Commonwealth Classic

Last updated
Commonwealth Classic
Sport Men's basketball
First meeting1905
Latest meeting2014
Statistics
Meetings total47
All-time seriesBoston College 26-21
Commonwealth Classic
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50km
31miles
Red pog.svg
UMass
Gold pog.svg
Boston College
Locations of Boston College and UMass

The Commonwealth Classic, also known as Commonwealth Cup [1] or Governor's Cup (for the trophy awarded to the victor of the game), [2] is the title of a basketball rivalry between Boston College and the University of Massachusetts. The name refers to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New England state in which both universities are located. The game has been played a total of 47 times, with BC leading the series 26-21.

Contents

History

The first game between the two schools occurred December 8, 1905. Since then, UMass and BC have played each other irregularly over the course of their in-state rivalry. In 1995, the basketball rivalry was officially designated as the "Commonwealth Classic" by then-Massachusetts Governor William Weld and members of the Massachusetts General Court who were among the nearly 20,000 spectators to watch the game at the new FleetCenter (now the TD Garden). It was the first college basketball game played in the new arena. The first game holds the record for college basketball attendance in New England. The series had been held annually since 1995, until Boston College suspended the series in 2012. [3]

UMass dominance in the 1990s

The 1990s were the best decade of UMass Minutemen Basketball as the Minutemen went to the 1996 Final Four and went 6–0 in the decade against Boston College. Their longest winning streak ever against their cross-state rivals.

BC dominance in the 2000s

After going 0–6 against UMass in the 90's, BC has bounced back and won the first seven games in the 2000s, going 7–0. This streak was snapped on December 12, 2007 when UMass edged BC 83–80.

2010s

The 2010 game, won by Boston College, was played at the TD Garden at a part of the Boston Tip-Off Classic. After UMass routed Boston College 82–46 in 2011 in Chestnut Hill, [4] BC ended the annual series in 2012. [5] After a year hiatus, the rivalry was renewed in 2013 as a part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Boston Tip-Off. UMass won the 2013 game by a score 86–73 [6] and the 2014 game by a score of 71–62. [7]

Results

Boston College victoriesUMass victories
DateLocationWinnerScoreNotes
BCUM
December 8, 1905 Amherst, MA UMass1520
February 26, 1951 Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
Boston College5943
December 10, 1951 Boston Garden
Boston, MA
Boston College7652
December 19, 1955Boston Garden
Boston, MA
UMass7391
January 30, 1957Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
Boston College6866
January 28, 1958 Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College7167
February 19, 1959Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
UMass6568
January 28, 1960Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College7451
December 12, 1963Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
UMass7493
February 2, 1965Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
Boston College10997
February 8, 1966Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College10180
December 3, 1966Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
Boston College8663
December 21, 1966Boston Garden
Boston, MA
Boston College7567Boston Garden Christmas Basketball Tournament
February 6, 1968Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College9470
February 5, 1969Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
Boston College7867
February 3, 1970Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College8376
February 9, 1971Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
UMass7785
February 9, 1972Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College7574
February 7, 1973 Springfield Civic Center
Springfield, MA
UMass5276
February 6, 1974Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College7874Overtime
February 5, 1975Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
UMass7180
February 4, 1976Roberts Center
Chestnut Hill, MA
UMass7077
December 12, 1976Boston Garden
Boston, MA
UMass7194Colonial Classic Tournament
February 2, 1977Curry Hicks Cage
Amherst, MA
UMass6985
January 27, 1978Boston Garden
Boston, MA
UMass6488Colonial Classic Tournament
January 26, 1979Boston Garden
Boston, MA
Boston College8270Colonial Classic Tournament
December 29, 1990Springfield Civic Center
Springfield, MA
UMass8183Abdow's Classic
December 9, 1995 FleetCenter
Boston, MA
#3 UMass5765
January 18, 1997FleetCenter
Boston, MA
UMass7890
December 14, 1997FleetCenter
Boston, MA
UMass5765
December 12, 1998 Centrum Centre
Worcester, MA
UMass4575
December 4, 1999 Conte Forum
Chestnut Hill, MA
UMass6774
December 23, 1999 Bayamon, PR Boston College8359Puerto Rico Holiday Classic
December 17, 2000 Mullins Center
Amherst, MA
Boston College7465
December 8, 2001Conte Forum
Chestnut Hill, MA
#13 Boston College8078
December 7, 2002Mullins Center
Amherst, MA
Boston College8062
December 6, 2003Conte Forum
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College7675
January 2, 2005Mullins Center
Amherst, MA
Boston College6748
January 3, 2006Conte Forum
Chestnut Hill, MA
#11 Boston College9162
December 2, 2006Mullins Center
Amherst, MA
Boston College8473
December 12, 2007Conte Forum
Chestnut Hill, MA
UMass8083
December 6, 2008Mullins Center
Amherst, MA
Boston College8581
December 23, 2009Conte Forum
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston College7967
December 4, 2010TD Garden
Boston, MA
Boston College7671
November 21, 2011Conte Forum
Chestnut Hill, MA
UMass46 82
November 10, 2013TD Garden
Boston, MA
UMass73 86Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader
November 16, 2014TD Garden
Boston, MA
UMass62 71Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader

See also

References

  1. University of Massachusetts Media Guide (PDF)
  2. Boston Globe coverage of the 2006 Commonwealth Cup
  3. "Boston College Basketball Drops UMass from 2012–13 Schedule". 18 April 2012.
  4. "UMass 82, Boston College 46". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  5. ESPNBoston.com (17 April 2012). "BC bows out of hoop game with UMass". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  6. "Chaz Williams' big 2nd half leads UMass past Boston College". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  7. Ken Powtak. "UMass runs away from BC in 2nd half, 71–62". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2014-11-16.