June 1, 2012
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The times and match-ups have been set for the 2012 edition of the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge. The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team will play host to Villanova on the final day of the Challenge, Saturday, December 1.
The Wildcats will travel to Nashville for the meeting, with the time and network to be set at a later date by ESPN. All 12 games in the Challenge will be aired on the ESPN family of networks.
Vanderbilt and Villanova have met once, in the semifinals of the 1994 National Invitation Tournament. The Wildcats took an 80-73 win at Madison Square Garden.
Last season in the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge, the Commodores traveled to Louisville and lost in overtime to the Cardinals, 62-60. That game helped the BIG EAST post an 8-4 record in last year’s 12 meetings.
This marks the second year of the expanded format that includes every SEC team except Texas A&M and Missouri and 12 of the 16 BIG EAST members.
From 2007-10, the event was played as the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational and included four games at two neutral sites. The Invitational concluded with each league winning eight games
The only Commodore appearance in the Invitational came in 2008, when Vanderbilt faced South Florida at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Vanderbilt took a 71-52 win over the Bulls.
2012 SEC/BIG EAST Challenge
Thursday, November 29
South Carolina at St. John’s
Seton Hall at LSU
Kentucky at Notre Dame
Marquette at Florida
Friday, November 30
Georgia at South Florida
DePaul at Auburn
Tennessee at Georgetown
Syracuse at Arkansas
Saturday, December 1
Mississippi State at Providence
Rutgers at Ole Miss
Alabama at Cincinnati
Villanova at Vanderbilt
