Basketball Hall Of Fame Announces Key Teams and Dates for 2010 Tip-Off Tournament
MAAC Sports
MAY 12, 2010 - SPRINGFIELD, MASS. - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
announced today the return of a 27-year Springfield
tradition. The Basketball Hall of Fame
Tip-Off Tournament will take place at the MassMutual Center
on Saturday November 20 and Sunday November 21. Eight schools will participate in two
brackets of four teams over two days in an NCAA exempt tournament.
In addition to the two
brackets that will play in Springfield, each of the participating schools will
play against each other in two additional games to be hosted on campus by Bradley University, New Mexico State University, University of Massachusetts, and University of Southern California.
In games scheduled for
Saturday November 20th at the MassMutual Center
in Springfield - Bradley University
will match up with the University of
Southern California and New Mexico
State University will play the University of Massachusetts. The winners and losers of the Saturday games
will play on Sunday in the consolation and championship games.
"The Hall of Fame has a proud
tradition of hosting premiere college basketball events and the return of the
Hall's college basketball property to the city of Springfield should create an exciting
atmosphere for each institution and the fans" said John L. Doleva, President
and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
"We look forward to welcoming each of these schools to the Basketball
Hall of Fame and creating a weekend celebration in Springfield for many years to come."
The Basketball Hall of Fame,
in conjunction with the awarding of the conference tournament, has extended the
partnership with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to serve as the event's
sponsoring conference, serve in various operational roles and to provide an
annual participant in the field of teams.
Rider University will serve as the conferences participant. The Basketball Hall of Fame along with the
MassMutual Center will serve as hosts for the Men's and Women's MAAC
Championships from 2012 - 2014.
"The MAAC membership in
looking to grow its relationship with the Basketball Hall of Fame, the MassMutual Center
and the City of Springfield
was eager to extend its expertise and provide staffing for The Basketball Hall
of Fame Tip-Off Tournament as the event's sponsor," notes Richard J.
Ensor, MAAC Commissioner. "The MAAC
prides itself on its record of hosting league and NCAA Championships, and exempt
events in venues throughout the country and looks forward to great college
hoops next November in the city that prides itself as the birthplace of
basketball."
The complete schedule of
campus site games will be announced at a later date as well as the remaining
four schools, television information and ticket information.
2010 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament Hosts
Bradley University - Representing the Missouri Valley Conference, the
Bradley University Braves will enter the 2010-11 season coming off a 16-15
campaign that included victories over nationally-ranked squads from the University of Illinois
and University of Northern Iowa. The Braves will return the
top-scoring trio in The Valley - senior guards Sam Maniscalco and Andrew Warren,
as well as junior forward Taylor Brown - in addition to several other key
pieces that will make them a contender in the highly-competitive Missouri
Valley Conference. Sophomore guard Jake Eastman is the son of Boston
Celtics assistant coach Kevin Eastman.
New Mexico State University
- The defending Western Athletic
Conference (WAC) tournament champions are coming off a 22-12 season and NCAA
tournament appearance that saw them nearly upset Final Four participant Michigan State.
The Aggies entered the NCAA tournament as the #12 seed in the Midwest
after defeating Nevada, Utah
State and San Jose State
in the conference tournament. Returning
for the Aggies will be three of their top five in Troy Gillenwater, Wendell
McKines and Hamidu Rahman.
University of Massachusetts - Led by Springfield
native Derek Kellogg, the Minutemen welcome back the majority of its team in
Kellogg's third season. Terrell Vinson
and Anthony Gurley are the top returning scorers and they will be joined by a
strong recruiting class and group of returning players which should help UMass
be a player in the strong Atlantic 10 Conference.
University of Southern California - The Trojans from the Pac-10 Conference are looking to
build off a 16-14 season that saw victories against NCAA tournament teams Tennessee, St. Mary's, UNLV, Washington
and California. Led by Kevin O'Neill, USC will return 13
players from its roster and adds a strong recruiting class to a team that sat
atop the Pac-10 Conference standings during the regular season.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The MAAC, headquartered in Edison, N.J., consists of
10 member institutions: Canisius College, Fairfield
University, Iona
College, Loyola
University Maryland, Manhattan College,
Marist College,
Niagara University,
Rider University,
Saint Peter's College and Siena
College. For more on the
conference, please visit www.maacsports.com.
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield,
Massachusetts, the birthplace of
basketball, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and
preserves the game of basketball at every level - professional, collegiate, men
and women. For more information on these
and other upcoming events, please visit our website at www.hoophall.com or call 1-877-4-HOOPLA
Contact:
Greg Procino
Manager - Events and Awards
Naismith Memorial Basketball
Hall of Fame
413-231-5522
gprocino@hoophall.com