PHILADELPHIA– Tickets will go on sale Nov. 1 for the Philly Hoop Group Classic, a basketball tournament held at the historic Palestra and features No. 11 University of Pittsburgh.
The 5th annual Thanksgiving Weekend event will also feature James Madison University, LaSalle University, University of Pennsylvania, Rider University & Robert Morris University.
The Philly Hoop Group Classic’s Final Round games will be played at the Palestra on Friday, November 25th & Saturday November 26th. The event’s preliminary games will be played at participating schools from November 13th through the 23rd.
Hoop Group, which organizes instructional camps, clinics, high school events and college events created the annual tournament.
“We are once again excited to welcome some of the East’s top programs to the Palestra for Thanksgiving Weekend,” said Rob Kennedy, president of Hoop Group. “Our first four years have featured nationally ranked teams, memorable games and outstanding play. This year promises more of the same, highlighted by Pitt taking on Penn on Nov. 25th.”
This year’s field is led by perennial power Pittsburgh, who is coming off a 28-6 season, the Big East regular season championship and a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers are led by All-American guard Ashton Gibbs, who was recently selected to the Wooden Award watch list.
James Madison and Rider are both coming off 20 win seasons, which produced postseason appearances, while Robert Morris lost a heartbreaker in overtime in the NEC Championship game last year.
Meanwhile the two Philadelphia teams, Penn and LaSalle, both enter the season with high expectations. Penn, led by two-time first team All-Ivy selection Zack Rosen, will look to capture the Ivy League title and LaSalle will look to make a run in the Atlantic 10 with a revamped roster led by native son, Earl Pettis.
The Palestra opened in 1927 and is commonly referred to as the Cathedral of College Basketball. The Philly landmark was also the subject of the ESPN produced documentary “The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball” in 2007.
Tickets are on sale Monday, November 1st and can be purchased online at UPenn’s Box Office. https://www.pennathletics.com//
The Box Office is located at 235 S. 33rd Street, Weightman Hall, Philadelphia, and can be reached by calling (215) 898-6151.
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