July 18, 2008
The University of Iowa men’s basketball team will meet West Virginia in the third round of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational on Friday, November 28. Game time is 8:05 p.m. CT at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Kentucky and Kansas State will square off after the Iowa game in the other portion of the bracket. The Hawkeyes will meet one of those teams at either 6:30 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. CT Saturday evening. ESPN2 will televise Saturday’s championship game.
Iowa will host two preliminary round games in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, facing Oakland University Sunday, Nov. 23 and Southeast Missouri State Tuesday, Nov. 25. Start times and television information for the games in Iowa City have not yet been finalized.
“You couldn’t ask for better, higher quality opponents that what we will face in Las Vegas,” said Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter. “West Virginia was playing as well as anyone in the nation at the end of last season, as its run in the NCAA Tournament shows. Our guys can gain a lot of valuable experience against high quality programs in this event.”
West Virginia posted a 26-11 overall record a year ago, advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen before a 79-75 overtime loss to Xavier. West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins is in his second year with the Mountaineers. He previously coached at Kansas State and Cincinnati. He led the Bearcats to a win over Iowa in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Iowa and West Virginia have met just once, with the Hawkeyes taking a 79-76 win on Dec. 29, 1956 in the third round of the Dixie Classic in Chapel Hill, NC.
Kansas State posted a 21-12 record last season under Coach Frank Martin. The Wildcats lost to Wisconsin, 72-55, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after an opening win over Southern California. Kansas State holds a 4-3 series advantage over Iowa. The teams last met on Dec. 22, 2001, with the Hawkeyes winning 89-70 in Iowa City.
Kentucky and Iowa last met on Nov. 21, 2005, when the Hawkeyes scored a 67-63 win over the Wildcats in the semi-finals of the Guardians Classic in Kansas City. Kentucky holds a 5-3 series advantage over the Hawkeyes. Wildcat Coach Billy Gillispie, like WVU’s Huggins, KSU’s Martin and Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter, is entering his second season at Kentucky. The Wildcats posted an 18-13 record a year ago, falling to Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Las Vegas Invitational is in its eighth year, as North Carolina won last year’s event.
Just a few hundred tickets remain for sale to the general public for the final rounds. For ticket information, contact the Orleans Arena (702) 284-7777 or visit the website at www.orleansarena.com.
Following the Las Vegas Tournament, Iowa returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at Boston College. That game has a 6:05 p.m. CT start time and will be televised on ESPNU.
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