2023 ESPN Events Invitational Bracket | Tickets
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team will open the 2023 ESPN Events Invitational against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving on ESPN, as ESPN Events announced the opening matchups and bracket for the three-game tournament that runs Nov. 23-26 at State Farm Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports near Orlando, Fla.
The Nittany Lions and Aggies will open tournament action at noon on ESPN on Thursday, Nov. 23 in a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament first round game in which Penn State defeated Texas A&M 76-59 in Des Moines. The Nittany Lions will then play either Butler or Florida Atlantic on Friday, Nov. 24, at either 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. on either ESPN2 or ESPN+. Penn State then faces a team on the other side of the bracket in Boise State, Iowa State, VCU or Virginia Tech on Sunday, Nov. 26. The full bracket is available HERE.
Texas A&M is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the Aggies earn a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018. The Aggies finished the season 25-10 overall and 15-3 in SEC play in addition to advancing to the SEC Tournament Championship game. Penn State and Texas A&M have met five times, with the Nittany Lions earning their first win in the series in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Penn State's Friday matchup features either Butler or Florida Atlantic. The Bulldogs finished the 2022-23 season at 14-18 while Florida Atlantic went 35-4 and made a Cinderella run to the Final Four. The Nittany Lions and Butler last met in the 2022 Gavitt Tipoff Games with Penn State earning a 68-62 home win. Penn State and FAU have never met.
Penn State's Sunday opponent will come from the other side of the eight-team bracket that features Boise State, Iowa State, VCU and Virginia Tech. Boise State, Iowa State and VCU were all NCAA Tournament teams a season ago.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2023 ESPN Events Invitational, with more ticket information available HERE. The loaded eight-team tournament field features six teams that made NCAA Tournament appearances a season ago. Owned and operated by ESPN Events, the ESPN Events Invitational is in its 17th year.
The Nittany Lions enter their first season under Peter and Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades in 2023-24. Rhoades came to Penn State following a six-year stint as the head coach at VCU in which he guided the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a 129-60 overall record and 72-32 Atlantic 10 Conference record. In 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Rhoades, a Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania native, has produced a 373-189 record, a winning percentage of .664, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and nine national postseason appearances. Penn State is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the Nittany Lions finish 23-14 overall and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
