Jimmy V Classic 2014: Teams, Schedule, Live Stream, Matchups, TV Info

A pair of Final Four hopefuls will get some serious tests at this year's Jimmy V Classic.

The annual event—named after the always-inspiring Jim Valvano—continues the great tradition of college basketball games at Madison Square Garden. This year's version features two of the top teams in the nation in Louisville and Villanova. Both teams are undefeated to start the year and are hoping to keep this up as long as possible.

Of course, wins are far from guaranteed with the Big Ten's Indiana and Illinois looking to add quality nonconference wins to their resume.

This is certain to create an exciting doubleheader with two games that all college basketball fans should make sure to watch.

Illinois vs. Villanova

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

When: Tuesday, Dec. 9

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

A year ago, Villanova earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament thanks to the outstanding scoring trio of Darrun Hilliard, JayVaughn Pinkston and James Bell, each averaging over 14 points per game. While two of those three players returned, this year's strategy has been much different.

Instead of relying on Hilliard and Pinkston to do the heavy lifting, the team is instead much more balanced with seven players averaging between 7.5 and 12.5 points per game. Pinkston might be the most talented option on the floor but only ranks fifth on the team in scoring.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports notes the key to their success:

The variety on the court makes the team extremely difficult to defend, which will be a major problem for Illinois. Meanwhile, the defense has been just as strong with every player willing to commit to its own responsibility.

This last part will be key against one of the top offenses in the nation. The Illini come into the game averaging 83.9 points per game thanks to the play of Rayvonte Rice, who is averaging 17.4 on his own. The senior was always a great player, but his dramatically improved outside shot makes him that much more dangerous with the ball in his hands. 

ESPN's Jay Williams has high expectations for what the squad can accomplish with Rice leading the way:

The difference in this game will not be the guard play, which is equally good on both sides. It will come down to the performance of Villanova forward Daniel Ochefu, who is quickly becoming a key contributor on the offensive end while making an incredible 68.2 percent of his shots.

Ochefu is going to bring down a bunch of rebounds and make some big baskets inside, helping the Wildcats earn a narrow win in what should be a high-scoring battle.

Prediction: Villanova 78, Illinois 75

Indiana vs. Louisville

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

When: Tuesday, Dec. 9

Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Indiana has been a hard team to figure out so far this season. The Hoosiers have good home wins over SMU and Pittsburgh but also a loss to Eastern Washington. The young team has also not played away from Assembly Hall this season.

Head coach Tom Crean knows his squad is going to be in for a challenge, via Justin Albers of Scout.com:

"

They have as good of a pressure defensive team as I have seen to this point. Our zone offense is going to have to be outstanding. They're going to do different things defensively, but you've really gotta be able to run your zone offense and run it crisply. They don't let up. The bottom line is, they never go away and they don't let up. Their guards are extremely physical.

"

The physical guards he refers to are Chris Jones and Terry Rozier, two of the quickest players in college basketball.

In order to beat a backcourt like this, you need some quick players yourself. Fortunately for the Hoosiers, they have just that in Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon. This duo can get into the lane and is just as dangerous when shooting from behind the arc.

While Louisville can defend the entire floor, this is one of the few teams built to score against this unit.

Still, the one thing Indiana doesn't have is someone capable of slowing down Montrezl Harrell. The big man is a force in the low post and should be able to get easy dunks all night long against a relatively weak interior defense for Indiana.

Considering Eastern Washington's Venky Jois was able to get 20 points and 14 rebounds in an upset win over the Hoosiers, Harrell should have a field day to help lead his team to the win.

Prediction: Louisville 71, Indiana 63

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