For the first time since December 2006 there will be an NCAA Division I men’s basketball non-conference tournament being played in Green Bay.
The Gazelle Group on Thursday announced the dates and teams taking part in the 2019 Legends Classic which will feature Wisconsin, Auburn, New Mexico, and Richmond in the “Championship round” as well as Green Bay, Colgate, Cal State Northridge, and McNeese State in the sub-regional round.
The four “Championship round” teams will host sub-regional teams before playing each other at Barclays Center in New York.
As part of the event, Green Bay will travel to New Mexico on November 13th and take on the Badgers in Madison on November 21st.
The remaining teams – Colgate, CSUN, and McNeese State – will travel to Green Bay to play a four-team bracketed event at the Resch Center on November 25th and 26th. It will be the first non-conference bracketed tournament the Phoenix will have hosted since the annual Oneida Bingo & Casino Classic which was played from 1993-2006.
Colgate is coming off its first 20+ win season in the 119 year history of the program and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. The Raiders are projected to finish near the top of the Patriot League again this season with one of the most efficient offenses in the country returning nearly 72% of its minutes from last season.
Green Bay will host the Legends Classic sub-regional at the Resch Center this year
Cal State Northridge is coming off a 13-21 season and are expected to be a middle of the pack team in the Big West Conference this season. They are led by former NC State head coach Mark Gottfried, who has been in the news recently due to alleged NCAA recruiting violations during his time with the Wolfpack.
McNeese State was one of the worst teams in college basketball last season going 9-22 and ranking 331 out of 353 teams according to KenPom.com. The Cowboys have not had a winning season since 2012 and are projected to be near the cellar of the Southland Conference again this season.
The bracket for the event will be announced at a later date.
Green Bay appeared in another Gazelle Group operated event, the Empire Classic, last season losing road games at Iowa and Oregon before beating host Eastern Washington and Morehead State to claim the sub-regional championship.
On Thursday the Phoenix also announced other non-conference games on their schedule including games at Purdue (Nov 5), at Montana State (Nov 30), at Xavier (Dec 4), at Eastern Illinois (Dec 7), home vs Evansville (Dec 14), and at Northern Illinois (Dec 21).
Two more non-conference games and an exhibition game will be announced at a later date.
Green Bay men’s basketball non-conference schedule
(as of 7/11/19)
Tues, 11/5 – at Purdue
Sat, 11/9 – vs UW-STOUT / Kress Center
Wed, 11/13 – at New Mexico
Thurs, 11/21 – at Wisconsin
Mon, 11/25 – vs CSUN / COLGATE / McNEESE STATE (Legends Classic) / Resch Center
Tues, 11/26 – vs CSUN / COLGATE / McNEESE STATE (Legends Classic) / Resch Center
Sat, 11/30 – at Montana State
Wed, 12/4 – at Xavier
Sat, 12/7 – at Eastern Illinois
Sat, 12/14 – vs EVANSVILLE / Resch Center
Sat, 12/21 – at Northern Illinois
2 more games TBA
Categories: Pre-Season
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