The SEC–Big East Challenge is an in-season NCAA college basketball series, matching up teams from the Southeastern Conference and the Big East Conference. The event, which was first held in 2007, has taken place in early December, before the start of conference play.
Each annual series includes four games featuring four teams from each conference. The games are held as two double-headers in two different typically off-campus sites. Though most of the sites are not home arenas for the teams featured in the event, many have been in the same cities as one of the participants. Madison Square Garden in New York City hosted a double-header in 2009 that featured the St. John's Red Storm, who use the Garden as their home arena for some games. In 2010, two games were held at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, which served as the Louisville Cardinals home arena until the end of the 2009–10 season. Other venues are occasional home venues for invitational participants. Villanova occasionally plays at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, where they participated in the first year of the Invitational in 2007. Pittsburgh occasionally hosts games in the Consol Energy Center since in opened in 2010, where they played in the invitational in December of that year.
In the inaugural series in 2007, the Big East won three games to the SEC's one. The two conferences tied, with each team winning two games in 2008 and 2009. In the 2010 series, the SEC won for the first time, three games to one. In the 2011 series, the first year with 12 games, the Big East won eight games to four.
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On December 16, 2010 It was announced by ESPN, that the Big East and the SEC have agreed to change the format for the SEC/Big East Invitational. The new Big East–SEC Challenge format will feature 12 games over three days beginning on the Thursday after Thanksgiving of each year. All 12 games each year will be played at home campus sites with each conference hosting six games a year. [1]
Twelve games annually will allow all SEC teams to participate annually. Four of the Big East's sixteen members will be excluded.
Southeastern Conference (12–16)
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Big East Conference (16–12)
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| Date | SEC Team | Big East Team | Location | Television | Attendance | Winner | Conference Leader |
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| December 5 | Alabama | #4 Georgetown | BJCC Arena (Birmingham, Alabama) | ESPN | Georgetown, 70–60[2] | Big East (1–0) | |
| Auburn | West Virginia | BJCC Arena (Birmingham, Alabama | ESPN2 | 10,481 | West Virginia, 88–59[3] | Big East (2–0) | |
| December 6 | South Carolina | Providence | Wachovia Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) | ESPN2 | South Carolina, 68–67[4] | Big East (2–1) | |
| LSU | #21 Villanova | ESPN | Villanova, 68–67[5] | Big East (3–1) |
| Date | SEC Team | Big East Team | Location | Television | Attendance | Winner | Conference Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 16 | Vanderbilt | South Florida | Sommet Center (Nashville, Tennessee) | ESPN2 | Vanderbilt, 71–52[6] | SEC (1–0) | |
| #19 Tennessee | #23 Marquette | ESPN | Tennessee, 80–68[7] | SEC (2–0) | |||
| December 18 | Mississippi State | Cincinnati | U.S. Bank Arena (Cincinnati, Ohio) | ESPN2 | Cincinnati, 75–63[8] | SEC (2–1) | |
| Ole Miss | #9 Louisville | ESPN | 9,522 | Louisville, 77–68[9] | Tied (2–2) |
| Date | SEC Team | Big East Team | Location | Television | Attendance | Winner | Conference Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 9 | Georgia | St. John's | Madison Square Garden (New York, New York) | ESPN2 | St. John's, 66–56[10] | Big East (1–0) | |
| #4 Kentucky | #12 Connecticut | ESPN | 15,874 | Kentucky, 64–61[11] | Tied (1–1) | ||
| December 10 | Mississippi State | DePaul | St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa, Florida) | ESPN2 | Mississippi State, 76–45[12] | SEC (2–1) | |
| #11 Florida | #6 Syracuse | ESPN | 9,353 | Syracuse, 85–73[13] | Tied (2–2) |
| Date | SEC Team | Big East Team | Location | Television | Attendance | Winner | Conference Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 8 | Arkansas | Seton Hall | Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky) | ESPN2 | Arkansas, 71–62[14] | SEC (1–0) | |
| #16 Kentucky | #23 Notre Dame | ESPN | Kentucky, 72–58[15] | SEC (2–0) | |||
| December 11 | Auburn | Rutgers | CONSOL Energy Center, (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) | ESPN2 | Rutgers, 63–54[16] | SEC (2–1) | |
| #13 Tennessee | #3 Pittsburgh | ESPN | 15,166 | Tennessee, 83–76 [17] | SEC (3–1) |
| Date | Time | Big East Team | SEC Team | Location | Television | Attendance | Winner | Challenge Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurs., Dec. 1 | 7:00 PM | Providence | South Carolina | Colonial Life Arena • Columbia, SC | ESPNU |
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Providence, 76–67[18] |
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| 7:30 PM | St. John's | #1 Kentucky | Rupp Arena • Lexington, KY | ESPN2 |
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Kentucky, 81–59[19] |
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| 9:00 PM | DePaul | Ole Miss | Allstate Arena • Rosemont, IL | ESPNU |
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Ole Miss, 70–68[20] |
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| 9:30 PM | Georgetown | #12 Alabama | Coleman Coliseum • Tuscaloosa, AL | ESPN2 |
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Georgetown, 57–55[21] |
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| Fri., Dec. 2 | 7:00 PM | #3 Syracuse | #9 Florida | Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY | ESPN |
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Syracuse, 72–68[22] |
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| 7:00 PM | Cincinnati | Georgia | Stegeman Coliseum • Athens, GA | ESPNU |
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Cincinnati, 57–51[23] |
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| 9:00 PM | #6 Louisville | #19 Vanderbilt | KFC Yum! Center • Louisville, KY | ESPN |
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Louisville, 62-60 OT[24] |
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| 9:00 PM | Seton Hall | Auburn | Prudential Center • Newark, NJ | ESPNU |
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Seton Hall, 81–59[25] |
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| Sat., Dec. 3 | 3:15 PM | #10 Connecticut | Arkansas | XL Center • Hartford, CT | ESPN |
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Connecticut, 75–62[26] |
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| 5:15 PM | #17 Pittsburgh | Tennessee | Thompson-Boling Arena • Knoxville, TN | ESPN |
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Pittsburgh, 61–56[27] |
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| 7:00 PM | Rutgers | LSU | Louis Brown Athletic Center • Piscataway, NJ | ESPNU |
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LSU, 55–50[28] |
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| 9:00 PM | West Virginia | #24 Mississippi State | Humphrey Coliseum • Starkville, MS | ESPNU |
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Mississippi State, 75–62 [29] |
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| First year that the invitational featured 12 games – All times Eastern Notre Dame, Marquette, Villanova and South Florida did not participate for the Big East. |
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