Gotham Classic Schedule Announced

Championship Match-ups Announced

Pittsburgh to meet Davidson at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20
Eastern Washington, Morehead State, Western Carolina complete field
Tickets on sale Thursday

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2015
Contact: Ray Cella 609.921.1300 (rcella@gazellegroup.com)

PRINCETON, N.J. – Perennial ACC power Pittsburgh and defending Atlantic 10 regular season champion Davidson will meet in the Showcase Round of the fourth annual Gotham Classic (@GothamClassic) at New York’s Madison Square Garden on December 20.

TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for the Pittsburgh-Davidson game at Madison Square Garden will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, August 20, and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 866-448-7849 or through Ticketmaster.com.

Rounding out the field of the Gotham Classic are Eastern Washington, Morehead State, and Western Carolina.

“We are excited to be a part of the Gotham Classic,” says Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon. “It is a terrific event with matchups that will prepare us for our conference schedule. We have always received great support in the New York area, so playing an outstanding team like Davidson at Madison Square Garden will be tremendous for our team and our fans.”

Davidson head coach Bob McKillop says, “We are thrilled to participate in the Gotham Classic. Superb programs, outstanding coaches, and an opportunity to play in Madison Square Garden will make it a very exciting and challenging event for Davidson College.”

Both the Panthers and Wildcats will host three games in addition to playing each other at MSG on Sunday, December 20. This marks the sixth time that Pitt and Davidson will play, but the first since January of 1974. The Panthers hold a 3-2 lead in the series. The two programs combine for 38 NCAA Tournament appearances all-time.

The format of the Gotham Classic features 10 games with all five teams playing each other. The schedule for the Gotham Classic is:

—- SCHEDULE —-

Dec. 9 – Eastern Washington at Davidson
Dec. 11 – Eastern Washington at Pittsburgh
Dec. 12 – Western Carolina at Davidson
Dec. 13 – Morehead State at Pittsburgh
Dec. 14 – Eastern Washington at Western Carolina

Dec. 17 – Morehead State at Eastern Washington
Dec. 20 – Pittsburgh vs. Davidson (MSG)
Dec. 20 – Western Carolina at Morehead State
Dec. 23 – Morehead State at Davidson
Dec. 23 – Western Carolina at Pittsburgh

(5-of-6 shooting from the field), five rebounds, and three assists in leading Richmond to a 65-63 win over Pepperdine. In the nightcap, Juwan Staten scored 24 points and handed out six assists to take MVP laurels as No. 22 West Virginia claimed an 83-69 win over NC State. The Wolfpack’s Trevor Lacey also netted 24 points.

Television for the 2015 Gotham Classic will be announced at a later date.

Pittsburgh Panthers – Head Coach: Jamie Dixon (Atlantic Coast Conference)

Head coach Jamie Dixon has guided the Panthers to 307 wins in 12 seasons at the helm of the program, winning at least 20 games in 11 of those campaigns…he has also led Pitt to the postseason all 12 seasons, including 10 NCAA Tournament berths and a trip to last year’s NIT…the Panthers enter the 2015-16 season with four starters returning, including leading scorer Jamel Artis (13.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and leading rebounder Michael Young (7.3 rpg, 13.4 ppg), both of whom will be juniors…Pittsburgh has been to 25 NCAA Tournaments with one trip to the Final Four.

Davidson Wildcats – Head Coach: Bob McKillop (Atlantic 10 Conference)
The Wildcats are coming off their first season as a member of the Atlantic 10…after being picked 12th in the league’s preseason poll, Davidson won the A-10 regular season title and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament…four starters return for the Wildcats, led by the back court of junior Jack Gibbs (16.2 ppg, 120 assists) and senior Brian Sullivan (12.7 ppg, 124 assists)…head coach Bob McKillop will enter his 27th season at Davidson, having amassed 496 victories…the Wildcats have participated in 13 NCAA Tournaments, eight of which have come during McKillop’s tenure.

Eastern Washington Eagles – Head Coach: Jim Hayford (Big Sky Conference)
EWU posted a 26-9 record en route to winning a share of the Big Sky Conference regular season championship, the league’s postseason tournament championship, and earning a NCAA Tournament berth for the second time ever (2003-04)…head coach Jim Hayford, the Big Sky co-Coach of the Year, welcomes back five letterwinners and three 2014-15 redshirts, including senior forward Venky Jois, a first-team all-league honoree who averaged of 16.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg…forward Bogdan Bliznyuk was named the Big Sky’s Freshman of the Year for averaging 8.7 ppg and 4.0 rpg last season.

Morehead State Eagles – Head Coach: Sean Woods (Ohio Valley Conference)
The Eagles went 17-17 and advanced to the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last season…senior guard Brent Arrington leads a group of six returning players from a year ago after averaging 11.1 ppg to go along with 77 assists and 65 steals…he’s joined in the back court by junior Corban Collins (8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)…head coach Sean Woods is in his fourth season at Morehead State…the 35 wins over his first two seasons are the most by any Eagles’ coach in history.

Western Carolina Catamounts – Head Coach: Larry Hunter (Southern Conference)
Head coach Larry Hunter, who has won 664 games in 35 seasons as a head coach, welcomes back 10 players, including four starters, from a team that went 15-17 a year ago in advancing to the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament…leading the way is senior guard Mike Brown, who was the Catamounts’ second leading scorer at 13.8 ppg and their leading rebounder at 6.3 rpg…also back is senior guard Rhett Harrelson, who averaged 11.8 ppg and handed out 73 assists.

The Gotham 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 Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, the Legends Classic, the College Basketball Invitational, and the All-American Championship. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.

The Northeast Conference (NEC) is the sponsoring conference of the Gotham Classic. Entering its 35th season, the NEC is a NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. For more information on the NEC, visit the official website at www.northeastconference.org or follow on Twitter @NECsports.

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