June 18, 2015
LAS VEGAS - Penn State is among eight teams in the 2015 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic to be held December 22 and 23 at the Orleans Arena, tournament organizers announced Thursday. The 2015 field also includes: Colorado, SMU, Kent State, Canisius, Louisiana Monroe, Nicholls State and Hampton.
Penn State will play four games in the Classic - the first two in University Park and the final two rounds in Vegas before the holidays. Tickets for the final rounds in Las Vegas beginning at noon Friday, June 19 by phone (1-888-234-2334) or via the internet at orleansarena.com. Home games will be included in the season-ticket package with single-game availability slated for early fall.
The Nittany Lions return three starters from the 2014-15 squad, which made a run to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals before finishing with 18 wins and the most non-conference victories in program history. The highest-rated recruiting class in PSU history also comes on board in 2015-16, joining seven returning letterwinners led by starters Brandon Taylor, Jordan Dickerson and Shep Garner. Garner and was the second-leading scorer down the stretch this season, while Taylor, Dickerson and Donovon Jack all moved into the Top 10 in career blocks while upping the team's defensive presence.
Past champions of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic include Kansas State (2008), Alabama (2009), New Mexico (2010), Baylor (2011), Colorado State (2012), UNLV (2013) and Loyola (Ill.) (2014).
FOX Sports 1 will televise the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic third-place and championship games on Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 9 and 11:30 p.m. ET.