Tag: Phil Knight Invitational

REPORT: Michigan State basketball’s Malik Hall will miss Phil Knight Invitational with foot injury

REPORT: Michigan State basketball’s Malik Hall will miss Phil Knight Invitational with foot injury

Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo was harangued by fans this offseason for not dipping into the transfer portal to add more depth for a thing roster. That decision to stand pat with their roster may be about to sting, as it was reported by Brendan Quinn of The Athletic that Malik Hall will miss the Phil Knight Invitational, which starts on Thanksgiving evening against Alabama, with a foot injury.

Jaden Akins is also doubtful to play.

Hall has been vital for the Spartans this year, averaging a career best 12 points and 5.3 rebounds per game to start the season.

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WATCH: Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo previews Phil Knight Invitational

VIDEO: Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo previews Phil Knight Invitational

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Key quotes from Tom Izzo in press conference before Phil Knight Invitational

Key quotes from Tom Izzo in press conference before Phil Knight Invitational

Michigan state basketball will face another tough test on Thanksgiving night when they face No. 18 Alabama in Portland, Oregon as part of the Phil Knight Invitational. If they win, they will face another tough challenge in either UConn or Oregon.

Before his team travels to Oregon, Tom Izzo spoke to the media, and you can find the key quotes from that press conference below.

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Oregon men’s basketball releases 2022-23 schedule

The Oregon men’s basketball team was able to fill out the 2022-23 schedule as the Pac-12 has announced its pairings for the season.

In just two and a half months, the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team will open Pac-12 play with a home game against Washington State.

The Dec. 1 date might be the earliest Oregon has ever started conference action. Earlier on Thursday, the Pac-12 announced the entire schedule for all of the teams. Everyone begins the first weekend of December with a few games before a break for non-conference matchups before picking it up again on Dec. 29.

After the Ducks host the Cougars, they’ll make a quick trip down to Pauley Pavilion to take on UCLA. Once conference play is in the full swing of things, the traditional road partnerships will continue.

Oregon State will visit Matthew Knight Arena on New Year’s Eve and the Ducks will go up to Corvallis on Feb. 25. The Pac-12 tournament is scheduled for March 8-11 in Las Vegas.

When the NCAA selection committee convenes in March, Oregon might have a weak strength of schedule as the Ducks do not play a true non-conference road game this season.

UNC’s first opponent, field set for

The UNC basketball program will open up the 2022 Phil Knight Invitational by taking on Portland in November.

The pieces to UNC’s 2022-23 basketball schedule continue to come in as we are just months away from the start of the season. While most of the non-conference schedule was announced earlier, the opponent for the PKI was yet to be announced.

And now on Monday, we know who UNC will open up against in the November tournament.

North Carolina will open up against Portland in one of the brackets for the event. The game will take place on November 24th at 1 p.m. ET and will be aired on ESPN. The winner of that game will then take on the winner of Villanova or Iowa State on November 25th:

UNC has been paired in the bracket with Villanova, Iowa State, Portland, UConn, Oregon, Alabama and Michigan State. The Tar Heels participated in the PK80 event a few years back but fell to Michigan State in the finals.

In that same event, UNC beat Portland 102-78 to open the tournament up.

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Matchups set for PK85 Phil Knight Legacy and Invitational tournaments

We’ve known the teams competing in the PK85 for quite a while. Now we know the first-round matchups. The Ducks are in for a big game to kick things off.

We’ve known the list of schools that will be competing in the celebratory Phil Knight PK85 tournament this coming November for quite a while, but at long last, we are finally getting a glimpse at the first-round matchups in the tournament that will celebrate the 85th birthday of the Nike co-founder.

The tournament will be held in Portland, with some of the best teams in the nation coming to honor Knight. A similar tournament was held a few years ago — the PK80 — in honor of Knight’s 80th birthday. The Duke Blue Devils won that tournament, but it featured teams like North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Gonzaga.

So we know the teams participating, but who will the first-round matchups be between? Let’s take a look:

PK85 to host 8-team women’s tournament, headlined by Oregon Ducks and UConn Huskies

As part of the PK85, a group of the top women’s basketball teams will play in a tournament in Portland, headlined by Oregon and UCONN.

We knew that this coming year would include one of the premier basketball tournaments returning to the Pacific Northwest, with the Phil Knight Invitational taking place to honor the Nike co-founder’s 85th birthday.

The PK80 was held in 2017 to celebrate Knight’s 80th birthday, featuring some of the best teams in the nation in a winner-take-all tournament that was won by the Duke Blue Devils. On Tuesday, the field was announced for the PK85, but it was also revealed that an 8-team women’s tournament would also be held at the PK85, featuring some of the top WBB teams in the nation.

Here are the 8 women’s basketball teams who will be getting an invite:

8 teams announced for Phil Knight’s PK85 tournament in November of 2022

Some of the best teams in the nation are coming to Portland for the PK85 in November. Here’s who made the cut…

Phil Knight’s big tournament is still in the planning stages, but we now know which 8 teams will be accepting the invitation to compete in the PK85 this coming November at the start of the 2022 college basketball season.

The tournament will be held in Portland, with some of the best teams in the nation coming to honor the co-founder of Nike. A similar tournament was held a few years ago — the PK80 — in honor of Knight’s 80th birthday. The Duke Blue Devils won that tournament, but it featured teams like North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Gonzaga.

So who will be competing in honor of Knight’s 85th birthday? Here are the 8 lucky teams:

Everything we know after Oregon Ducks 81-48 blowout loss to BYU Cougars

The Ducks got blown out in their first loss of the season, losing by 32 points. It was a very forgettable game.

Can we all agree to forget this game ever happened and vow to never talk about it again?

We’re all good with that, right?

That’s likely the mentality that Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks will have after this blowout loss to the BYU Cougars in the Phil Knight Invitational. The Ducks got run off the floor by an unranked BYU team that looked like a squad that could potentially make some noise in the NCAA Tournament this year.

It started and ended with Oregon’s shooting, where they finished the game with a 32% FG and just 3 three-pointers. After hoisting up 36 deep balls in their first game of the season, and making over 40% of threes in their second game, it’s easy to see why they are vulnerable to defeat when unable to hit the long ball.

It was apparent early on that they weren’t playing their comfortable brand of basketball, and they looked rushed from the opening tip. After struggling to get off any clean looks, Oregon did the smart thing and decided to take only shots from the paint and at the rim. Once those refused to fall, it became concerning.

Oregon ultimately shot 5-for-26 (19%) in the first half, with one three-pointer made. They entered the break trailing 37-18.

Things didn’t get much better in the second half, with BYU answering any time the Ducks were able to string a couple of baskets together, silencing any run before it got off the ground.

In the end, the Ducks will likely watch the tape, and then burn it as they try to move forward and prepare for the Maui Invitational next week. We knew coming into this year that they would be far from a finished product in the months of November and December, and it proved to be true on Tuesday night.

Here are some notable stats and takeaways from the game:

2021-22 Oregon Ducks nonconference basketball schedule announced

The non-conference schedule for the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program has officially been released.

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program officially has their entire 2021-2022 non-conference schedule set and ready to go.

Dana Altman’s squad will open the season by hosting Texas Southern on Tuesday, November 9. It is one of seven home games the Ducks will play outside of the Pac-12 – and this does not include their Nov. 16 bout with BYU, which will take place in Portland as part of the Phil Knight Invitational.

The Ducks don’t have a true road game until conference play as well, managing to bring most of their opponents to Matthew Knight Arena, including the defending champion Baylor Bears, who they will face on December 18.

Oregon will get a chance to face a handful of other excellent college basketball teams in Hawaii during the Maui Invitational, which will net them a pair of quality opponents out of the following group: Wisconsin, Houston, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, St. Mary’s, and Butler.

Altman’s squad is loaded with top tier transfers, and should be among the most talented programs in the conference. Dates with BYU, Baylor, and the group in Maui should help test this team early and prepare them for a tough run through the Pac-12 in early 2022.

Here is a full look at the schedule for the Ducks: