April 28, 2016
LAS VEGAS -- The Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic announced Thursday (April 28) the participating teams for this year's event, to be held December 22-23, at the beautiful Orleans Arena here. The University of Southern California, University of Wyoming, DePaul University, and Missouri State University are among eight teams participating in this year's tournament.
FS1 will televise the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic third-place and championship games on Wednesday Dec. 23. FOX Sports runs all aspects of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic and Las Vegas Invitational ranging from ticket sales, sponsorships and television production.
Each team will play four games in the Classic - the first two on campus sites and the final two rounds at the Orleans Arena December 22-23. Hosting more than 200 events each year, the Orleans Arena is located just west of the Las Vegas strip and was recently named the No. 1 mid-size arena in the USA by Venues Today magazine.
All-session tickets for the final rounds in Las Vegas are available for purchase in person at the JQH Arena box office for $110. Fans may also purchase tickets at OrleansArena.com or by calling (888) 234.2334 or (702) 284-7777.
Missouri State head coach Paul Lusk returns four starters for his sixth season at the helm of the Bears, including two of the top four returning scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference. Senior guard Dequon Miller (12.7 points, 96 assists) was named Newcomer of the Year in the MVC in 2016 and joins junior wing Chris Kendrix (12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds) on the list of the top returnees in The Valley. MSU also will look to youngsters Jarred Dixon and Obediah Church to help improve on a 13-19 campaign a year ago. The sophomore tandem combined for 49 starts as freshmen and both earned MVC All-Freshman Team distinction with Dixon (8.0 ppg) snagging 40 steals and Church (6.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg) blocking 50 shots a year ago. The Bears return nine lettermen in all, including junior sharp-shooter Austin Ruder who has 133 career 3-pointers and was sidelined most of the 2015-16 season.
USC is coming off a 21-13 season and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. The Trojans return all five starters and six of their top seven scorers from the team that finished 19th in the country by averaging 80.5 points per game. USC tied a school record with four 100-point games last season. Junior guard Jordan McLaughlin led the team with a 13.4 average last season, followed by current seniors forward Nikola Jovanovic (12.1 ppg) and guard Julian Jacobs (11.6 ppg). Sophomore Bennie Boatwright averaged 11.5 points per game as a freshman and tied for the team lead in three-point baskets with 60 makes. Junior guard Elijah Stewart also made 60 three-pointers and averaged 9.8 points per game. USC set a school record with 266 three-point baskets made and in shots blocked with 215. The Trojans' up-tempo style led to 120 dunks, compared to its opponent's 68. This year USC also will feature Louisville transfer sophomore guard Shaqquan Aaron, a former top-50 recruit.
DePaul returns three of its top four scorers from this past season led by senior guard Billy Garrett Jr. Garrett averaged 12.6 points and 3.5 assists per game during his junior campaign. He is followed by sophomore guard Eli Cain and senior center Tommy Hamilton IV. Cain was a member of the 2016 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.3 points per game and shooting .425 from three-point range while Hamilton added 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds during his junior season. Head coach Dave Leitao enters his fifth season overall and second after returning to DePaul prior to the 2015-16 season. In his first stint with the program, he led the Blue Demons to three postseason appearances in three years.
Wyoming will be a bit of old with a new twist in 2016-17. After six seasons at the helm, head coach Larry Shyatt stepped aside on March 21, as assistant coach Allen Edwards was promoted to take his place. On the floor, the Pokes lose AP All-American Josh Adams to graduation, but return four starters from a squad that was the fourth-youngest in the nation in 2015-16. They will be led by Jason McManamen, who will be one of just two seniors for Wyoming in 2016-17. He looks to be up to the task after a junior season that saw him emerge as one of the top three-point shooters in the Mountain West and the NCAA. His team-high 45 percent beyond the arc ranked first in the conference and 10th in the NCAA, while his 3.0 triples per game were second and 25th, respectively. Teamwise, the Pokes made 10.1 threes per game last season for ninth in the nation. Edwards, McManamen and company will look to build on a 14-18 overall record last season, especially in close games, as 17 of their contests in 2015-16 were decided by single digits.
Past champions of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic include Kansas State (2008), Alabama (2009), New Mexico (2010), Baylor (2011), Colorado State (2012), UNLV (2013) , Loyola, IL (2014) and SMU (2015) last season's Champion.
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