NICEVILLE, FLA. — Tickets for the sixth annual Emerald Coast Classic college basketball tournament, presented by Global Sports, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Central time this Monday (Aug. 26).
The Emerald Coast Classic will be played Thanksgiving weekend Nov. 29-30 at The Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College. Fans can purchase tickets, which start at $20, at the official tournament website, www.emeraldcoastclassic.com.
The eight-team tournament is headlined by Florida State, Purdue, Tennessee and VCU which all participated in the NCAA Tournament.
The semifinal round games on Nov. 29 will feature Florida State playing Tennessee at 6 p.m. Central Time, followed by VCU facing Purdue at 8:30 p.m. Central Time.
The championship game on Nov. 30 will tip off at 6 p.m. Central Time at The Arena at Northwest Florida State College with the third place game set for 3 p.m.
Alabama State, Chattanooga, Chicago State and Jacksonville State round out the list of teams competing in the tournament.
Purdue, which advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, was ranked No. 8 in the final 2018-19 USA Today/Coaches Poll after posting a 26-10 record. The Boilermakers won the Big Ten Conference regular-season championship and closed out the season winning won 17 of their last 21 games.
Florida State was ranked No. 10 in the final 2018-19 Associated Press poll, posting a school record 29-8 mark winning 16 of its last 19 games. The Seminoles advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season, reaching the Sweet Sixteen.
Tennessee earned a school-record tying 31 wins last season, while enjoying a school-record 19-game winning streak. For the first time in program history Tennessee spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 and the Vols spent four weeks ranked No. 1 in the 2018-19 Associated Press Top 25 rankings. Vols head coach Rick Barnes was named the 2018-19 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club as well as the National Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association of America.
VCU captured the 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference regular season title en route to a 25-8 record with Mike Rhoades being named the A-10 Coach of the Year.
