Bulldogs To Participate In 2011 2K Sports Classic
STARKVILLE, Miss – Mississippi State has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2011 2K Sports Classic, which will be held Nov. 17-18 at historic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Also participating will be St. John's, Arizona, and Texas A&M. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 11 a.m. and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 866-448-7849 or through Ticketmaster.com.
The format for the 2011 2K Sports Classic, the nation's premier season-opening college basketball tournament, features 12 teams from across the nation competing in the 17th annual event with St. John's, Arizona, Texas A&M and Mississippi State hosting regional round games from Nov. 7-11. The four hosts will then advance to the championship rounds in New York.
Matchups for the Championship Rounds, as well as the entire bracket for the 2011 2K Sports Classic, will be announced at a later date.
The four schools playing in New York City, three of which are currently ranked in the national polls, have combined for 75 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Each of the four schools has been to the NCAA Tournament a minimum of 10 times.
Below is a look at the other three teams MSU could be facing.
St. John's: Quite possibly the surprise team in the nation in 2010-11...ranked 18th in the polls with a 20-10 record...has six Top 25 wins, including four Top 10 wins, under first-year head coach Steve Lavin...the 20 wins are the most since 2002-03...enters this week's Big East Tournament as the fifth seed...freshman forward Dwayne Polee, the 2010 California state Player of the Year, returns next season, as does sophomore guard Malik Stith...the Red Storm should earn their 28th NCAA berth in 2011 and their first since 2002...St. John's welcomes the No. 2 ranked recruiting class in the country next year.
Arizona: The Wildcats, ranked 15th, won the Pac-10 regular season title this season...under second-year head coach Sean Miller, Arizona should earn an NCAA bid for the 26th time in the last 27 years...the 'Cats are 25-6 this season with only one senior on the roster...Arizona is paced by sophomore forward Derrick Williams and his 18.8 ppg scoring average and his 8.2 rebounding average...classmate Lamont Jones is second in scoring (9.6 ppg) and assists (77).
Texas A&M: The Aggies are 23-7 and on their way to their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance...the No. 21 squad is the third seed in this week's Big 12 Tournament...the frontcourt tandem of sophomore Khris Middleton and junior David Loubeau combines for 26 points and over 10 rebounds a game for head coach Mark Turgeon's team...the Aggies, who are expected to return 12 players from this year's roster, have now won 20 games or more each of the last seven seasons.
In the 2010 2K Sports Classic, Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs scored 24 points to lead the then No. 4 Panthers to a thrilling 68-66 win over then No. 22 Texas. Both teams used their 2K Sports Classic success to jump start tremendous seasons as Pitt is ranked No. 5 and Texas is No. 7 in the latest polls.
Four of the past eight National Champions have participated in the 2K Sports Classic, as well as four additional NCAA Final Four teams.
Also participating will be St. John's, Arizona, and Texas A&M. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 11 a.m. and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 866-448-7849 or through Ticketmaster.com.
The format for the 2011 2K Sports Classic, the nation's premier season-opening college basketball tournament, features 12 teams from across the nation competing in the 17th annual event with St. John's, Arizona, Texas A&M and Mississippi State hosting regional round games from Nov. 7-11. The four hosts will then advance to the championship rounds in New York.
Matchups for the Championship Rounds, as well as the entire bracket for the 2011 2K Sports Classic, will be announced at a later date.
The four schools playing in New York City, three of which are currently ranked in the national polls, have combined for 75 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Each of the four schools has been to the NCAA Tournament a minimum of 10 times.
Below is a look at the other three teams MSU could be facing.
St. John's: Quite possibly the surprise team in the nation in 2010-11...ranked 18th in the polls with a 20-10 record...has six Top 25 wins, including four Top 10 wins, under first-year head coach Steve Lavin...the 20 wins are the most since 2002-03...enters this week's Big East Tournament as the fifth seed...freshman forward Dwayne Polee, the 2010 California state Player of the Year, returns next season, as does sophomore guard Malik Stith...the Red Storm should earn their 28th NCAA berth in 2011 and their first since 2002...St. John's welcomes the No. 2 ranked recruiting class in the country next year.
Arizona: The Wildcats, ranked 15th, won the Pac-10 regular season title this season...under second-year head coach Sean Miller, Arizona should earn an NCAA bid for the 26th time in the last 27 years...the 'Cats are 25-6 this season with only one senior on the roster...Arizona is paced by sophomore forward Derrick Williams and his 18.8 ppg scoring average and his 8.2 rebounding average...classmate Lamont Jones is second in scoring (9.6 ppg) and assists (77).
Texas A&M: The Aggies are 23-7 and on their way to their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance...the No. 21 squad is the third seed in this week's Big 12 Tournament...the frontcourt tandem of sophomore Khris Middleton and junior David Loubeau combines for 26 points and over 10 rebounds a game for head coach Mark Turgeon's team...the Aggies, who are expected to return 12 players from this year's roster, have now won 20 games or more each of the last seven seasons.
In the 2010 2K Sports Classic, Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs scored 24 points to lead the then No. 4 Panthers to a thrilling 68-66 win over then No. 22 Texas. Both teams used their 2K Sports Classic success to jump start tremendous seasons as Pitt is ranked No. 5 and Texas is No. 7 in the latest polls.
Four of the past eight National Champions have participated in the 2K Sports Classic, as well as four additional NCAA Final Four teams.