As one of only 16 teams invited to the prestigious Phil Knight Invitational in Portland over Thanksgiving, Arkansas’ basketball team has a chance to make a statement early in the upcoming season.
The elite event, honoring Nike founder Phil Knight’s 80th birthday, will see Arkansas play Oklahoma on Thursday, Nov. 23 in one of two eight-team brackets in a tournament that runs through Sunday.
Teams playing in the event have won a combined 23 national championships, have made 89 Final Four appearances and earned 391 NCAA Tournament invites.
“Going into the Phil Knight Tournament obviously it’s like a Sweet Sixteen there,” Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson said. “You’ve got some great teams right off the bat. Three of the Final Four teams (North Carolina, Gonzaga and Oregon) are in that tournament. So we know no matter who we play it’s going to be a tremendous task but its a great opportunity.
“…You are going to find out a whole lot about your team - whether it be good or bad, you are going to find out early on. I think it is a tremendous opportunity for our team and a great challenge as well.”
Arkansas is coming off a 26-9 season that saw the Razorbacks lose to eventual national champion North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament round of 32 despite leading by five points with three minutes to go.
“This past week was the first time I had the chance to watch the North Carolina game,” Anderson said. “And of course they were the eventual national championship team. And this shows how close we are. We’ve got to take that experience that we had last year and be dialed in and ready to take it to the next level.”
A potential rematch with North Carolina awaits in round if the Razorback beat the Sooners and the Tar Heels down Portland in another opening-round match.
The Victory bracket features Arkansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Portland, Oklahoma, Oregon, Connecticut and DePaul.
The Motion bracket consists of Duke, Gonzaga, Florida, Texas, Butler, Ohio State, Stanford and Portland State.
“I just think to start off the season, it is just a one-of-a-kind tournament and I don’t know any tournament that will start off like that with two eight teams (brackets) at the same locale with two buildings right there by each other,” Anderson said.
The games will be played at Rose Quarter’s Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum and televised by ESPN.
“So it is going to be big and TV is all over it so I think it is a great way to start off the season and especially if you get some rhythm and some momentum early on,” Anderson said.
Other first-round match-ups in Arkansas’ Victory bracket include Michigan State vs. DePaul and Oregon vs. Connecticut.
The Motion bracket first-round contests feature Duke and Portland State, Butler vs. Texas, Florida taking on Stanford and Gonzaga meeting Ohio State.
“The beauty of it is that everybody will be playing neutral site,” Anderson said. “The only teams that will have home court advantage are Portland State, Portland and of course Oregon is right there.”
Arkansas does have three home games before the PK80 with Samford (Nov. 10), Bucknell (Nov. 12) and Fresno State (Nov. 17) all coming into Bud Walton Arena.
“I think that is a big key there and those are tough games, too,” Anderson said. “Hopefully it will get us prepared for what is going to take place.”
The event also includes a women’s doubleheader on Thanksgiving Day with Connecticut taking on Michigan State and Oregon battling Oklahoma.