Phil Knight Invitational to feature a pair of SEC teams in non-conference tournament

Non-conference college basketball tournaments are beginning to emerge, and the Phil Knight Invitational features a slew of storied programs, including 2 from the SEC.

Alabama will play Michigan State, and Florida will meet Xavier in the first round of the “PK85″ Phil Knight Invitational, which will be held Nov. 24-25 and 27 in Portland, Oregon, according to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. This year, the tournament is bigger than ever and there will be 2 separate men’s brackets – the Phil Knight Invitational and the Phil Knight Legacy – with a 4-team women’s bracket. Florida and Xavier met last season in the NIT when the Musketeers knocked off the Gators, 72-56.

There is some history between the Crimson Tide and Spartans, starting with Alabama coach Nate Oats, who volunteered as a high school coach at Izzo’s basketball camps. The connection between Izzo and Alabama football coach Nick Saban helped Oats land the Alabama job in 2019, AL.com noted. Alabama and Michigan State last met in men’s basketball during a Hawaii tournament in December 1998, a 75-58 win for Spartans coach Tom Izzo in his fourth season.

Sources: The bracket for the Phil Knight Invitational version of the PK85 is set.

North Carolina/Portland
Villanova/Iowa State
UConn/Oregon
Michigan State/Alabama

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 25, 2022

Sources: The bracket for the Phil Knight Legacy version of the PK85 is set.

Duke/Oregon State
Xavier/Florida
Purdue/West Virginia
Gonzaga/Portland State

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 25, 2022

Alabama this season in non-conference action will also play Gonzaga in a neutral-site game in Birmingham’s Legacy Arena on Dec. 17, host Memphis in Coleman Coliseum and play at Houston and South Alabama. It also will play at Oklahoma in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge in January.

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.