Baylor Headlines College Basketball Showcase in Dallas
9/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 27, 2011
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DALLAS - Four of the nation's premier college basketball programs will be on display when "The Showcase" returns to Dallas on Dec. 28 at American Airlines Center, home of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. The second annual event features Oklahoma State vs. SMU in the opening game of the nationally televised doubleheader followed by a showdown of two likely Top-25 teams as Baylor battles Mississippi State.
The second-annual doubleheader highlights top college basketball each season. Last year's event featured Texas A&M rallying to defeat Arkansas and Gonzaga knocking off Baylor.
"This year's Showcase highlights some of the nation's best teams and best talent - most of which is homegrown here in Texas," said Brooks Downing, Executive Vice President of Lagardère Unlimited. "The basketball fans of Dallas and the surrounding region will have the opportunity to see the country's top teams, premier players and the top new faces in college basketball."
Oklahoma State (20-14 last season) returns to Dallas for the first time since 2004 and will be led by hometown star, LeBryan Nash. The McDonald's All-American out of Lincoln High School was ranked as the No. 6 player nationally in the Class of 2011 and the freshman leads a Top-25 OSU recruiting class for the new season.
"We are very excited to be a part of the basketball doubleheader being played in the American Airlines Center this December," said Travis Ford, the Oklahoma State coach. "It will give our alumni base in the Dallas-Fort Worth area a great opportunity to watch our basketball team this season as the Metroplex has always been such a strong recruiting base for Oklahoma State. We are looking forward to taking Reger Dowell and Le'Bryan Nash - two Dallas area greats - back home and letting them play in front of their hometown crowd."
Excitement runs high for SMU as Coach Matt Doherty led the Mustangs to the program's first 20-win season in more than a decade in 2010-11 and the school's first post-season berth since 2000. This year's squad features six players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area led by 6-8 senior Robert Nyakundi, who averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season.
"We are honored to be Dallas' team in The Showcase," said Doherty. "We won 20 games last season and earned a post-season berth, plus we have six student-athletes on our roster from DFW. This is a great opportunity for our team and a great event for college basketball fans in Dallas."
Baylor, which has become a national powerhouse under theguidance of Coach Scott Drew, enters the 2011-12 season with the highest ofexpectations with four starters returning and a top-20 recruiting class. Perry Jones III enters the season as a pre-season All-American candidate and projected lottery selection in the 2012 NBA Draft. Prep stars Quincy Miller(No. 7 nationally) and Deuce Bello (No. 53) highlight the Bears' incoming freshmen.
"We are always excited to play in Dallas, especially in such an excellent venue like American Airlines Center," Drew said. "I know how much this game means to our players from the Metroplex and this game also provides a great opportunity for Baylor Nation to see us play in a great venue outside of the Ferrell Center."
Mississippi State will come to Dallas for only the second time in program history after playing in the 2002 NCAA Tournament at the AAC. The Bulldogs will be loaded with talent including returning stars Dee Bost (All-SEC Second Team in 2010-11) and Renardo Sidney and a highly touted crop of freshman led by prep All-American Rodney Hood. Coach Rick Stansbury has transformed MSU into a national power in his 13 years as head coach, which has included eight 20-win seasons over the past 10 years.
"I know our players are thrilled to play in an NBA arena, home of the world champion Mavs, but at the same time, we also understand that Baylor will be one of the more experienced teams in the country," said Stansbury. "They will be a top-10 team, if not top five. It will be a great challenge for our program, but one we are looking forward to."
The Oklahoma State-SMU game will tip at 5:30 p.m. CT followed by the Baylor-Mississippi State contest at 8:00 p.m. CT. ESPNU (available to 73 million households) will televise OSU-SMU and with Baylor-MSU being shown on ESPN2 (100 million households).
Each quadrant of the arena has been assigned to each fan base, much like an NCAA Tournament layout. Tickets are priced at $99 (lower sidelines), $59 (lower corners) and $29 (end zones). Public tickets are now on sale at the American Airlines Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Premium ticket packages and complete event info can be found at www.showcase-dallas.com. For group sales or sponsorship opportunities, interested parties should contact Lagardère Unlimited at 859.264.8020.
About Lagardère Unlimited
Lagardère is a pure media group led by Arnaud Lagardère and operates in more than 40 countries with $10 billion (USD) in annual sales from a structure with four distinct business lines, including Publishing, Active, and Sports. Lagardère Unlimited, which comprises the global sports division, represents more than 350 high-profile clients in the sports industry, clients that hail from 30 countries. In addition, LU boasts 20 global events as well as training academies located in Paris and Florida. Founded in Paris, the company has worldwide offices, including New York, London, Macau, Los Angeles and Miami in order to remain close to its event properties, athletes, artists, entertainers, and related professionals. Through its U.S. division, its European group (IEC) and its Asian division (World Sports Group), LU manages the world-wide rights and distribution of the U.S. Open in tennis, the French Open, the Boston Marathon, European Football Championships, the African Nations Cup, the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics. IEC alone manages the rights for more than 250 events in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, totaling 3,500 hours of sports programming annually, while the WSG specializes in Asian sporting events, programming more than 1,000 hours of content to 30 different countries.
