Caymax Sports Ltd.,
organisers of the Cayman Islands Classic Basketball Tournament, have
announced that defending Big 12 Conference champion Kansas State,
along with Ole Miss and Nevada, will headline the field for the
fourth annual event which takes place 23 to 25 November 2020 at the
John Gray Gym.

La Salle, Miami,
Northern Iowa, Oregon State and Western Kentucky complete the 8-team
line-up for the tournament. Kansas State, Ole Miss and Nevada all
competed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament while Northern Iowa and Western
Kentucky were co-league leaders in the Missouri Valley Conference and
Conference USA, respectively, entering this week.

Kansas State
is the defending Big 12 Conference regular season champion with the
Wildcats appearing in the NCAA Tournament five times during Bruce
Weber’s eight-year tenure as head coach, including advancing to the
Elite Eight in 2018. Kansas State won 25 games for the second
straight season last year, posting a 25-9 mark while being ranked No.
18 in the final Associated Press poll.

“We are looking
forward to playing in the Cayman Islands Classic,” said head coach
Bruce Weber, whose team posted an impressive 84-68 win past then No.
12 ranked West Virginia last Saturday. “We always want to challenge
our team in the preseason with quality competition and each of these
seven schools have tremendous programmes with great coaches. This
will be great experience for our team in 2020-21.”

Ole Miss
is coming off the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since
2015 after first-year coach Kermit Davis guided the Rebels to a 20-13
campaign last year, including a 10-8 record in the Southeastern
Conference.

Nevada
is seeking its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
First -year head coach Steve Alford has led the Wolf Pack to an 11-8
record entering a Wednesday (22 Jan.) Mountain West Conference game
against rival UNLV.

Ashley Howard is in
his second year as head coach at La
Salle,
which competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Explorers will
bring a 10-7 record into a Wednesday (22 Jan.) league game at
Richmond.

Jim Larranaga is in
his ninth season as head coach at Miami,
having led the Hurricanes to six post-season appearances in his
previous eight years including berths in the NCAA Tournament in 2013,
2016, 2017 and 2018.

Larranaga was
honoured as the Associated Press as well as Naismith Award College
Coach of the Year in 2013 after guiding the Hurricanes to the
Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and conference tournament
titles en route to a school-record 29-7 mark as well as the NCAA
Sweet Sixteen.

Northern Iowa
brought a 16-2 record, including a first-place mark of 5-1 in the
Missouri Valley Conference into a Wednesday (22 Jan.) game at
Southern Illinois. Among the Panthers’ victories this season was a
76-70 upset over then No. 20 ranked Colorado Dec. 10. The Panthers
are seeking their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament under head coach
Ben Jacobson.

Oregon State,
which earlier claimed an impressive 82-65 home win against then No.
24 Arizona, stands 12-6 entering a Thursday (23 Jan.) home game with
UCLA. Wayne Tinkle has guided the Beavers to a 2016 appearance in the
NCAA Tournament during his six-year tenure as head coach.

Western Kentucky,
under fourth-year coach Rick Stansbury, is seeking its third straight
20-plus victory campaign. The Hilltoppers posted a 27-11 record in
2017-18 advancing to the NIT Final Four. Western Kentucky stood 12-6,
including a 5-1 first-place mark in Conference USA before a Wednesday
(22 Jan.) game with Marshall.

Participating
coaches are excited about playing in one of the top early season
basketball tournaments during the 2020-21 campaign.

“Coaches that have
been to the Cayman Islands for this tournament have said nothing
besides how first class this event is,” said Ole Miss coach Kermit
Davis.

“We are looking
forward to taking our team to the Cayman Islands Classic,” Miami
coach Jim Larranaga said. “It will be a great opportunity for our
players to see a wonderful country and bond as a group, as well as
compete against some excellent competition early in the season.”

“Western Kentucky
is excited to be a part of the 2020 Cayman Islands Classic,” said
Hilltoppers coach Rick Stansbury. “This is a great field that will
provide us with quality opportunities and help prepare us for
conference play. It’s also a wonderful destination that will be a
memorable experience for our players and fans.”

Cayman Islands
Classic History

2019 — George
Mason, champion; New Mexico State, runner-up

2018 — Creighton,
champion; Clemson, runner-up

2017 — Cincinnati,
champion; Wyoming, runner-up

For more information
about the Cayman Islands Classic visit www.caymanislandsclassic.com
or email Coach Voot O’Garro at victor@caymanislandsclassic.com.

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