Aug. 5, 2010
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's basketball team will play Tulsa in the first round of the 2010 76 Classic as matchups were announced Thursday by ESPN Regional Television. The tournament will be held Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 25, 26 and 28, at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center, adjacent to Disneyland. The Runnin' Rebels and Golden Hurricane will face off in the last game of the day on Thurs., Nov. 25 (Thanksgiving Day) at 8:30 p.m., which will be televised by ESPN2.
Click Here For The Complete 2010-11 UNLV Men's Basketball Schedule
Click Here For The Complete 2010 76 Classic Bracket
The fourth-year event will include 12 games in three days with some games televised on ESPN2 and others on ESPNU. This year's field features DePaul (Big East), Murray State (Ohio Valley), Cal State Northridge (Big West), Oklahoma State (Big 12), Stanford (Pac-10), Tulsa (CUSA), UNLV (Mountain West) and Virginia Tech (ACC). Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format.
Five of the eight teams in the field reached the postseason in 2009-10, including three in the NCAA Tournament: Murray State advanced to the second round, while Oklahoma State and UNLV were first-round participants in the field of 65. Tulsa (first round) and Virginia Tech (quarterfinals) both participated in the National Invitation Tournament.
Other first-round matchups on Thursday, Nov. 25, will be Virginia Tech vs. Cal State Northridge, Oklahoma State vs. DePaul and Stanford vs. Murray State. The two teams that remain undefeated will face off in a championship game on Sunday, Nov. 28, at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Big West Conference again will serve as the host for the 76 Classic at the 7,500-seat Anaheim Convention Center, which has served the conference for the past nine years as the site of its postseason tournament.
UNLV is 5-2 all-time against Tulsa, with the most recent meeting taking place in 2000 - an 89-62 Tulsa win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The Runnin' Rebels and Golden Hurricane also squared off twice during the 1998-99 season as members of the Western Athletic Conference, with UNLV sweeping that season series. UNLV and Tulsa also met in the 1997 WAC Tournament as the Golden Hurricane won that second-round matchup. The first meeting between the two schools was during the 1969-70 season.
UNLV is 1-2 all-time against Stanford and 1-0 against Murray State. The Runnin' Rebels are also 5-0 all-time against DePaul, 10-0 all-time against Cal State Northridge, 1-6 all-time against Oklahoma State and have never faced Virginia Tech.
UNLV finished the 2009-10 season with an overall record of 25-9 and made its third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four years.
The inaugural 76 Classic was played in 2007, with USC defeating Southern Illinois in the championship game. In 2008, Wake Forest captured the title by taking down Baylor in the championship game. In 2009, West Virginia, an eventual NCAA Final Four participant, defeated Portland for the championship. The 2009 76 Classic field also included Butler, which went on to the NCAA national championship game against Duke.
Tickets to the 2010 76 Classic will go on sale Monday, Aug. 16, and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 714-704-3000. Packages include all 12 games for $90, or single-session tickets for $20. Special travel package information may be found at GetTravel.com or by clicking here. Additional information may be found on the 76 Classic website, 76classic.com or by clicking here.
