UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team will open the 2021 Emerald Coast Classic with a first-round home game against St. Francis Brooklyn before heading to Niceville, Fla. to face LSU in a semifinal round game and either Oregon State or Wake Forest in the championship round, as game matchups for the November tournament were announced by Global Sports Tuesday.
First-round games will be hosted on campus sites Nov. 18-20 before the tournament field heads to Niceville, Fla. for second round and championship round matchups on Nov. 26-27. The Thanksgiving weekend tournament will be played at Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College. Penn State will be making its first trip to the Sunshine State since facing Florida in Gainesville during the Nittany Lions' 2009 NIT Championship run.
Penn State will host St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 18 inside the Bryce Jordan Center in first-round action. The Nittany Lions are 2-0 all-time against the Terriers, with the most recent meeting coming in 2003.
The Nittany Lions open action in Florida on Nov. 26 when Penn State faces LSU at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. In the only previous contest between the Nittany Lions and the Tigers, Penn State topped LSU 78-70 in the East Regional Semifinals en route to the Nittany Lions' 1954 NCAA Final Four appearance.
The winner of the PSU/LSU matchup will advance to take on the winner of the Oregon State/Wake Forest game on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, with the third-place game set for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT. Wake Forest and Penn State met most recently in the B1G/ACC Challenge with the Nittany Lions taking a 76-54 win in December 2019 for a 2-1 series edge. A neutral site game at the 1966 Kentucky Invitational was the last, and only time, Penn State and Oregon State faced each other, a double-overtime 64-61 win for the Beavers.
A full list of tournament matchups and more information on the Emerald Coast Classic can be found HERE.
Global Sports has produced 46 multi-team college basketball tournaments since 2007 with four more slated for the 2021-22 season.
Emerald Coast Classic History
2019 — Florida State, champion; Purdue, runner-up
2018 — Cincinnati, champion; Ole Miss, runner-up
2017 — TCU, champion; St. Bonaventure, runner-up
2016 — Virginia, champion; Providence, runner-up
2015 — Iowa State, champion; Illinois, runner-up
2014 — Ole Miss, champion; Cincinnati, runner-up
FOLLOW PENN STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Keep up to date with the latest information from the Nittany Lions by following Coach Shrewsberry on Twitter at @Coach_Shrews. Penn State men's basketball is on Twitter and Instagram at @PennStateMBB and on Facebook at @pennstatebasketball.
Fans are able to sign up for the interest list for tickets for the 2021-22 men's basketball season by clicking here.
