Commonwealth Classic

Not to be confused with Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic or Commonwealth Cup (disambiguation).

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.

Commonwealth Classic

UMass Minutemen
Sport	Men's basketball
Teams	Boston College Eagles UMass Minutemen
First meeting	1905
Latest meeting	2014
Statistics
Meetings total	47
All-time series	Boston College 26-21

50km
30miles

UMass

Boston College

  

Locations of Boston College and UMass

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 victories

UMass victories

Date	Location	Winner	Score		Notes
			BC	UM
December 8, 1905	Amherst, MA	UMass	15	20
February 26, 1951	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	Boston College	59	43
December 10, 1951	Boston Garden Boston, MA	Boston College	76	52
December 19, 1955	Boston Garden Boston, MA	UMass	73	91
January 30, 1957	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	Boston College	68	66
January 28, 1958	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	71	67
February 19, 1959	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	UMass	65	68
January 28, 1960	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	74	51
December 12, 1963	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	UMass	74	93
February 2, 1965	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	Boston College	109	97
February 8, 1966	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	101	80
December 3, 1966	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	Boston College	86	63
December 21, 1966	Boston Garden Boston, MA	Boston College	75	67	Boston Garden Christmas Basketball Tournament
February 6, 1968	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	94	70
February 5, 1969	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	Boston College	78	67
February 3, 1970	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	83	76
February 9, 1971	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	UMass	77	85
February 9, 1972	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	75	74
February 7, 1973	Springfield Civic Center Springfield, MA	UMass	52	76
February 6, 1974	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	78	74	Overtime
February 5, 1975	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	UMass	71	80
February 4, 1976	Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA	UMass	70	77
December 12, 1976	Boston Garden Boston, MA	UMass	71	94	Colonial Classic Tournament
February 2, 1977	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, MA	UMass	69	85
January 27, 1978	Boston Garden Boston, MA	UMass	64	88	Colonial Classic Tournament
January 26, 1979	Boston Garden Boston, MA	Boston College	82	70	Colonial Classic Tournament
December 29, 1990	Springfield Civic Center Springfield, MA	UMass	81	83	Abdow's Classic
December 9, 1995	FleetCenter Boston, MA	#3 UMass	57	65
January 18, 1997	FleetCenter Boston, MA	UMass	78	90
December 14, 1997	FleetCenter Boston, MA	UMass	57	65
December 12, 1998	Centrum Centre Worcester, MA	UMass	45	75
December 4, 1999	Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA	UMass	67	74
December 23, 1999	Bayamon, PR	Boston College	83	59	Puerto Rico Holiday Classic
December 17, 2000	Mullins Center Amherst, MA	Boston College	74	65
December 8, 2001	Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA	#13 Boston College	80	78
December 7, 2002	Mullins Center Amherst, MA	Boston College	80	62
December 6, 2003	Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	76	75
January 2, 2005	Mullins Center Amherst, MA	Boston College	67	48
January 3, 2006	Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA	#11 Boston College	91	62
December 2, 2006	Mullins Center Amherst, MA	Boston College	84	73
December 12, 2007	Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA	UMass	80	83
December 6, 2008	Mullins Center Amherst, MA	Boston College	85	81
December 23, 2009	Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA	Boston College	79	67
December 4, 2010	TD Garden Boston, MA	Boston College	76	71
November 21, 2011	Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA	UMass	46	82
November 10, 2013	TD Garden Boston, MA	UMass	73	86	Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader
November 16, 2014	TD Garden Boston, MA	UMass	62	71	Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader

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.