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History of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

Princeton, NJ (November 7, 2003) - The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic has established itself as the most anticipated and highly attended pre-season college basketball event in the country. This year's field -- Alabama, Gonazga, Marquette, Memphis, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Saint Joseph's and Wake Forest -- features one team who advanced to the Final Four in 2003 and five teams in the preseason Top 25. For the fifth straight year, all four games will be nationally televised on ESPN and/or ESPN2.

For a complete History or Records of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic click here.

Following is a brief history of the event:

2002: ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MARQUETTE, MEMPHIS, OKLAHOMA, SYRACUSE, TEXAS, VILLANOVA - Madison Square Garden

The 2002 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic marked the first time that the event was played under a "showcase" format with eight teams playing a single game each. In the first night of games, Memphis defeated eventual national champion Syracuse, 70-63. Syracuse was led by Carmelo Anthony, who scored 27 points in his first college game. In Thursday's second game, No. 8 Alabama defeated No. 3 Oklahoma en route to a No. 1 ranking. During Friday night's doubleheader, two other 2003 Final Four teams, Marquette and Texas, got their seasons off on the right foot with victories. No. 19 Marquette, who was led by Dwyane Wade's 17 points, defeated Villanova 73-61 and No. 5 Texas outlasted No. 16 Georgia 77-71 behind T.J. Ford's game high 22 points.

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2001: ARIZONA, FLORIDA, MARYLAND, TEMPLE - Madison Square Garden

Five players scored in double figures for the Florida Gators as they handed Temple their first loss of the season, in a rematch of a NCAA Tournament game from a year ago. Senior point guard Jason Gardner led a young Arizona Wildcat team to an upset victory over No. 3 Maryland in game 2 of the opening night doubleheader, defeating the eventual NCAA Champions 71-67. Temple's guards were no match for Maryland's backcourt duo of Juan Dixon and Steve Blake, who combined for 45 points in the consolation game of the 2001 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic as Maryland defeated Temple 82-74. Arizona became the first unranked team to win the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic since the Princeton Tigers won the event in 1997. Freshman Will Bynum and tournament MVP Jason Gardner were too much for the Florida guards to handle down the stretch, combining for 39 points on 12 of 22 shooting.

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2000: KANSAS, KENTUCKY, ST. JOHN'S, UCLA - Madison Square Garden

The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic opened with a match-up of traditional powers Kansas and UCLA in a fast paced, high scoring game that ended with a 99-98 Jayhawk victory. In the night cap, NYC native Omar Cook made his St. John's debut a memorable one by scoring 18 points and dishing out five assists in an upset win over Kentucky, 62-61. In the consolation game, the UCLA Bruins proved that putting points on the board was not going to be a problem for them in 2000 as they became the highest scoring team in Classic history in an exciting 97-92 overtime win over the Wildcats. In the championship game, Kansas pulled out to an early lead, but a tenacious Red Storm team kept the hometown fans in their seats hoping for a come-from-behind upset, only to fall short to the Jayhawks, in the final moments, 82-74.

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1999: DUKE, UCONN, STANFORD, IOWA - Madison Square Garden

13th ranked Stanford pulled off an overtime upset of 10th ranked Duke after overcoming a six point deficit with only 49 seconds left in regulation. This marked the second straight year in which the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic opened the college basketball season with an overtime game. In the second game, Steve Alford won his first game as head coach of the Hawkeyes by defeating top ranked and defending national champion UConn. In a rematch of the national championship game, UConn defeated Duke in the best consolation match-up ever. Behind freshman Casey Jacobsen and the Collins twins, the Cardinal beat Iowa in the championship game to take home the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic trophy.

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1998: TEMPLE, WAKE FOREST, GEORGETOWN, ILLINOIS - Madison Square Garden

Robert O'Kelley scored all ten Wake Forest points in the final 2:09 of overtime to defeat Illinois in the opening game. The 7th ranked Owls beat Georgetown in what would become one of John Thompson's last games as the Hoyas' head coach. Freshman Cory Bradford's 19 points led the Illini in a win over Georgetown in the consolation game. Temple overcame a 16 point deficit to beat the Deacons and take home the championship trophy.

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1997: NC STATE, TEXAS, GEORGIA, PRINCETON - Continental Airlines Arena

In the opening game, the Wolfpack held on to preserve the win as 19th ranked Georgia missed three shots in the last 13 seconds. In the second game, the Princeton Tigers upset 22nd ranked Texas. New head coach Ron Jirsa got his first win as a Bulldog by defeating Texas in the consolation game. A classic Princeton back-door lay-up with 2.7 seconds to play was blocked, but an NC State player was called for goaltending. The Tigers held on to win the championship in the lowest scoring game in the tournament's history, 38-36.

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1996: TEMPLE, GEORGIA TECH, TULSA, SAINT JOSEPH'S - Atlantic City Convention Center

Rasheed Brokenborough's 24 points led Temple to a 76-58 defeat despite Matt Harpring's 21 point effort for Georgia Tech. In the second game of the doubleheader, Saint Joseph's beat Tulsa 67-64, thanks to Terrell Meyers' 23 points and a last second basket. Later that season, Saint Joseph's made their Cinderella run through the NCAA tournament.

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Match-ups for the event are as follows:

All four games will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Last year's Coaches vs. Cancer Classic field included three eventual Final Four teams from the 2003 NCAA tournament -- Marquette, Syracuse and Texas. In addition to featuring 14 preseason Top 20 teams over the past four years, the event has opened the season with the last two eventual national champions competing at the Garden (Maryland in 2001-02 and Syracuse in 2002-03).

The Coaches vs. Cancer ® program, created by the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches exists to leverage the strength, community leadership and celebrity of our country's basketball coaches to raise awareness and in turn, reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds for the American Cancer Society.

Since 1995, Gazelle, producer of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, has raised over $2 million for Coaches vs. Cancer ®. Tickets for the 2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic are on sale now through the Madison Square Garden Box Office, by calling TicketMaster at (212) 307-7171 or by logging on to the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic page of Ticketmaster.com.

For more information about the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, please contact Michael Matkowski at (609) 921-1300 or mmatkowski@gazellegroup.com. General information about the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic can be found by logging on to www.cvcclassic.com.

Members of the media can download a Credential Application and visit the Media Page for event history and records, logos, and photos. visit the Media Page for event history and records, logos and photos.