GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS — Game
matchups for the fourth annual Cayman Islands Classic were announced by
CaymaxSports LTD. Wednesday.
Eight teams will compete Nov. 23-25 in the tournament which has been relocated to Northwest Florida State College in
Niceville, Fla.
La
Salle will face Ole Miss in the opening game at 11 a.m. Central Time followed by Oregon State meeting Kansas State at 1:30 p.m.
In the first game of the evening session at 5 p.m. Nevada plays Northern Iowa. Western Kentucky and Miami will conclude opening-day action in the final
matchup of the day starting at 7:30 p.m.
For more tournament information, including tickets, visit www.
caymanislandsclassic.com
Semifinal round games are slated for 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. the following day, Tuesday, Nov. 24.
Teams in the consolation bracket will play their second game Nov. 24 with tip offs at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The seventh-place game will open the final day of competition on Wednesday, Nov. 25 starting at 11 a.m., followed by the fifth-place game (1:30 p.m.), third-place game (5 p.m.) and title game (7:30 p.m.) to crown the fourth Cayman Islands Classic champion.
The Cayman Islands Classic is sponsored by the Mountain West Conference.
Combined, this year’s participating teams have made 44 NCAA Tournament appearances since the turn of the century. Kansas State, Ole Miss and Nevada advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Miami’s fortunes will be led by the return of senior all-Atlantic Coast Conference guard Chris
Lykes (15.4
PPG) alongside a talented recruiting class headlined by unanimous top 40 recruit Earl Timberlake.
Northern Iowa is the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular season champ welcoming back a bevy of talent, including leading scorer
AJ Green (19.7
PPG), a junior guard who was named the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.
Western Kentucky returns the bulk of its starting lineup from what was a 20-win team in 2019-20, including senior guard
Taveion Hollingsworth (16.6
PPG) and junior center Charles
Bassey (15.3
PPG, 9.2
RPG).
After posting 19 wins this past season Nevada is expected to contend for the Mountain West Conference sparked by the return of senior guard
Jalen Harris who led the league in scoring with a 21.6 average while being named the league’s newcomer of the year.
Under the guidance of nine-time conference coach of the year Kermit Davis, Ole Miss is seeking its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last three years bolstered by the arrival of highly touted transfers led by
Romello White, coupled with returning senior starting guard
Devontae Shuler.
With the arrival of four-star point guard
Nijel Pack, Weber is looking to lead Kansas State to its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance during his nine-year tenure there.
Senior guard David
Beatty, La Salle’s leading scorer, will be key to the team’s fortunes this season.