Pittsburgh News

2010 COACHES VS. CANCER FIELD/SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

From the Gazelle Group …

PRINCETON, N.J. – Pittsburgh, Texas, Maryland, and Illinois will host Regional Round games of the 2010 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, the nation’s premier season-opening college basketball event.

Each institution will host two Regional Round games before heading to New York’s Madison Square Garden for the Championship Rounds on Nov. 18-19.

—- REGIONAL ROUNDS —-

Pittsburgh Regional Rounds
Petersen Events Center – Pittsburgh, Pa.
Nov. 8 – Rhode Island at Pittsburgh
Nov. 10 – Illinois-Chicago at Pittsburgh

Austin Regional Rounds
Frank Erwin Center – Austin, Texas
Nov. 8 – Navy at Texas
Nov. 10 – Louisiana Tech at Texas

College Park Regional Rounds
Comcast Center – College Park, Md.
Nov. 8 – Seattle at Maryland
Nov. 10 – Charleston at Maryland

Champaign Regional Rounds
Assembly Hall – Champaign, Ill.
Nov. 8 – UC Irvine at Illinois
Nov. 10 – Toledo at Illinois

The matchups for the Championship Rounds at Madison Square Garden and the Subregional Rounds at Toledo and UC Irvine will be announced at a later date, as will game times and television details.

THE FIELD

Pittsburgh – Ended the season ranked 18th (AP) and 20th (ESPN/USA Today) with a 25-9 record…Pitt earned its ninth-straight NCAA Tournament bid – the longest streak among Big East schools – and advanced to the second round…the Panthers return junior guard Ashton Gibbs (15.7 ppg), a Scotch Plains, N.J. (Seton Hall Prep) native and second-team All-Big East honoree, and sophomore guard Travon Woodall (5.0 ppg, 108 assists) of Brooklyn, N.Y. (St. Anthony’s (N.J.))…New York area recruits include Top 100 prospects J.J. Moore (Brentwood, N.Y./South Kent School (Conn.) and Isiah Epps (Plainfield, N.J./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.))…the Panthers are ranked seventh in Andy Katz’s (ESPN) preseason Top 25.

Texas – The Longhorns went 24-10, spending two weeks atop both polls in mid-January…Texas advanced to its 12th-straight NCAA Tournament in 2010 and has been to five Sweet 16s over the last nine years…sophomore guard J’Covan Brown (9.6 ppg, 80 assists) and sophomore swingman Jordan Hamilton (10.0 ppg) highlight a young and talented Longhorn squad…Texas’ incoming class has been rated as high as eighth in the nation.

Maryland – The Terps were 24-9 this past season and co-champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference…ended the season ranked 18th (ESPN/USA Today) and 20th (AP) and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament…the Terps return 10 players, including junior guard Sean Mosley (10.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg) and sophomore forwards Jordan Williams (9.6 ppg and a team-best 8.6 rpg), who was named to the ACC All-Rookie team, and Brooklyn’s James Padgett (Lincoln H.S.), who is expected to have a larger role in Maryland’s rotation…the Terps’ Top 20 recruiting class includes Ashton Pankey of the Bronx (St. Anthony’s (N.J.)).

Illinois – Went 21-15 in advancing to the quarterfinals of the NIT…has finished among the Big Ten’s top five in six of head coach Bruce Weber’s seven seasons…first-team All-Big Ten pick Demetri McCamey returns for his senior year after leading the Illini in scoring (15.1 ppg) and placing second in the nation in assists (7.1 apg)…Big Ten Rookie of the Year guard D.J. Richardson netted 10.5 ppg as a freshman last year…the Illini, who welcome a Top 10 recruiting class, are ranked 15th in Andy Katz’s (ESPN) preseason Top 25.

Charleston – The Cougars went 22-12 and reached the second round of the College Basketball Invitational, marking the third time in four years under head coach Bobby Cremins that they achieved a 20-win season.

Illinois-Chicago – The Flames return 12 players from last year’s team as head coach Jimmy Collins, the winningest coach in school history, retools UIC.

Louisiana Tech – Posted a 24-11 record, its most wins since the 1984-85 season…the Bulldogs also recorded 13 non-conference wins, also the most since 1984-85.

Navy – The Midshipmen, who were 13-17 this past season, are one of only two programs in the Patriot League to finish in the top half of the standings each of the last three seasons.

Rhode Island – Rhody compiled a 26-10 record in advancing to the semifinals of the 2010 NIT…the Rams have won 52 non-conference games over the last three seasons.

Seattle – The Redhawks, who are currently in the process of reclassifying from Division II to Division I, posted a 17-14 record last season while primarily playing a Division I schedule.

Toledo – The Rockets will be led by first-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, who comes to Toledo after eight successful seasons at Wisconsin-Green Bay.

UC Irvine – Russell Turner will make his collegiate head coaching debut in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic…Turner was hired after spending six years with the Golden State Warriors.

TICKET INFORMATION: Championship Round tickets are currently ON SALE and can be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com or calling Ticketmaster at 866-448-7849.

Last year’s Coaches vs. Cancer Classic drew in excess of 141,000 fans across the seven hosting venues with Syracuse defeating defending national champion North Carolina to claim the title. This year marks the 13th consecutive season that the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic has been played at Madison Square Garden.

The Coaches vs. Cancer program, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), exists to leverage the strength, community leadership, and celebrity status of the nation’s basketball coaches in an effort to raise awareness and reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds for the American Cancer Society’s vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Since 1995, the event has raised more than $4.5 million for the benefit of Coaches vs. Cancer.

The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic is produced by The Gazelle Group in Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, the Legends Classic, and the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). For more information on The Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.

Visit coachesvscancer.com for more information on the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

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