly the hype as Huskies-Heels.

The Owls, of course, are coming off a program-changing Final Four appearance — but that may not have been head coach Dusty May’s biggest accomplishment this spring. That would be him getting everyone back off that team, almost literally.

There is just ONE player from last year’s team who is not on the roster for 2023-24. In the transfer portal and NIL era, for a school like FAU to leap into the national spotlight with a Final Four run and return all of their players and the head coach… Well, it would seem impossible. Credit this group and their commitment to each other. With the experience and talent like FAU has, it’s completely fair to rank them in the top-10 to start the season.

Illinois ought to be underdogs, even though they return an incredibly talented supporting cast as well — and even added a few transfer once again to bolster their lineup. With TJ Shannon, Dain Dainja and Coleman Hawkins back in the fold, plus some solid imports, the Illini will have the requisite talent to compete. All signs point to improvement from last season… so long as that locker room stays well-behaved this time around.

As for UConn-UNC, what’s to add? We all know the Tar Heels need to get back on track after two straight disappointing regular seasons — and ’23 went so poorly that UNC went from preseason No. 1 to missing the tournament. UConn’s trajectory was the exact opposite as they climbed from unranked to start the year to ultimately be the ones cutting down the national championship nets.

If North Carolina wants to return to the national spotlight, a win in this massive neutral court contest would go a long way in gaining them some shine.