Men's Basketball to face Vanderbilt in BIG EAST/SEC Challenge
May 19, 2011 | Men's Basketball
May 19, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team will face Vanderbilt in the 2011 BIG EAST/SEC Challenge on Friday, Dec. 2, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
The game is one of 12 matchups in the event that will be played on three nights on Dec. 1-3, with four games each night. All 12 SEC teams will face 12 BIG EAST opponents, with four BIG EAST schools not participating in this year's event. All games in the event will be televised on the ESPN family of networks, with the specific network and tipoff times to be determined in August.
Louisville has an 8-7 series edge over Vanderbilt, with the Cardinals winning the last meeting 78-62 in Freedom Hall on Feb. 6, 1994.
"I think it's a great game for our fans to have a top-10 team as a home game, but I personally don't want to play Vanderbilt," quipped U of L Coach Rick Pitino. "We look forward to the challenge."
Vanderbilt finished the 2010-11 campaign with a 23-11 record and returns all five starters and 10 letterwinners from that team. The Commodores are an early top 10 selection for next season in reports by ESPN.com and CBSsports.com among others.
The Cardinals exceeded expectations during the 2010-11 season by tying for third in the BIG EAST Conference, earning 20 wins for their ninth-straight season, reaching the title game of the BIG EAST Championship, defeating seven Top 25 teams and rising to as high as 11th in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls. U of L will welcome back three starters and 10 lettermen, as well as adding a stellar four-person recruiting class.
The complete U of L men's basketball schedule will be released in September. The list of matchups for the BIG EAST/SEC Challenge is as follows.
2011 BIG EAST/SEC CHALLENGE MATCH-UPS
Thursday, December 1
St. John's @ Kentucky
Providence @ South Carolina
Georgetown @ Alabama
Mississippi @ DePaul
Friday, December 2
Cincinnati @ Georgia
Florida @ Syracuse
Auburn @ Seton Hall
Vanderbilt @ Louisville
Saturday, December 3
Arkansas @ Connecticut (site TBD)
LSU @ Rutgers
Pittsburgh @ Tennessee
West Virginia @ Mississippi State
