Schedule Set For Second Annual Big East/SEC Challenge

The second annual Big East/SEC Challenge will be highlighted by defending national champion Kentucky's trip to South Bend to face Notre Dame, as well as a high-profile clash between Florida and Marquette.

The Fighting Irish have made the Joyce Center one of the toughest places to play in college basketball in recent years, and a nationally-ranked Notre Dame squad playing host to John Calipari's new crop of Wildcats should be solid November fun. The contrast in styles between Mike Brey's "Burn Offense" and Calipari's "Dribble-Drive" also figures to be fascinating.

Marquette and Florida will be a rematch of a Sweet 16 clash from last season. Both squads will again be guard-heavy, meaning the tempo should please the average viewer.

The event will take place from Thursday, Nov. 29 through Saturday, Dec. 1. All 12 games will be played at campus sites, with six teams from each conference playing host. Every contest will be televised on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

New SEC members Missouri and Texas A&M won't participate in the event, while the Big East will have three teams excluded to keep the numbers even. This year it's the high-profile trio of Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut that will be watching from the sidelines.

The full schedule for the event is as follows:

Thurs., Nov. 29

Kentucky at Notre Dame
Marquette at Florida
South Carolina at St. John's
Seton Hall at LSU

Fri., Nov. 30

Syracuse at Arkansas
Tennessee at Georgetown
DePaul at Auburn
Georgia at South Florida

Sat., Dec. 1

Alabama at Cincinnati
Villanova at Vanderbilt
Mississippi State at Providence
Rutgers at Mississippi

The Big East dominated the SEC in 2011, winning eight of the 12 contests played.