Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Howard Bison, Texas Southern Tigers to play basketball powers in 2013 Legends Classic

HOUSTON, Texas -- The University of Houston Men's Basketball program will play host to a pair of Regional Round games during the Legends Classic.

The Cougars will meet Lehigh on Nov. 17 and then face Howard on Nov. 21 with both games being played inside historic Hofheinz Pavilion. Game times for both contests will be announced at a later date.

Earlier this month, officials from the Gazelle Group - which is hosting the tournament - announced that the Cougars would play Stanford in a semifinal game on Nov. 25 inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. It will be the first time the two programs will meet on the hardwood since the 1991 NIT.

The Houston-Stanford game will be the second semifinal contest of the night, while Pittsburgh will face Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. (CST) in the first game. Both games will be shown live on ESPN2.

From there, the Cougars will play the winner or loser of the Pitt-Texas Tech game on Nov. 26. The Consolation Game tips at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be shown on ESPN3 with the Championship Game starting shortly after on ESPNU.

Legends Classic Bracket

ABOUT THE TEAMS

Howard Bison - Head Coach Kevin Nickelberry (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Head coach Kevin Nickelberry is rebuilding the Bison into the force they once were in the MEAC...with 10 new players on the 2013-14 roster, including seven freshmen, 6-5 swingman Prince Okoroh will be called upon to provide leadership...Okoroh is the Bison's leading returning scorer at 6.9 ppg and rebounder at 4.6 rpg.

Texas Southern Tigers - Head Coach Mike Davis (Southwestern Athletic Conference) The Tigers won the SWAC regular season title in going 16-2 in league play, including 12 straight wins to close the season, in head coach Mike Davis' first year at the helm of the program...for the Tigers' success, Davis was named SWAC Co-Coach of the Year...this year TSU returns three starters, led by third-team all-league selection Ray Penn, a guard who scored 14.0 ppg and handed out a team-best 5.7 apg...he is joined in the back court by Lawrence Johnson-Danner, who tallied 8.5 ppg.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks - Head Coach Brett Reed (Patriot League)
Head coach Brett Reed guided Lehigh to its third 20-win season and postseason berth in the last four years as the Mountain Hawks went 21-10 and played in the CBI presented by Buick...two starters return, led by second-team Patriot League selection Mackey McKnight, who led the team with 153 assists while scoring at an 11.9 ppg clip...back court mate Anthony D'Orazio netted 6.4 ppg while starting 29 of 31 games.


South Dakota State Jackrabbits - Head Coach Scott Nagy (Summit League)

The Jackrabbits are coming off back-to-back Summit League titles and a 25-10 season mark, the second straight 25-win season for SDSU...head coach Scott Nagy, who has won over 340 games at SDSU, welcomes back a trio of starters in 2013-14...second-team All-Summit selection Jordan Dykstra tallied 12.5 ppg while leading the Jackrabbits with a 7.9 rpg average...Chad White heads the back court after having recorded 9.8 points and 3.9 rebounds a game last season.


Pittsburgh - Head Coach Jamie Dixon (Atlantic Coast Conference) 2013 marked the 24th NCAA Tournament appearance by the Panthers, including 11 bids in the last 12 years...Pitt ended its Big East membership with the league's best record over the last dozen years (141-63, .691)...head coach Jamie Dixon sees the return of three starters and five of last season's top 10 scorers as Pitt enters its first year as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference... 6-foot-5 swingman Lamar Patterson (10.0 ppg, 94 assists) and 6-foot-9 forward Talib Zanna (9.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) headline the returnees...the Panthers were 24-9 in 2012-13.

Stanford - Head Coach Johnny Dawkins (Pacific-12 Conference)
The Cardinal advanced to the NIT for the second consecutive season in posting a 19-15 record...head coach Johnny Dawkins will welcome back 14 players from last year's squad, including eight of his top nine scorers...leading the way are 6-foot-10 forward Dwight Powell and guard Chasson Randle...Powell led the Cardinal in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), while Randle netted 13.6 ppg and handed out 89 assists...Stanford has been to 16 NCAA Tournaments.


Texas Tech - Head Coach Tubby Smith (Big 12 Conference)
The Red Raiders are under the direction of first-year head coach Tubby Smith, who has 511 wins and 17 NCAA appearances under his belt...Smith inherits a roster that returns 10 players from a year ago, led by 6-foo-t-7 forward Jaye Crockett, who posted team highs of 11.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg...also back is 6-foot-7 frontcourt player Jordan Tolbert, who averaged 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game...Texas Tech has participated in 14 NCAA Tournaments.


ABOUT HOUSTON
The Cougars return three starters and nine lettermen from a team that posted a 20-13 overall record in 2012-13, the program's first 20-win season since 2009. With a win against Big 12 member Texas inside Hofheinz Pavilion in late March, Houston advanced to the College Basketball Invitational quarterfinals.

Forward TaShawn Thomas was named to multiple All-Conference and All-District teams after averaging 16.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game and also was selected for the Conference USA All-Defensive Team. The Killeen, Texas, was one of only two players in C-USA to rank among the league's top-five leaders in both categories.  Forward Danuel House was one of the nation's top young players entering the 2012-13 season, and the Sugar Land, Texas, native lived up to that hype. House averaged 12.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during his first collegiate season and was honored as the C-USA Freshman of the Year. For the first time, the Cougars will compete as members of the American Athletic Conference in 2013-14, joining Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Memphis, Rutgers, SMU, USF, Temple and UCF.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS SCHEDULE
 

Semifinal Doubleheader
Barclays Center • Brooklyn, N.Y.
Monday, Nov. 25

• 6:30 p.m. (CT) - Pittsburgh vs. Texas Tech (ESPN2)
• TBD - Stanford vs. Houston (ESPN2) 



Championship Doubleheader
Barclays Center • Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tuesday, Nov. 26 • 6 p.m. (CT)

• 6 p.m. (CT) - Consolation Game (ESPN3)
• TBD - Championship Game (ESPNU)

REGIONAL ROUNDS SCHEDULE

 

Houston Regional Rounds
Hofheinz Pavilion • Houston
Nov. 17
• Lehigh at Houston
Nov. 21Howard at Houston


Pittsburgh Regional Rounds
Petersen Events Center • Pittsburgh
Nov. 17
Howard at Pittsburgh
Nov. 20 • Lehigh at Pittsburgh (ESPNU)


Lubbock Regional Rounds
United Spirit Arena • Lubbock, Texas
Nov. 18
Texas Southern at Texas Tech (ESPNU)
Nov. 21 • South Dakota State at Texas Tech


Palo Alto Regional Rounds
Maples Pavilion • Palo Alto, Calif.
Nov. 21
Texas Southern at Stanford
Dec 1 • South Dakota State at Stanford

SUBREGIONAL ROUNDS SCHEDULE

Brookings Subregional Rounds
Frost Arena • Brookings, S.D.
Nov. 25
Texas Southern vs. Lehigh
Nov. 25Howard vs. South Dakota State
Nov. 26 • Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Nov. 26 • Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2


LEGENDS CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND TICKETS INFORMATION
Tickets for Championship Round games of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center are on sale now and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster by visiting BarclaysCenter.com or ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

Tickets also are available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.

ABOUT THE LEGENDS CLASSIC The Legends Classic is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the 2K Sports Classic, Gotham Classic, the College Basketball Invitational, and the All-American Championship. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit GazelleGroup.com.



COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS AND THE GAZELLEGROUP.COM

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