LAS VEGAS – An Oregon State team that advanced to last season’s Final Four and local favorite UNLV will headline the field for the inaugural Play4Kay Shootout benefiting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, December 19-21, 2016, at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The eight-team women’s tournament features seven teams that won 20+ games last season and supports the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, an organization that supports funding for women’s cancer research. The field and pairings for the tournament were released Thursday by the event’s organizer, bd Global (www.bdglobalsports.com).

“Many thanks to the T-Mobile Arena team for giving us the opportunity to create a premium women’s tournament on the Las Vegas Strip,” said bd Global president Brooks Downing. “Vegas has established itself as the unofficial “capital of basketball” with every level of the sport participating here in the Valley. It’s past time that a premium women’s event be held in this world-class location and we’re proud to partner with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to make that happen.”

The field for the tournament features:

• Oregon State – Completed a historic 32-5 season with a berth in the 2016 Final Four
• Long Beach State – Return all five starters from a 24-9 team
• New Mexico State – Defending WAC champions and finished 26-5 with an 2016 NCAA Tournament berth
• Oklahoma State – Finished 21-10 with an 2016 NCAA Tournament appearance
• Quinnipiac – Won the 2016 MAAC regular season title finishing at 25-9 for the year
• Santa Clara – Return all five starters from a 23-9 campaign last season
• South Florida – Advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament finishing at 24-10
• UNLV – Return the bulk of the team following last season’s 18-win campaign

Debbie Antonelli, an ESPN television analyst who will serve as the Tournament Director, said, “Having played for Coach Yow at NC State, I am so excited to be a part of the Play4Kay Tournament as we feature the best of women’s basketball in a destination location like Las Vegas. This tournament has it all with a tremendous field of teams – four NCAA Tournament teams in just its first year. More importantly, the event will contribute to a great cause as our sport continues to combat this dreaded disease. ”

The schedule for the opening round of the women’s tournament on Monday, Dec. 19 is as follows:

• 12:30 p.m. PT – South Florida vs. Long Beach State
• 3:00 p.m. PT – New Mexico State vs. Quinnipiac
• 5:30 p.m. PT – Oklahoma State vs. Santa Clara
• 8:00 p.m. PT – UNLV vs. Oregon State

Consolation games will be played Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 12:30 p.m./3:00 p.m. followed by the semifinals at 5:30 p.m./8:00 p.m. Wednesday’s championship game will be at 8:00 p.m. PT.

The tournament promotes the Play4Kay initiative, a grassroots fundraising campaign for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Play4Kay’s primary fundraising support comes from women’s basketball teams across the country that dedicate games throughout the season to raise funds and awareness for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The charity was founded in 2007 from the vision of the organization’s namesake Kay Yow, a former N.C. State head women’s basketball coach who endured three bouts with breast cancer. Despite the disease, she coached for 38 years, recording more than 700 wins, making 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 trips to the Sweet 16 and a Final Four berth in 1998. In 1988, she coached the United States to an Olympic gold medal. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 before succumbing to the disease on January 24, 2009. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund has since raised more than $5.28 million for women’s cancer research and to assist the underserved. For her achievements on and off the court, Coach Yow is enshrined in both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kay Yow Cancer Fund Executive Director Stephanie Glance said, “The 2016 Play4Kay fundraising initiative is a testament to the commitment the women’s basketball community has for the mission of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.  Coach Yow’s vision for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the Play4Kay fundraising initiative was to unite a nation of coaches and the women’s basketball community across the country, to do something collectively for the greater good, that far exceeds wins and losses on the court.”

For complete information, visit www.play4kayhoops.com or follow on Twitter at @NeonHoops.

LAS VEGAS – Four 20-win teams highlight the fields for the third-annual MGM Grand Main Event tournament, which consists of two four-team brackets to be played November 21-23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The Heavyweight Bracket includes Alabama, BYU, Saint Louis and Valparaiso while the Middleweight Bracket will feature Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Coppin State and Southern Utah. Tickets for the event, starting at $25 per session, are scheduled to go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 17 at noon PT.

“Year over year we continue to grow the MGM Grand Main Event with top quality programs,” said Brooks Downing, president of bd Global (www.bdglobalsports.com), the event promoter. “This year there’s so many storylines, all of which adds an extra layer of intrigue to our event: from BYU’s first appearance in the tournament and its strong fan base, to Saint Louis coach Travis Ford whom has never lost at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, to the return of Coach Todd Simon with his new squad at Southern Utah.”

The full schedule for the tournament games at MGM Grand is as follows:

MIDDLEWEIGHT BRACKET

Monday, Nov. 21

12:30 p.m. – Ball State vs. Coppin State

3 p.m. – Coastal Carolina vs. Southern Utah

Wednesday, Nov. 23

12:30 p.m. – Ball State vs. Southern Utah

HEAVYWEIGHT BRACKET

Monday, Nov. 21

6:30 p.m. – Saint Louis vs. BYU

9:00 p.m. – Alabama vs. Valparaiso

Wednesday, Nov. 23

6:30 p.m. – Consolation Game

9:00 p.m. – Championship Game (ESPN2)

The championship belt, one of the most unique trophies in college basketball, will be hotly contested among the Heavyweight teams. BYU won 26 games last season and will be the local favorite given its strong alumni base in the region. Second-year coach Avery Johnson is leading the resurgence at Alabama and has immediately upgraded the talent for the Crimson Tide. A pair of new coaches will lead Saint Louis and Valparaiso. Ford, the former Oklahoma State coach, is unbeaten at MGM Grand after leading OSU to the Heavyweight championship in the inaugural Main Event in 2014 and to an MGM Grand Showcase victory over Colorado in 2013. Matt Lottich takes over a Valpo team that won a school-record 30 games last season.

Alabama’s Avery Johnson said, “We wanted to find a tournament that will challenge us in the non-conference portion of our schedule and the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas will do just that. We open against a very good Valparaiso team and then we will play either BYU or Saint Louis, so this is going to be a good test for us. We are looking forward to being a part of this event.”

BYU coach Dave Rose echoed those sentiments as he looks to lead his Cougars to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in 12 seasons in Provo. “We are very excited to have our team participate in the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas this fall. It will be a great opportunity for our young team to play some high quality competition and get ready for our league schedule.”

The Middleweight division features a modified schedule in Vegas headlined by two teams that won 21 games a year ago in Coastal Carolina and Ball State. Former UNLV Associate Head Coach Todd Simon also returns to the Valley as the new head coach of Southern Utah.

Undercard Games

Prior to the games in Vegas, a slate of “Undercard Games” will be played at home sites:

• Friday, Nov. 11 – Ball State @ Saint Louis
• Friday, Nov. 11 – Coastal Carolina @ Alabama
• Friday, Nov. 11 – Southern Utah @ Valparaiso
• Monday, Nov. 14 – Coppin State @ Valparaiso
• Monday, Nov. 14 – Southern Utah @ Saint Louis
• Wednesday, Nov. 16 – Coppin State @ Coastal Carolina*
• Thursday, Nov. 17 – Coppin State @ BYU
• Friday, Nov. 18 – Ball State @ Alabama
• Saturday, Nov. 19 – Coastal Carolina @ BYU

*Due to a late scheduling conflict, this game was originally to have been played in Las Vegas but now will be played at Coastal Carolina.

Ticket and Hotel Information

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 17 at noon PT and can be purchased at the MGM Grand box office, MGMGrand.com, AXS.com, MGMGrandMainEvent.com or by calling 888-9AXS-TIX. Hotel rooms at MGM Grand are also available for fans at the tournament rate with booking info available at MGMGrandMainEvent.com.

For complete information, visit www.mgmgrandmainevent.com or follow on Twitter at @NeonHoops.

LAS VEGAS – Tickets for the highly anticipated UNLV-Duke game on Saturday, Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas go on-sale to the public starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. The two iconic programs will play the first college basketball game in the new arena and will meet for the first time in 25 years since battling in consecutive Final Fours in the early ‘90s.

“We are excited for the opportunity of having a showcase game with two of the elite programs in college basketball,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said at last week’s announcement. “The games two decades ago between UNLV and Duke were some of the best in the history of the sport.”

For UNLV, the game provides an opportunity to showcase the Runnin’ Rebels versus the likely top-ranked team in the nation before a national audience on ESPN for first-year coach Marvin Menzies.

“It’s one of those opportunities, when you look at it from a program’s perspective, this is great for our guys,” Menzies said. “Trust me, they’ve already earmarked it on their calendars. They’ll be excited to play.”

The duel between the two teams is one that Runnin’ Rebel fans have waited to see for 25 years. UNLV captured the school’s lone national championship by beating Duke by a national title game-record 30 points in the 1990 Final Four. The following season, the Runnin’ Rebels started the season 34-0 before facing Duke in the national semifinals in Indianapolis. In one of the most monumental upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the Blue Devils knocked off the Rebels 79-77 and then won the first national championship for Coach Krzyzewski two days later.

“Everybody says, ‘You beat us,’ but do you know what happened the year before?” Krzyzewski said. “It’s the biggest loss in the history of the NCAA championship, and I was part of that game. I’m not sentimental about it. I’m proud that we were in two Final Four games. Every program should be proud if they played in a Final Four. And that year, even though we lost, I was proud that we were in the championship game. They were by far the better team.”

The event, now in its fourth year after being played previously at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, benefits Coaches vs. Cancer, an initiative spearheaded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (www.nabc.com) and the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org).

“We are winning battles but there has to be a sustained effort to win the war against cancer,” Krzyzewski said of the cause. “Money raised is important but the awareness raised is even more important because that gets us all going in the right direction in the fight against this dreadful disease.”

Tickets can be purchase at the T-Mobile Arena box office, t-mobilearena.com, AXS.com, UNLVDuke.com or by calling 888-9AXS-TIX. Tickets are also available for season tickets holders and donors through the respective ticket offices of both schools.

For complete information, visit www.unlvduke.com or follow on Twitter at @NeonHoops.

LAS VEGAS – A rivalry will be renewed when UNLV plays Duke on Saturday, Dec. 10 in the first college basketball game to be played at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of the fourth-annual MGM Grand Showcase, which benefits Coaches vs. Cancer. The two iconic programs have not played since the programs battled in consecutive Final Fours in the early ‘90s.

The duel between the two teams is one that Runnin’ Rebel fans have waited to see for 25 years. UNLV captured the school’s lone national championship by beating Duke by a national title game-record 30 points in the 1990 Final Four. The following season, the Runnin’ Rebels started the season 34-0 before facing Duke in the national semifinals in Indianapolis. In one of the most monumental upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the Blue Devils knocked off the Rebels 79-77 and then won the first national championship for Coach Mike Krzyzewski two days later.

“Duke basketball is honored for the opportunity to play the first college game at T-Mobile Arena against a storied UNLV program,” said Krzyzewski, head coach of both Duke and the United State National Team. “It will be an exciting event for both programs and their great fans.”

Duke will enter the season as the projected top-ranked team in the nation. The Blue Devils return All-American candidate Grayson Allen and add the nation’s No. 2-ranked recruiting class, which includes Harry Giles, the top incoming freshman in America, and Jayson Tatum, the No. 3-ranked player in the class. New UNLV coach Marvin Menzies has just as many fresh faces on his roster that features nine new players. UNLV will be bolstered by returning sophomore guard Jalen Poyser and junior forward Dwayne Morgan.

“We are excited to be a part of the first college basketball game played at the beautiful new T-Mobile Arena and are happy that our fans will have the chance to be a part of it,” said Menzies. “UNLV has a lot of history with Duke, one of the elite programs in the country. We have the highest level of respect for Coach Krzyzewski and his history of success. It will be quite a challenge, but we are looking forward to it.”

Over the past decade, Las Vegas has become arguably the basketball capital of the world. The city now hosts USA Basketball, NBA Summer League, NBA preseason games, thousands of youth travel teams each summer, postseason tournaments for four college basketball conferences and a season-ending college basketball tournament. The opening of T-Mobile Arena will only enhance the city’s appeal to the basketball world and attract the best in the game to Vegas.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to open T-Mobile Arena to college hoops with a game that all of Las Vegas will want to see,” said Brooks Downing, president of bd Global (www.bdglobalsports.com), the event promoter. “Duke may very well come to Vegas with a No. 1 ranking and I fully expect the Rebel fans to pack the arena for what we expect to be an electric environment on Dec. 10^th.”

This year’s game marks the third consecutive year UNLV will play in the Showcase, which benefits Coaches vs. Cancer, an initiative spearheaded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (www.nabc.com) and the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org). Last season, the Runnin’ Rebels defeated No. 15 Oregon in a raucous game at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Tickets will be made available to UNLV season ticket holders at a discounted rate through a private sale. Information for Runnin’ Rebel season ticket holders will be announced in the next week. Tickets will be available to the public starting Saturday, July 30 and can be purchased at the T-Mobile Arena box office, t-mobilearena.com, AXS.com, mgmgrandshowcase.com or by calling 888-9AXS-TIX.

For complete information, visit www.unlvduke.com or follow on Twitter at @NeonHoops.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team (25-13) won the inaugural Vegas 16 Championship, as the Monarchs took down Oakland (25-12) by a 68-67 score on Wednesday night at the Mandalay Bay Arena. Trey Freeman was named the Tournament MVP, while being joined by teammate Aaron Bacote on the All-Tournament Team. ODU only trailed for a total of 6:41 for the entire tournament.

LAS VEGAS – Six teams with 20-plus wins, the nation’s top-scoring offense, and some of college basketball’s best talent headline the inaugural Vegas 16. The new men’s NCAA Division I postseason tournament, which is slated to tip off on March 28, is an eight-team, single-elimination, three-day event that will be played at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The entire tournament will be broadcast live by CBS Sports Network.

“We had originally hoped to launch this new tournament with 16 teams, but only if we could secure top-quality programs,” said Brooks Downing, president of bd Global, the tournament organizer. “With highly unusual results in many of the conference tournaments, we were hesitant to just fill out the bracket with ‘available teams.’ So by choosing quality over quantity, we settled on eight teams, many of which were considered for an NIT berth, and all of which have had outstanding seasons they want to celebrate in our event.”

The field is the strongest outside the NCAA or NIT postseason tournaments and is led by 23-win teams Louisiana Tech (23-9) and East Tennessee State (23-11). ETSU, second in the Southern Conference, narrowly missed out on an NIT berth with an 86 RPI, a common index used in college basketball that’s based on winning percentage.

Oakland’s Kahlil Felder, a 5-9 junior guard, averaged 24.2 points per game and has tallied 296 assists, a startling 9.2 average, to earn Horizon League Player of the Year and third-team All-America honors. His production was the primary reason Oakland led the nation in scoring, averaging 86.3 ppg. As a senior next year, Felder will have an opportunity to break Bobby Hurley’s all-time assists record, which was set at Duke two decades ago.

“Kay is a dynamic athlete who led the nation in assists and finished fourth in scoring,” said Oakland coach Greg Kampe. “He’s a SportsCenter Top-10 play waiting to happen every time he takes the court.”

Felder won’t be the only elite player in the field. Louisiana Tech guard Alex Hamilton, a 6-4 senior, was the Conference USA Player of the Year after averaging 19.7 ppg, 6.2 apg and 5.7 rpg while leading the Bulldogs’ to a 23-9 mark. Hamilton is the only C-USA player to average at least 20 points, five boards, six assists and two steals in a single season.

“We are very excited to get this new event for college basketball launched here in year one with such outstanding teams and student-athletes,” said Jim Livengood, chairman of the Vegas 16 committee. “With a destination location, a premium neutral-site venue at Mandalay Bay and our tournament staged two weeks after Selection Sunday, we are confident that this ‘bowl game for basketball’ will mature into a primary option for teams in postseason play.”

The tournament first-round match-ups are as follows:

Monday, March 28

• Game 1: Tennessee Tech (19-11) vs. Old Dominion (22-13) – 12 p.m. PT
• Game 2: Northern Illinois (21-12) vs. UCSB (18-13) – 2:30 p.m. PT
• Game 3: Oakland (21-11) vs. Towson (20-12) – 6 p.m. PT
• Game 4: Louisiana Tech (23-9) vs. ETSU (23-11) – 8:30 p.m. PT

Tuesday, March 29

• Games 5/6: Semifinals –6/8:30 p.m. PT

Wednesday, March 30

• Game 7: Championship – 7 p.m. PT

Tournament tickets are priced from $15 per session for the tournament. All sessions include two games except for the championship game. Tickets can be purchased at the Mandalay Bay box office, MandalayBay.com, AXS.com, Vegas16.com or by calling 888-AXS-TIX. The Mandalay Bay Events Center seats 10,000 for basketball and has played host to NBA preseason games.

More information on the Vegas 16 can be found at www.vegas16.com or follow on Twitter at @VegasSixteen.

LAS VEGAS – College basketball’s newest postseason event, the Vegas 16, has reached a multi-platform agreement with CBS Sports for coverage of the inaugural tournament on CBS Sports Network and the College Sports Live digital streaming service from CBS Interactive Advanced Media. CBS Sports Network will televise seven games, the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game, while College Sports Live and Vegas16.com will live stream eight first-round games.

The action tips off on CBS Sports Network on Monday, March 28 and continues through Wednesday, March 30. A complete schedule is listed below.

In addition to the live stream on College Sports Live and Vegas16.com, the Vegas 16 digital platforms will feature live statistics, an online shop with participating team merchandise, and other premium offerings for each fan base. College Sports Live features live coverage of more than 18,000 events in more than 30 sports for both men and women, plus thousands more related on-demand videos throughout the year. It can be accessed across laptops, desktops, tablets and mobile devices, including online at www.collegesportslive.com, and is also available for mobile on iOS and Android and on Roku players and Roku TV models.

“CBS Sports is synonymous with premium sports programming and we are excited to bring the Vegas 16 to CBS Sports Network and College Sports Live,” said Brooks Downing, president of bd Global, LLC, the event promoter. “We believe that we have created a unique and compelling postseason event for college basketball and look forward to showcasing the teams and exciting action to national audiences on CBS Sports Network and digital platforms.”

The Vegas 16 – which features 16 men’s basketball teams in a five-day single-elimination tournament at one site – tips off on March 26 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The tournament television and streaming schedule is as follows:

• Saturday, March 26 – First Round games at noon, 2:30, 6 and 8:30 all streamed live on College Sports Live and Vegas16.com (all times listed are Pacific)

• Sunday, March 27 – First Round games at noon, 2:30, 6 and 8:30 all streamed on College Sports Live and Vegas16.com

• Monday, March 28 – Quarterfinal games at noon, 2:30, 6 and 8:30 all broadcast live on CBS Sports Network

• Tuesday, March 29 – Semifinal games at 6 p.m. and 8:30 on CBS Sports Network

• Wednesday, March 30 – Championship game at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network

The Vegas 16 bracket is expected to be announced on Sunday, March 13.

The Vegas 16 Tournament Committee is chaired by former Arizona and UNLV Director of Athletics Jim Livengood; George Raveling, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and Nike Basketball’s Director of International Basketball and Global Sports Marketing; Debbie Antonelli, current analyst for men’s and women’s college basketball on ESPN, CBS, Fox, Raycom Sports and Westwood One; John Balistere, basketball consultant for MGM Resorts International; and Downing, President and CEO of tournament promoter bd Global.

More information on the Vegas 16 can be found at www.vegas16.com or follow on Twitter at @VegasSixteen.