Courtesy of GoGriffs.com
The Canisius men’s basketball team will meet defending national champion Villanova in its first game of the 13th annual AdvoCare Invitational, ESPN Events announced Wednesday. The AdvoCare Invitational is scheduled to be played Nov. 22, 23 and 25 at HP Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Canisius’ game against Villanova, which is set for Nov. 22 at 1:30 p.m., on either ESPN or ESPN2, will mark the first time since the 2003-04 season where the Golden Griffins played the defending national champion. In that season, Canisius played at Syracuse, and lost to the No. 17 ranked Orange, 87-70, in the Carrier Dome. The Thanksgiving night match-up will be the 30th all-time meeting between Griffs and the Wildcats, and the first since March 17, 1994, when the two programs played in the first round of the 1994 NIT in Philadelphia.
With the full tournament bracket announcement on Wednesday, Canisius learned it will play Memphis or Oklahoma State on Friday, Nov. 23 at either 11:30 a.m., or 1:30 p.m. The Blue and Gold will face College of Charleston, Florida State, LSU, or UAB to close out the tournament on Sunday, Nov. 25.
The bracket-format tournament features 12 games over three days. Teams will compete once a day, advancing with a victory. The two teams that remain undefeated will face off in the 13th annual AdvoCare Invitational championship game Sunday, Nov. 25.
Fans can purchase official travel and ticket packages for the 2018 AdvoCare Invitational through Anthony Travel, the Official Travel Partner for the AdvoCare Invitational. To learn more about Anthony Travel’s Official Travel Packages, visit www.anthonytravel.com/advocare-invitational.
The Griffs posted the ninth 20-win season in program history last year after the Blue and Gold went 21-12 overall to go with a 15-3 record in MAAC play. Those 15 league victories, a program record for conference wins in a season, earned Canisius a share of the MAAC regular-season crown, the program’s first since 1993-94.
Leave a Reply