[June 21, 2014]CHAMPAIGN
- Illinois will participate in the 14th annual Continental Tire Las
Vegas Invitational, to be held Nov. 27-28 at the beautiful Orleans Arena
in Las Vegas.
The Fighting Illini will face Indiana State on Nov. 27 at 4 p.m.
Central Time. The other semifinal has Baylor meeting Memphis. The
championship is set for Nov. 28 at 9:30 p.m. CT with the consolation
game at 7 p.m. CT. FOX Sports 1 is scheduled to televise all four
games from that part of the Las Vegas Invitational bracket.
Tickets for the final rounds in Las Vegas are available now. In
order to sit in the Illinois reserved sections, Fighting Illini fans
should purchase tickets through the Illinois Ticket Office online at
FightingIllini.com or by phone at 1-866-ILLINI-1. Tickets are $160
each and are valid for all eight games played in Las Vegas.
Each team will play four games in the Invitational - the first two
at on-campus sites and the final two rounds at the Orleans Arena.
Hosting more than 200 events each year, the Orleans Arena is located
just west of the Las Vegas strip and was recently named the No. 1
mid-size arena in the USA by Venues Today magazine.
Here is the entire schedule for the 2014 Continental Tire Las Vegas
Invitational:
Thursday, Nov. 27
1 pm CT
Austin Peay vs. Brown
4 pm CT
Illinois vs. Indiana State (FOX Sports 1)
8 pm CT
Stephen F. Austin vs. Prairie View A&M
11 pm CT
Baylor vs. Memphis (FOX Sports 1)
Friday, Nov. 28
1:30 pm CT
Loser Austin Peay/Brown vs. Loser Stephen F.
Austin/Prairie View A&M
4 pm CT
Winner Austin Peay/Brown vs. Winner Stephen
F. Austin/Prairie View A&M
7 pm CT
Loser Illinois/Indiana State vs. Loser
Baylor/Memphis (FOX Sports 1)
9:30 pm CT
Winner Illinois/Indiana State vs. Winner
Baylor/Memphis (FOX Sports 1)
Illinois returns all five
starters and a total of nine letter winners from last year's club
that won 20 games and advanced to the NIT Second Round. Highlighting
the returnees are seniors Rayvonte Rice, Tracy Abrams and Nnanna
Egwu. Rice was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick and two-time
conference player of the week selection after leading the Illini in
scoring (15.9 ppg) and steals (1.7 spg) and ranking second in
rebounding (6.0 rpg). Rice scored in double figures in 31 games and
had ten 20-point performances, led by a career-high 29 points in a
home win over Indiana (Dec. 31, 2013). Point guard Tracy Abrams was
second on the Illini in scoring (10.7 ppg) and led the team in
assists (3.2 apg), while center Nnanna Egwu was the team's top
rebounder (6.0 rpg) and totaled the second-most blocked shots in a
single season in school history with 73 rejections.
The Indiana State Sycamores are coming off an outstanding campaign
in 2013-14, finishing with a 23-11 overall record and a second place
finish in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Sycamores made their
second consecutive trip to the NIT and its school record fifth
straight venture into postseason basketball. Junior Khristian Smith
headlines a group of eight returning players and is the Sycamores'
leading returning scorer at 10.5 points per game while Justin Gant
returns for his senior season after averaging a career-best 10.2 ppg
last season. Additionally, five new Sycamores will join the roster
next season, including Charles "Tre" Bennett, who was recently named
a NJCAA All-American at Lamar State Community College
The 2014-15 edition of the Memphis Tigers can be summed up in three
words: inexperienced but talented. With the graduation of several
upperclassmen last season, the 2014-15 Tigers roster features no
seniors and only one junior - All-American Athletic Conference pick
Shaq Goodwin - and two sophomores - Nick King and American Athletic
Conference Rookie of the Year Austin Nichols - that played valuable
minutes in 2013-14. However, that where the experience ends, as the
Tigers break in a new backcourt. Sophomore Pookie Powell and
freshman Dominic Magee are the Tigers' future at point guard, while
redshirt freshman Markell Crawford and junior college transfer Avery
Woodson look to share time at off-guard.
Baylor returns two starters and three more players with starting
experience from last season's Sweet 16 team. The Bears have a pair
of seniors returning to the starting lineup with point guard Kenny
Chery, who averaged 12 points and 5 assists per game in 2013-14, and
small forward Royce O'Neale, who contributed 7 points, 5 rebounds
and 3 assists per game last season. BU also returns a trio of
forwards who have starting experience and could join the regular
starting lineup this season. Junior Rico Gathers averaged 18 minutes
per game last season, junior Taurean Prince played 14 minutes per
game and sophomore Ish Wainright made four starts during his
freshman campaign. The Bears also expect to get significant
contributions from Johnathan Motley and Allerik Freeman, who both
redshirted last season.
Always one of the top early season tournaments of the college
basketball season, the past champions of the Continental Tire Las
Vegas Invitational reads like a "Who's Who" of college basketball:
Illinois (2005), Kansas (2006 and 2010), North Carolina (2007),
Kentucky (2008) and Oklahoma State (2009). In the 2011 title game,
UNLV upset #1 North Carolina 90-80. The 2012 tourney was won by
Creighton and last year UCLA was the 2013 Champion.
[Text received, DERRICK BURSON,
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS]
