by Bill DiFilippo / @bflip33
College basketball’s newest, most innovative event was confirmed today by ESPN’s Andy Katz.
According to Katz, four teams—Michigan State, North Carolina, Florida and Texas—will play three games in three cities over eight days in December of 2018. The teams will travel on a plane together, and the games will be played over each schools’ winter break.
Below is the proposed itinerary, via ESPN:
The teams will arrive in New York City on Dec. 14, 2018, on their own. The first doubleheader, with matchups and times to be announced at a later date, will be at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 15. On Sunday, Dec. 16, the four teams will tour the Freedom Tower at the 9/11 memorial and also visit Wall Street. They will then see Motown the musical on Broadway, assuming it is still running.
The teams will then travel together to Chicago later that night. They will go to a Chicago pizza dinner on Monday, Dec. 17, followed by a Second City comedy show. The second doubleheader on the trip will be Dec. 18 at the United Center.
The teams will then fly to Los Angeles on Dec. 19. Once in L.A., the teams will head to Disneyland and a dinner. The teams will then tour Warner Brothers Studio and the Grammy Museum on Friday, Dec. 21.
The third and final doubleheader will be Dec. 22 at Staples Center.
This is certainly an interesting way for four of college basketball’s premier programs to play against elite competition and see the country.
