Field Is Set For The 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic
10/23/2008 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Princeton, N.J. -- The field for the 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic has been set. Along with playing the defending National Champion Kansas Jayhawks, the UMKC men's basketball team will face three teams - Bradley, Richmond and Florida Gulf Coast - at the Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla., on Nov. 24-26.
The Kangaroos will open play in the state of Florida on Nov. 24 against Bradley. The Braves finished the 2007-08 season with a 21-17 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. BU closed out the year with a runner-up finish at the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.
A day later, UMKC will face-off against Richmond in a game that will pit Kangaroo head coach Matt Brown and assistant coach Martin Unger against one of their former teams. As an assistant under John Beilein, Brown was a member of the Spiders' coaching staff from 1997-2002, while Unger coached at the school from 1997-2001. This season, Richmond returns four starters from a team that finished with a 16-15 overall record, which included a 9-7 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Kangaroos will round out play in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic on Nov. 26 against host Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles, who compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference, finished the 2007-08 season with a 10-21 overall record.
The O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic is being played under a different format in 2008. The four regional hosts - Kansas, Syracuse, Washington and Florida - will advance to the Championship Rounds in Kansas City on Nov. 24-25, regardless of the regional results. The other participating teams will advance to a series of games at one of the two subregional sites in Fort Myers, Fla., and Miami, Fla.
UMKC will open the regular season on Nov. 14 against North Dakota. The game will be played at the Swinney Recreation Center on the UMKC campus beginning at 8:05 p.m.
