Tickets will go on sale Monday, March 14 at 10:00am for the 27th annual Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire (@empireclassicbb), which will take place November 21-22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Iconic New York programs Syracuse and St. John’s will be joined in the Borough of Kings by Temple and Richmond to form a most formidable field.
These four programs rank among the winningest in college basketball history. Entering this week, Temple ranks fifth all-time with 1,962 wins, with Syracuse right behind with 1,955. St. John’s is ranked ninth all-time with 1,903 wins. Richmond has posted 1,447 wins.
“After a year in Las Vegas, we are delighted to bring the Empire Classic back to New York City at Barclays Center,” says Gazelle Group president Rick Giles. “This event has been a staple of the New York college basketball scene for over 25 years and it is good to be back home.”
Tickets may be purchased beginning Monday morning at 10am ET through SeatGeek.com.
The schedule for the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire will be announced at a later date.
Syracuse (Head Coach: Jim Boeheim, Atlantic Coast Conference)
2005 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jim Boeheim has led his alma mater to 42 postseason appearances, including 35 trips to the NCAA Tournament, in his 46 years as head coach…the Orange have gone to five Final Fours in that span, winning the 2003 National Championship…he also ranks second all-time in career wins…junior guard Joseph Girard III is scoring 13.8 ppg and leads the Orange with 138 assists and 53 steals…he is among the ACC leaders in 3-point shooting at 39.27%… junior center Jesse Edwards averages 12.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg while his 67 blocks are second in the league (2.8 bpg)…the Orange will be making their seventh Empire Classic appearance, having won the 2004 and 2009 classics…their 16 wins are the most in Empire Classic history.
St. John’s (Head Coach: Mike Anderson, Big East Conference)
Mike Anderson, who has 419 career wins and has never experienced a losing season in his previous 19 seasons as a coach, is in his third season at St. John’s…this year he has two of the premier players in the Big East in junior swingman Julian Champagnie and sophomore guard Posh Alexander…Champagnie, a first-team All-Big East selection, is second in the league in scoring at 19.2 ppg to go along with his 6.6 rpg average…he also has 61 steals and 35 blocked shots…Alexander, a second-team all-league pick, is netting 13.8 ppg and is second in the league with 5.5 apg and atop the league with 2.3 spg…sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu posts 8.5 ppg and 3.9 rpg…the Red Storm will be making their fifth Empire Classic appearance and first since 2011.
Temple(Head Coach: Aaron McKie, American Athletic Conference)
Aaron McKie, one of the greatest players in Temple basketball history, is in his third season as the Owls’ head coach…McKie played under Hall of Fame head coach John Chaney and coached for five seasons under Chaney’s successor, Fran Dunphy, before replacing Dunphy upon his retirement…McKie also played 13 seasons in the NBA, including eight with his hometown 76ers…McKie has a young and talented team, led by sophomore guard Khalif Battle who averaged 21.4 ppg before his season ended after seven games when he suffered a fractured foot on December 1…backcourt mate redshirt freshman Damian Dunn tallies 15.2 ppg…freshman guard Jeremiah Williams scores 9.5 ppg and leads Temple with 95 assists…freshman forward Nick Jourdain is second in the American with a 1.75 blocks per game average while his 5.4 rpg average is second among the Owls…Temple will be making its fourth Empire Classic appearance, having played in 1996, 1998 and 2001.
Richmond(Head Coach: Chris Mooney, Atlantic 10 Conference)
Chris Mooney is the winningest coach in Richmond history, having won 308 games in 17 seasons and leading the Spiders 10 eight postseasons, including the 2011 Sweet 16, and nine seasons of 19+ wins, including this year’s 20-12 mark… junior forward Tyler Burton, a second-team All-A-10 choice, leads Richmond in scoring at 16.4 ppg and rebounding at 7.5 rpg…senior guard Andre Gustavson has started 15 games and averages 4.6 points and his 25 steals are third on the team…senior forward Matt Grace averages 3.9 ppg and 2.4 rpg coming off the bench…Richmond last played in the Empire Classic in 2007.
The 2021 Empire Classic matched the top two teams in the country for just the 43rd ever and it was No.1 Gonzaga leading from start to finish to take an 83-63 decision over No. 2 UCLA at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
About the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire
First played in 1995, the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire is acclaimed as college basketball’s premier early-season tournament. Featuring teams from across the nation, the Empire Classic annually attracts the top programs in the sport. Four teams from the most prestigious conferences will head to downtown Brooklyn and the home of the Brooklyn Nets – Barclays Center.
About Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project (@wwp) is the beneficiary of the Empire Classic. With the mission to honor and empower Wounded Warriors, WWP is the hand extended to encourage warriors as they adjust to their new normal and achieve new triumphs. Offering a variety of programs and services, WWP is equipped to serve warriors with every type of injury – from the physical to the invisible wounds of war.
About the Gazelle Group
The Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire 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. In addition to the Empire Classic, Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized college basketball events, such as the Legends Classic, the Gotham Classic, the Sunshine Slam, and the College Basketball Invitational, as well as the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off hockey tournament. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit www.gazellegroup.com.
About the Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is the sponsoring conference of the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project. Now in its 41st season, the NEC is a NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 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.
About BSE Global
BSE Global is the parent company of Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets, its NBA G League team the Long Island Nets, and its NBA 2K League affiliate NetsGC. BSE Global also provides shared services to the New York Liberty, the WNBA sister team of the Brooklyn Nets. Through programming, marketing, sales, and operations, BSE Global delivers dynamic content and experiences for fans and audiences.