What do college basketball fans do when the offseason has them feeling a bit down? Exactly, look ahead to all the tipoff action just a few short months away.
And that’s just what college basketball faithful can do now that ESPN has released the brackets for the PK80 Invitational — a 16-team tournament set to honor Nike co-founder and University of Oregon alumni Phil Knight.
RELATED: ESPN announces ‘PK80’ to honor Nike's Phil Knight | Full Brackets
Brackets have been revealed! Who does your team play? #PK80
— PK80 Invitational (@pkinvitational) May 31, 2017
INFO » https://t.co/xVw42vFt91 pic.twitter.com/8nduG7u8YV
There could also be a potential NCAA Tournament rematch between Arkansas and North Carolina if both teams move past their first round foe (Oklahoma and Portland, respectively). North Carolina bested Arkansas 72-65 in a second round bout in the 2017 South Regional.
As far as the Motion Bracket goes, Duke, Florida and National Runner-up Gonzaga headline a group that also includes Texas, Butler and Ohio State. First round matchups will see OSU against the Zags, Florida versus Stanford, and Butler squaring off against Texas. Some tasty pairing could ensue in the second round and beyond, so keep your fingers crossed college basketball faithful.
Our 8-team bracket at #PK80 is
— Razorback Basketball (@RazorbackMBB) May 31, 2017
• Arkansas
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Michigan St.
• Oregon
• Connecticut
• Georgetown
• Portland pic.twitter.com/lflN3xwkz8
*Georgetown has been replaced by DePaul
The three-day basketball melee will be held in Portland, Oregon, and will take place during Thanksgiving week (Nov. 23-26). Schools taking part in the event include: Arkansas, Butler, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Portland, Portland State, Stanford and Texas.
| VICTORY BRACKET | MOTION BRACKET |
| Arkansas | Duke |
| Oklahoma | Portland State |
| DePaul | Butler |
| Michigan State | Texas |
| UConn | Florida |
| Oregon | Stanford |
| North Carolina | Gonzaga |
| Portland | Ohio State |
The tournament format calls for two eight-team brackets where each team will play three games before two bracket champions are crowned. All games will be televised on ESPN’s family of networks.
With a field of 16 teams, the PK80 will be one of the largest regular-season tournaments in college basketball history, ESPN said. Games are set to be split between the Rose Quarter’s Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum
- The schools have combined for 23 National Championships, more than 85 Final Fours, more than 380 NCAA Championship appearances and more than 680 NCAA Championship wins
- Ten of the 16 schools have won a NCAA title
- Nine of the past 13 National Champions are in the field
- Thirteen of the 16 schools have made at least one Final Four appearance
- Ticket information and tournament bracket can be found HERE
