Legends Classic

Regional Hosts Set For 2009 Legends Classic

2009-07-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Michigan State, Rutgers, Florida and UMass have been announced as the four regional hosts for the 2009 Legends Classic men's college basketball tournament. The event will tip-off with Regional Round games November 18-22 and conclude with the four host schools automatically advancing to the Championship Rounds at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ on November 27 and 28. The doubleheaders are scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM ET on both Friday and Saturday.

Championship Round tickets go on sale Friday, July 24 at 12:00 PM ET. Tickets start at just $10 and can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-736-1420.

Head Coach Tom Izzo, of Michigan State, returns Kalin Lucas, Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe to a team that won the Big Ten regular season and reached the National Championship game.

Fred Hill, of Rutgers, will look for Mike Rosario, Corey Chandler and Gregory Echenique to lead the Scarlet Knights in the always competitive Big East.

Florida's Billy Donovan is three years removed from back-to-back National Championships and has taken his team to the postseason in each of the last twelve seasons. The Gators return three starters, including the leading rebounder and second leading scorer, Alex Tyus.

In his second year at the helm at UMass, Derek Kellogg will look to his talented backcourt of Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley to lead the Minutemen through the challenging A-10 schedule.

In the 2008 Championship Game, Pittsburgh defeated Washington State, 57-43. Pittsburgh went on to reach the Elite Eight and held the number one ranking on two separate occasions throughout the course of the season.

#4 PITT BEATS WASHINGTON STATE FOR LEGENDS CLASSIC TITLE

2008-12-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

Sam Young scored 15 points and Levance Fields added 14 to lead No. 4 Pittsburgh to a 57-43 victory over Washington State on Saturday night in the championship game of the Legends Classic.

The Panthers (7-0) were able to win despite shooting 35.4 percent from the field (17-of-48). They did it with solid inside defense over the final five minutes, holding the Cougars (5-1) to three points in that span.

Pittsburgh forced 15 turnovers and turned them into 17 points, while Washington State was able to get just two points off the Panthers' eight miscues.

Daven Harmeling had 12 points for Washington State, which had won 21 straight games against nonconference opponents dating to 2006-07.

DeJuan Blair had seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Panthers, who are off to a 7-0 start for the seventh straight season. Young, who was named Legends Classic MVP, also added eight rebounds.

TEXAS TECH... A SCORING MACHINE

2008-11-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

Two games and a total 265 points. That is what Texas Tech has done in the first two games of the Legends Classic.

After hanging 167 points on East Central Oklahoma on Thursday, the Red Raiders came back and scored 97 more against Eastern Kentucky. Alan Voskuil led Texas Tech with 28 points on 8-of-11 shooting from three-point range.

They got heavy visibility on ESPN for the 167 the other night, but the other issue is their points allowed. They have allowed 200 points in those games.

All of those points should catch the eye of Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon and how to stop the vaunted Red Raiders attack.

ARE THEY TEXAS TECH OR LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

2008-11-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

The Red Raiders scored 167 points... that's right 167... in beating East Central Oklahoma tonight in the Legends Classic.

Texas Tech put 10 players in double-figures with Trevor Cook leading the way on a career-high 20-point night. They scored 77 points in the first half and 90 in the second half.

No surprise that the Red Raiders broke their all-time record for points in a game. What is a shock is that they broke their record by 39 points and set the new mark with 7:43 left in the game.

HDNet To Broadcast Legends Classic Championship Round

2008-11-11T11:10:00.000-08:00

HDNet will broadcast the Championship Round games of the Legends Classic on Nov. 28 & 29 from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

The games will include a doubleheader each day beginning at 5:30 pm ET. The first night will see Mississippi State battle Washington State, followed by Pitt against Texas Tech. The winners will meet the following night in the Championship Game with the 3rd Place game being played first at 5:30 pm ET.

Good doubleheader with Pitt (pre-season Top 10), Washington State (Sweet 16 last year), Mississippi State (sleeper in SEC w/ national defensive player of the year Jarvis Vanardo) and Texas Tech (first full year w/ Pat Knight as coach).

BTW... the broadcast crew include current CBS studio analyst and SI writer Seth Davis, along with former Duke standout Jim Spanarkel. Play-by-play is being done by Michael Reghi.

Get Inside The Legends Classic

2008-11-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

The tournament Media Notes are up. Take a look...

http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/legends/media/legmedianotes08.pdf

Pitt In Top 10 Heading Into Legends

2008-10-30T13:03:00.001-07:00

With three starters returning from a team that won the Big East Tournament, it really is no surprise that Jamie Dixon's Panthers are among the elite teams in the country.

Pitt landed at #6 in the first ESPN/ USA Today poll of the new season. The Panthers are definitely a team to be wreckoned with, but are picked third in their own conference. Tell you how strong the Big East could be this year... four teams in the Top 10 to start the year.

But the Panthers will get tested in Newark with a Texas Tech team not under the full control of Pat Knight and then either by Mississippi State (w/ Defensive Player of the Year Jarvis Vanardo) or Washington State (Sweet 16 team last year).

Should make it a exciting event in Newark.

And as they say... "Get Your Tickets Now".

Pittsburgh's Dixon Gets New Deal

2008-10-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon received a three-year extension to his current contract which will keep him in the fold at least through the 2015-16 season.

“I am grateful to the University of Pittsburgh for the opportunity and
support that I have received here. I love both the University and our
outstanding city. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by a special group of players,
a great coaching staff, the most supportive administration in the country and
tremendous fans. Our success can be attributed directly to those components.
We’ve been able to celebrate Big East Championships and NCAA Tournament
appearances while playing in the sold out Petersen Events Center. My family
considers Pittsburgh home.”

Beginning his sixth season as head coach and 10th year at Pitt, Dixon has led the Panthers to a 132-40 record, two Big East titles (2004 regular season/2008 tournament), two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances (2004 and 2007) and is the first and only coach in school history to lead Pitt to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, five straight 20-win overall and 10-win league seasons.

Pitt will be one of the regional hosts of the Legends Classic and will play at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on November 28 & 29.

LEGENDS CLASSIC FIELD ANNOUNCED, TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY

2008-09-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

(Princeton, NJ) - Defending Big East Champion Pittsburgh, Texas Tech, Mississippi St. and Washington St. have been announced as the four regional hosts for the 2008 Legends Classic. The tournament will tip-off with games November 18-22 at the regional sites and will conclude with the Championship Rounds at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on November 28th and 29th.

The four regional hosts advance to the Championship Rounds at Prudential Center regardless of the regional results. The other participants will advance to play a round-robin series at Fairleigh Dickinson's Rothman Center on November 28, 29 & 30.

TICKET INFORMATION: Championship Round tickets to the Legends Classic will officially go on sale Friday, September 26 at 11:00 AM ET. Championship Round tickets may be purchased through http://www.ticketmaster.com or at the Prudential Center Box Office.Click here for a complete tournament bracket.

----- CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS -----
Semi-Final Doubleheader
(November 28th - 5:30 ET)
Mississippi St. vs. Washington St.
Pittsburgh vs Texas Tech

Championship Doubleheader
(November 29th - 5:30 ET)
Consolation Game
Championship Game

----- REGIONAL ROUNDS -----
Pittsburgh Regional Rounds
Peterson Events Center- Pittsburgh, PA
November 21st & 22nd
Akron vs. Pittsburgh
Indiana (PA) vs Pittsburgh

Lubbock Regional Rounds
United Spirit Arena- Lubbock, TX
November 20th & 22nd
(East) Central Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech
Eastern Kentucky vs. Texas Tech

Starkville Regional Rounds
Humphrey Coliseum- Starkville, MS
November 20th & 22nd
North Alabama vs. Mississippi St.
Fairleigh Dickinson vs Mississippi St.

Pullman Regional Round
Beasley Coliseum- Pullman, WA
November 18th
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Washington St.

----- SUBREGIONAL ROUNDS -----
Akron Regional Round
Rhodes Arena- Akron, OH
November 25th Urbana vs. Akron

Richmond (KY) Regional Round
McBrayer Arena- Richmond, KY
November 25th
Thiel College vs. Eastern Kentucky

Teaneck Regional Rounds
Rothman Center- Teaneck, NJ
November 28th- Eastern Kentucky vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
November 29th- Akron vs. Eastern Kentucky
November 30th- Akron vs. Fairleigh Dickinson

Pittsburgh, the reigning Big East Champions, are among the Top 5 programs in the country in overall winning percentage (.789) over the last seven years. They have a Big East-best 81-33 conference record during that stretch. The Panthers are the only Big East team to appear in each of the last seven NCAA Tournaments, making the "Sweet 16" on four occasions. Pittsburgh also has three members of their roster who played high school basketball in New Jersey.

Texas Tech has four starters returning for Head Coach Pat Knight, in his first full season at the helm of the Red Raiders.

Mississippi State has made the post-season in six of the last eight seasons. All six seasons are 20-win campaigns.

Washington State is coming off back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament under Head Coach Tony Bennett, owner of the fourth-best coaching record after two seasons in NCAA history (52-17).

The inclusion of Division II teams in the Legends Classic is a result of recent NCAA legislation increasing the number of games that teams are allowed to play and increasing the number of early season tournaments. Additionally, there is an interesting history dating back to 1982 when NAIA Chaminade upset the nation's top ranked team, Virginia, in a season opening tournament. Currently, these events can provide opportunities for teams to gain exposure which would not otherwise exist - by giving them the chance to represent their institution on a stage they would not ordinarily have access to and give their student-athletes a competitive experience unlike the rest of their schedule.

Prudential Center is the first new, state-of-the-art facility built in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area in over 25 years. It is the home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, NCAA Division I Seton Hall men's basketball and indoor soccer's New Jersey Ironmen. Having hosted over 1.5 million in its first year, Prudential Center will continue to bring world-class entertainment to Newark with acts like the Ringling Brother and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Tina Turner, Metallica and much more.

The Legends Classic is produced by The Gazelle Group in 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 benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic and the College Basketball Invitational. For more information on The Gazelle Group, please visit the website at gazellegroup.com.

Visit LegendsClassic.com for more information on the 2008 Legends Classic.

Welcome to the Official Legends Blog

2008-08-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new blog for the Legends Classic. We are excited to bring this to you. This blog will have all of the latest information about the upcoming tournament.

The 2008 Legends Classic will get underway with regional action at four sites (November 20-23) with the Championship Round games at Prudential Center (November 28^th & 30^th). And don’t forget, you can follow all of the action at www.legendsclassic.com.

This coming year will be the second year of this tournament. Last year we saw the 15^th ranked Texas Longhorns, led by 23 points from D.J. Augustin, beat 7^th ranked Tennessee, 97-78, in the inaugural Legends Classic championship game.

This tournament ended up being a great spring board for all four teams playing in Newark. Texas, Tennessee and West Virginia all made the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament, with Texas going as far as the “Elite 8”. New Mexico State lost in triple-overtime of the WAC Tournament Final or else all four teams would have made the “Big Dance”. Those four teams combined to post a 109-37 record, averaging 27.3 wins among the group.

Many would say that Texas was the best of the bunch because they advanced the furthest in the NCAA Tournament, but West Virginia and Tennessee were both tough teams in March. And as we said, New Mexico State was a couple of points away from making the tournament themselves.

The tournament also saw a pair of back-to-back NBA Lottery picks in West Virginia’s Joe Alexander (drafted 8^th to Milwaukee)and Texas’ D.J.Augustin (9^th by Charlotte).

And expect this tournament to bring in top-notch teams every year, allowing the New York area basketball fan to see great competition year after year.