Michigan State-Villanova matchup highlights 2022 Gavitt Tipoff Games

Coming off a Final Four appearance, Villanova and new coach Kyle Neptune will face Tom Izzo’s Michigan State squad in one of the major attractions of the seventh Gavitt Tipoff Games.

The Big East and Big Ten Conferences announced the eight men’s basketball contests on Friday. The series will run from Nov. 14-18. Game times and television network assignments will be announced at a later date.

Neptune was hired this spring to replace Jay Wright, who left the program after 21 seasons and two national championships, saying he didn’t have the drive for another campaign. A longtime assistant, Neptune returned to run the Wildcats after a year as the head coach at Fordham.

Izzo led the Spartans to their 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance last season, the second longest active streak in the country behind national champion Kansas (32).

More: UM to face Virginia, MSU draws Notre Dame in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

The Gavitt Tipoff Games begin on Nov. 14, with Butler at Penn State and DePaul at Minnesota. The following day features Marquette at Purdue and Northwestern at Georgetown.

Big Ten tournament champion Iowa comes to New Jersey on Nov. 16 to face Seton Hall. The Pirates are now coached by Shaheen Holloway, who led little Saint Peter’s on its phenomenal run to the Elite Eight, where it lost to eventual national runner-up North Carolina.

St. John’s will host Nebraska on Nov. 17 and the five-day event wraps up on Friday with Indiana at Xavier and Villanova at Michigan State.

Michigan won't participate in the the early season series, which is named in honor of Hall of Famer and Big East founder Dave Gavitt, for the first time since 2017.