Texas Men To Play in Jimmy V Classic in December
The Texas Longhorns will reportedly be one of the four teams that will play in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in December.
Fanduel.com reported the invitation, citing multiple sources.
The other team attached the tournament is Duke. There are two more spots in the four-team classic that is played as part of ‘V Week’ each December, as part of ESPN’s fundraising efforts for the V Foundation.
The date and pairings are not set.
Texas is in its first season under head coach Chris Beard, and the Longhorns appear to be pointed toward the NCAA Tournament. Texas hosted its own Classic, the Abe Lemons Classic, this past November, and also competed in the Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge.
Duke will have a new head coach next season in Jon Scheyer, who is taking over the program for the retiring Mike Krzyzewski.
This season’s Jimmy V Classic was played on Dec. 7 and featured Tennessee, Texas Tech, Syracuse and Villanova.
The ‘Jimmy V’ is for Jim Valvano, who led the NC State Wolfpack to the 1983 National Championship and later became a broadcaster with ESPN. He died of cancer in 1993, and he started the V Foundation shortly before his death. Since then, ESPN has hosted a week of games and events to help raise money for the V Foundation. One of Valvano’s closest friends, Dick Vitale, is not announcing games this season due to complications related to his cancer treatment.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
