Big East Big Five: Week 1

The first full week of the 2015-16 college basketball season brings with it the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games.  I'm not going to lie to you: this event made this week's choices VERY easy.  It's not even completely Gavitt games on the list, although they are all Big Ten opponents.

Last Week: 4-1 (thanks for nothing, ..... Marquette? Crap.)

This Season: 4-1

Tuesday, November 17: Georgetown at #3 Maryland (8pm Central, ESPN2) - For the first time in forever, the Terrapins and the Hoyas will lock horns in the regular season. It's very clearly the biggest marquee matchup that the Gavitt Games could have offered, and therefore the biggest game on the schedule this season.  If only Georgetown hadn't lost to Radford to kind of take some of the fun out of this....

Thursday, November 19: Creighton at #14 Indiana (6pm Central, Big Ten Network) - Ain't nothing that screams "Must See TV" like Tom Crean coaching a highly ranked team in their first nationally televised game of the season.  It's, what, a 50/50 shot that Greg McDermott coaches circles around Crean and the Hoosiers?

Thursday, November 19: Iowa at Marquette (8pm Central, FS1) - MU's foray into the Gavitt Game is easily the second best pairing lined up by the organizers this season.  In addition to what should be a high quality game between the two teams, there's also the added benefit for those of us that will be at the game of getting a chance to watch Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey losing his damn mind over something relatively inconsequential.

Friday, November 20: Georgetown vs Wisconsin (4pm Central, ESPN2) - Here we have the non-Gavitt entry on this week's Big Five.  It comes to you courtesy of the 2K Classic, which is the November event hosted at Madison Square Garden that benefits the Wounded Warrior Project.  As was the case with the earlier GU entry on the list, this one lost a little sparkle over the opening weekend when both teams clanked home games that they had no business losing.  Wisconsin's loss to Western Illinois is easily the worst of the two, due to Bo Ryan's impressive record at the Kohl Center.

Friday, November 20: Xavier at #24 Michigan (8pm Central, Big Ten Network) - It probably came down to either this game or Nebraska-Villanova for the final spot in the Five this week, and I don't trust Tim Miles any further than I could throw him.  Plus, this one's a road game for the Big East, so that's an RPI builder, and honestly, it should be a much more fun game to watch.  The Wolverines are just inside the top 25, while the Musketeers are receiving votes.