The Jimmy V Classic is one of my favorite events of the college basketball season. No Championship is on the line, and no tournament berths are at stake. Instead, the basketball world comes together for one night to celebrate the life of one its own, and help to save the lives of many more. It is rare that there is a charity where 100% of everything you contribute goes to research and the Jimmy V Foundation does just that. They received an endowment which allows them to give all of the donations to fight against cancer, not to pay bills. As I am sure is the case with many of you, a lot of people I know have been touched by cancer including my family. Some have fought and won, others have fought and lost. I hope for a day when we can eliminate the second group and everyone fights and wins. The Jimmy V Classic has been played since 1995.
Today Per ESPN, the Indiana-Louisville game for Jimmy V Classic will be the 2nd game of night at 9:00 on December 9th at MSG in NYC. The game will be on ESPN and follows Villanova vs Maryland. The last time the Cards were in this event was back in 2006. That was a time when Louisville’s luck wasn’t as good in The Garden as it is nowadays. They played Arizona in their first and only appearance in the Classic losing that game 72-65.
I’m looking forward to this old rivalry being renewed when Louisville makes its return to MSG for the V Classic. The Cards and Hoosiers will do battle for the first time since playing a game on February 1st 2003. It was the Cards that came out victorious in that game 95-76. The game will mark the 17th meeting between the two schools in history with IU holding a 10-6 advantage. The teams have met three times since 1990 with IU holding a 3-1 edge in those games. The game is not part of an ongoing series but is instead a one-game contract between the two schools. Coach Pitino has been working hard to get a home and home series with the Hoosiers but that hasn’t came about yet. Let’s all hope that the game on December 9th will spark up the old feud enough to make this a annual meeting.
With this news today Louisville’s non-conference slate for the 2014 season is looking like its going to be loaded. They are set to open up next season with a game against Pitino Jr’s squad Minnesota in Perto Rico, then the game against IU, Kentucky and the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Yup Louisville college basketball 2014 is shaping up to be an exciting time indeed.