2K Sports Classic 2013: Boston College Vs. UConn In Semis

Remember when the field for this year's 2K Sports Classic née Coaches vs. Cancer Classic was announced a few months back? And remember when we all wondered whether the tournament organizer's would pair BC and UConn together in the semis or tempt fate by first pairing the two "local" teams with Indiana and Washington?

Well wonder no more, as ESPN's Andy Katz is reporting that New England's college basketball cold war is 100% go at the Garden this fall.

UConn will play Maryland at the Barclays Center to start the season Nov. 8 and play Boston College and then possibly Indiana (which has to get by Washington) in the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City the week after the season opener.

This year's matchup in the 2K Sports Classic will be the 90th installment of the rivalry between New England's two most prominent schools. The two programs last met in BC's final season in the Big East -- a 75-70 Eagles victory over the Huskies. UConn leads the all-time series 54-35.

Former UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun, angered that Boston College didn't give him more of a heads-up about the school's intentions to leave the Big East for the ACC, I guess, vowed that his school would not renew the rivalry on the hardwood. Calhoun told the Hartford Courant in 2003, "We won't play BC after they leave here. I have no desire to play Boston College. Not for the fact that they are leaving but how they did it. I will not play Boston College as long as I'm here."

Not for nothing, Calhoun kept true to his word. The Eagles and Huskies did not play as long as Calhoun was roaming the sidelines. The UConn coach of 26 years hung them up last fall, the season before his program was set to serve a one-year postseason ban for poor performance in the classroom. Connecticut finished the year 20-10, 10-8 Big East, after winning the (regular) season finale vs. Providence, 63-59 in overtime.

For more on UConn, check out The UConn Blog.