Legends Classic (basketball tournament) explained
The Legends Classic is an annual, early-season, college basketball tournament which started in 2007 and takes place at the beginning of the college basketball season in November. Four teams (from four conferences) compete in the Legends Classic. The tournament has been held at various venues in the New York metropolitan area, primarily the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
History
The Legends Classic began in 2007 with the first two events being played at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. In that first year, only the four regional-round hosts were guaranteed to play four games,[1] as Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, and New Mexico State each hosted a pair of games, before advancing to the semifinals in Newark. Since the 2008–09 season, each team has been guaranteed to play four games.
In 2013, the field for the event decreased from 12 teams to 8 teams from eight separate conferences. Two games were held at four different regional sites selected before the tournament. Four teams advanced to the semifinals and finals at Barclays Center in New York City, while the remaining four teams played in a tournament format at a predetermined on-campus site.[1] After a showcase format was used in 2020, following the withdrawal of teams due to COVID-19-related issues, the size of the field was reduced to four, starting in 2021, with all games played at the same venue.
Yearly champions, runners-up, and MVPs
Year | Winner | Score | Opponent | Tournament MVP | Other participants | Venue |
---|
2023 | Auburn | 77–60 | St. Bonaventure | Johni Broome, Auburn | Notre Dame, Oklahoma State | Barclays Center, Brooklyn |
2022 | Arizona State | 87–62 | Michigan | Desmond Cambridge Jr., Arizona State | Pittsburgh, VCU |
2021 | Virginia | 58–40 | Providence | Jayden Gardner, Virginia | Northwestern, Georgia | Prudential Center, Newark |
2020 | Changed to a Showcase due to COVID-19 | Evan Mobley, USC | Boston College, BYU, Florida, St. Johns, UConn, USC | Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville |
2019 | Auburn | 79–65 | Richmond | Austin Wiley, Auburn | New Mexico, Wisconsin | Barclays Center, Brooklyn |
2018 | St. John's | 87–86OT | VCU | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's | Cal, Temple |
2017 | Texas A&M | 98–87 | Penn State | Robert Williams, Texas A&M | Oklahoma State, Pitt |
2016 | Notre Dame | 70–66 | Northwestern | Matt Farrell, Notre Dame | Colorado, Texas |
2015 | Marquette | 78–73OT | Arizona State | Henry Ellenson, Marquette | LSU, NC State |
2014 | Villanova | 60–55 | Michigan | Dylan Ennis, Villanova | VCU, Oregon |
2013 | Pitt | 88–67 | Stanford | Lamar Patterson, Pitt | Texas Tech, Houston |
2012 | Indiana | 82–72OT | Georgetown | Jordan Hulls, Indiana | UCLA, Georgia |
2011 | Vanderbilt | 64–62 | Oregon State | John Jenkins, Vanderbilt | NC State, Texas | Izod Center, East Rutherford |
2010 | Syracuse | 80–76 | Georgia Tech | Rick Jackson, Syracuse | Michigan, UTEP | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City |
2009 | Florida | 73–58 | Rutgers | Erving Walker, Florida | Michigan State, UMass |
2008 | Pitt | 57–43 | Washington State | Sam Young, Pitt | Mississippi State, Texas Tech | Prudential Center, Newark |
2007 | Texas | 97–78 | Tennessee | D. J. Augustin, Texas | New Mexico State, West Virginia | |
Most appearances
Brackets
* – Denotes overtime period
2023
The 2023 tournament took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.[2] It took place on November 16 & 17, 2023.
2022
The 2022 tournament took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn[3] The tournament took place from Wednesday, November 16 to Thursday, November 17, 2022.[4]
2021
The 2021 tournament was set to return to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn but was played at the Prudential Center in Newark.[3] The tournament took place from Monday, November 22 to Tuesday, November 23, 2021.[5] Texas and UCLA were originally set to play, but were replaced by Georgia and Providence.[6] [7]
2020
The field for the tournament for the year 2020 initially included four teams instead of the usual eight due to COVID-19 concerns.[8] BYU replaced Notre Dame after they pulled out of the field.[9] Then later Vanderbilt withdrew from the tournament as well and the format for the competition was changed to a showcase format.[10] The location of the tournament was also relocated to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.[11] The participants in the 2020 group included:
All games in the 2020 Tournament are televised on either ESPN or ESPN2.[12] Due to Notre Dame and Vanderbilt not participating in the tournament, the format was changed to a showcase format with the following results.[13]
!Date!Time (EST)!Winner!Opponent!Score!Television!Top Performer/Player of the GameDecember 1, 2020 | 2:30 pm | USC | BYU | 79–53 | ESPN2 | Evan Mobley (USC), 17 points, 11 rebounds |
December 2, 2020 | 5:00 pm | BYU | St. John's | 74–68 | ESPN2 | Alex Barcello (BYU), 20 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds |
December 3, 2020 | 7:00 pm | UConn | USC | 61–58 | ESPN | Evan Mobley (USC), 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks |
December 3, 2020 | 9:30 pm | Florida | Boston College | 90–70 | ESPN | Keyontae Johnson (Florida), 24 points, 12 rebounds | |
MVP: Evan Mobley (USC)
All-Tournament Team: Julian Champagnie (St. John's), Alex Barcello (BYU), James Bouknight (UConn) and Keyontae Johnson (Florida).
2019 participants and bracket
[14]
Championship Round
2018 participants and bracket
Championship Round
Sub Regionals
2017 participants and bracket
Sub Regionals
2016 participants and bracket
2015 participants and bracket
2014 participants and bracket
2013 participants and bracket
[15]
2012 participants and bracket
[16]
2011 participants and bracket
[17]
2010 participants and bracket
[18]
2009 participants and bracket
[19]
2008 participants and bracket
[20]
2007 participants and bracket
[21]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Legends Classic – Legends Classic . Gazellegroup.com . 2019-10-15 . 2019-11-28.
- Web site: Legends Classic Event Information .
- Web site: Sources also indicate to Stadium that a similar move is likely with the Legends Classic, which was set to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.. twitter.com. Twitter. Jeff. Goodman. May 22, 2021. May 22, 2021.
- Web site: 2022-23 Men’s College Basketball Early Season Tournaments and Exempt Multi-Team Events (MTEs). April 22, 2022. SB Nation. April 25, 2022.
- Web site: 2021-22 Men’s College Basketball Exempt Multi-Team Events. April 19, 2021. SB Nation. April 20, 2021.
- Web site: Georgia expected to replace Texas in the Legends Classic this season, source told Stadium.. twitter.com. Twitter. Jeff. Goodman. May 19, 2021. May 20, 2021.
- Web site: Sources: UCLA and Gonzaga again discussing Final Four rematch, Providence to replace Bruins in Legends Classic. collegehoopstoday.com. College Hoops Today. Jon. Rothstein. May 26, 2021. May 27, 2021.
- Web site: Judd. Brandon. 2020-10-14. BYU basketball joins UConn, USC and Vanderbilt in Legends Classic field. 2020-11-15. Deseret News. en.
- Web site: Amore. Dom. UConn men sign on to play in reconfigured Legends Classic at Mohegan Sun. 2020-11-14. courant.com.
- Web site: Stephenson. Tom. 2020-11-29. REPORT: Vanderbilt withdraws from Legends Classic. 2020-12-04. Anchor Of Gold. en.
- Web site: Herald. Darnell Dickson Daily. BYU men's hoops tabbed as one of four teams in Legends Classic. 2020-11-15. Daily Herald. en.
- Web site: 2015-08-30. Schedule. 2020-11-15. Legends Classic. en-US.
- Web site: 2015-08-30. Schedule. 2020-12-04. Legends Classic. en-US.
- Web site: 2019–20 College Basketball Early Season Tournaments, Events, And Neutral-Site Games. Chris. Dobbertean. October 24, 2018. Blogging the Bracket.
- Web site: 2013 Legends Classic Bracket. gazellegroup. 11 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131105224525/http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/legends/legends13_bracket.pdf. 5 November 2013. dead.
- Web site: 2012 Legends Classic Bracket. gazellegroup. 10 October 2012.
- Web site: 2011 Legends Classic Bracket. gazellegroup. 10 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120305024206/http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/legends/legends11_bracket.pdf. 5 March 2012. dead.
- Web site: 2010 Legends Classic Bracket. gazellegroup. 10 October 2012.
- Web site: 2009 Legends Classic Bracket. gazellegroup. 10 October 2012.
- Web site: 2008 Legends Classic Bracket. gazellegroup. 10 October 2012.
- Web site: 2007 Legends Classic Bracket. gazellegroup. 10 October 2012.