Gotham Classic Website
 
The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team will play four games this November – including a home game against Belmont -- as part of the Gotham Classic, it was announced on Monday (July 22).
 
Besides EWU and Belmont, other teams include Saint Louis, Boston College and High Point. The Eagles appeared in the 2015 Gotham Classic, and in recent years have participated in several other events hosted by the Gazelle Group.
 
Eastern's four games in the tournament are highlighted by a home game versus Belmont on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. Located in Nashville, Tenn., the Bruins finished 27-6 a year ago and received an at-large bid as a No. 11 seed to the NCAA Tournament. Belmont beat Temple 81-70 in the "First Four" and then fell to Maryland 79-77 in the first round.
 
As part of the Gotham Classic, EWU will also play at Saint Louis on Nov. 13, Boston College on Nov. 20 and High Point on Nov. 23 in games that will take the Eagles to Missouri, Massachusetts and North Carolina.
 
Eastern's complete 2019-20 schedule is nearing a completion, with the 2019-20 Big Sky Conference schedule already released by the league office (https://bigskyconf.com/news/2019/2/7/big-sky-conference-releases-2019-20-mens-basketball-schedule.aspx?path=mbball).
 
 

More on the Gotham Classic . . .   

 
Highlighting the Gotham Classic will be a Nov. 27 matchup between Boston College and Saint Louis in Chestnut Hill, Mass. That game will mark just the fourth time that the Eagles and Billikens will meet, and the first time since a 62-51 Saint Louis win on Nov. 24, 2011 in Anaheim, Calif. The Billikens lead the series, 2-1. In the 2018 Gotham Classic, Notre Dame defeated Duquesne, 67-56, in the Showcase Game.
 
-SCHEDULE-
Nov. 13 – High Point at Boston College
Nov. 13 – Eastern Washington at Saint Louis
Nov. 16 – Belmont at Boston College
Nov. 18 – High Point at Belmont
Nov. 20 – Eastern Washington at Boston College
Nov. 20 – High Point at Saint Louis
Nov. 23 – Belmont at Saint Louis
Nov. 23 – Eastern Washington at High Point
Nov. 26 – Belmont at Eastern Washington
Nov. 27 – Saint Louis at Boston College
 
Boston College (Head Coach: Jim Christian, Atlantic Coast Conference) – Jim Christian welcomes back nine players from last season's rotation that earned three wins over eventual NCAA Tournament invitees (Florida State, Louisville, Minnesota)…leading the pack is forward Nik Popovic, who is the Eagles' leading returning scorer at 14.5 ppg…he also hauled down 7.2 rebounds a game…Popovic is one of two returning players in the ACC to rank in the top 20 in scoring and rebounding and top 10 in field goal percentage…guard Wynston Tabbs was an integral part of the BC lineup prior to suffering a season-ending injury…prior to injury, Tabbs was the only freshman nationally to average 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game…BC went 10-5 when Tabbs played and 4-11 without him in the lineup…junior Steffon Mitchell ranked among the ACC leaders in rebounds for the second straight season, pulling down 7.9 rebounds per game – good for fifth in the conference.
 
Saint Louis (Head Coach: Travis Ford, Atlantic 10 Conference) – In three years, Travis Ford has rebuilt the Billikens program…in his first season, SLU won 12 games and followed that with a 17-win campaign…last season, the Billikens won 23 games, including four in four days to capture the Atlantic 10 tournament title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament…the 23 wins were the most since the 2013-14 season…third-team All-Atlantic 10 selection forward Hasahn French posted averages of 9.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a game to go along with 66 blocked shots…6-3 guard Jordan Goodwin averaged 10.5 points and an impressive 7.5 rebounds a year ago…he also had 123 assists and 66 steals.
 
Belmont (Head Coach: Casey Alexander, Ohio Valley Conference) – Casey Alexander takes over the helm of his alma mater after the retirement of Rick Byrd, who won 805 games and led his team to a 27-6 record and an at-large bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament…Alexander comes to Belmont with an impressive resume of his own, most recently leading Lipscomb to the most wins in school history (29) in reaching the finals of the 2019 NIT…10 players and three starters return this season for the Bruins, led by center Nick Muszynski, who registered 14.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and a team-best 70 blocked shots last year en route to freshman All-America honors…guard Grayson Murphy netted 9.6 ppg and dished out 214 assists a year ago.
 
Eastern Washington (Head Coach: Shantay Legans, Big Sky Conference) – Eastern Washington won 13 of its final 19 games in reaching the championship game of the Big Sky tournament last season…this year, three starters are back as Shantay Legans enters his third season at the helm of the Eags' program…leading the way are EWU's top two scorers from a year ago – second-team All-Big Sky selection forward Mason Peatling, who amassed 15.5 ppg to go along with a 7.5 rpg average, and third-team honoree Jacob Davison, who tallied 15.2 ppg a season ago…point guard Tyler Kidd averaged 9.9 ppg and handed out 96 assists last season…the Eags previously played in the 2015 Gotham Classic.
 
High Point (Head Coach: Tubby Smith, Big South Conference) – Tubby Smith is in his second season at his alma mater, leading the Panthers to a 16-15 record a year ago…in 28 seasons as a head coach, Smith has led his teams to 613 wins and 20 postseason appearances, including 18 NCAA Tournament trips, and the 1998 National Championship (Kentucky)…this year he welcomes his first full recruiting class, which features a pair of first-team All-North Carolina honorees in guard John Michael Wright, a McDonald's All-America nominee, and guard Bryant Randleman…guard Curtis Holland III is the Panther's leading returning scorer at 7.6 ppg.
 
About the Gotham Classic
First played in 2012, the Gotham Classic features five teams from across the country in one of the most competitive events of its kind. In eight short years, the tournament has attracted the likes of Syracuse, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Louisville, Memphis, Davidson, Pittsburgh, NC State, and West Virginia, among a host of other prominent programs.
 
About the Gazelle Group
The Gotham Classic is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, the Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper, the Sunshine Slam, and the College Basketball Invitational. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.
 
About the Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is the sponsoring conference of the Gotham Classic. Entering its 39th season, the NEC is a NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 11 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. For more information on the NEC, visit the official website at www.northeastconference.org or follow on Twitter @NECsports.