ESPN announced Nashville and Cincinnati as the sites for the 2008 Southeastern Conference-Big East basketball challenge.
The 2008 SEC/Big East competition features four games over two nights. In the 2008-09 season, it will be played Dec. 16 at Nashville’s Sommet Center and Dec. 18 at Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena. The annual event matches four teams from the BIG EAST Conference against four teams from the Southeastern Conference.
Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Mississippi State will represent the SEC, while Marquette, Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida will represent the Big East.
On Dec. 16 in Nashville, Vanderbilt will face South Florida while Marquette squares off with Tennessee. On Dec. 18 in Cincinnati, Mississippi State will face Cincinnati and Ole Miss will play Louisville.
Â
Teams invited to participate in the SEC/Big East Invitational are chosen by ESPN in consultation with the conferences and are based on geographic and competitive criteria.Â
In 2007, Villanova overcame a 21-point deficit to beat LSU 68-67 in Philadelphia. South Carolina beat Providence by the same sccore in the opener in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, in Birmingham, Ala., Georgetown topped Alabama 70-60, and West Virginia beat Auburn 88-59.
Tickets for the 2008 SEC/BIG EAST Invitational are expected to go on sale in late summer.
Kentucky will be in line to play in the event in 2009.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
Umm…isn’t UK-U of L an annual SEC-Big East challenge game? Why not correspond that game with the challenge? makes sense to me.