Two ACC Teams in New York Tournament

Virginia and Georgia Tech, both challengers for the top spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference college basketball championship race, will join Rutgers and St. John’s as participants in the 35th annual ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

Commissioner Scotty Whitelaw of the Eastern College Athletic Conference announced the tournament’s opening-round pairings, which will match Rutgers and Georgia Tech in the opener on Saturday, Dec. 27. St. John’s will take on Virginia in the second game. Championship and third-place games are scheduled for Monday night, Dec. 29.

Whitelaw said, “We’re delighted to have two ACC teams in this year’s field. Rutgers is improved. St. John’s will be strong again and the ACC schools are top 20 candidates. It makes for a great tournament.”

St. John’s will be seeking its second straight Festival championship. St. John’s has taken four of the past six Festival titles with the two defeats coming at the hands of ACC powers North Carolina State (1980) and North Carolina (1983).