Mizzou Opens 2008 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Against Xavier
8/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 6, 2008
Columbia, Mo. -
2008 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Bracket 
The bracket for the 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off was released on Wednesday and Mizzou will open play in San Juan, P.R. against two-time defending Atlantic-10 Champion and 2008 NCAA Elite Eight participant Xavier on Nov. 20 at 11:30 a.m. (CT).
The tournament, presented in conjunction with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, will feature 12 games at the state-of-the-art Coliseo de Puerto Rico, in the cosmopolitan Hato Rey district of San Juan.
The 11:30 a.m. (CT) contest between the Tigers and Musketeers will be televised nationally on ESPNU and will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two storied programs. Missouri leads the series 2-1, with the last meeting (a 72-60 MU win) coming on Nov. 24, 2001, at the John R. Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis, Ind.
Missouri and Xavier are matched-up in the bracket with Virginia Tech and Fairfield. Tennessee-Chattanooga and Memphis square off in Game Three, while Southern California and Seton Hall meet in Game Four.
The Puerto Rico Tip-Off features a pair of opening round games as well, but those contests will not affect the bracket in San Juan. Missouri will face UT-Chattanooga on Monday Nov. 17 in Columbia, while Memphis will meet up with Fairfield in Memphis, Tenn. NCAA rules allow for teams to add a fourth game as part of the exempt tournament and both Missouri and Memphis are taking advantage of the rule.
"It's certainly a great field, one we are excited to be a part of," Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "We always look at the non-conference portion of our schedule as a way to help prepare us for league play and this tournament will certainly help do that."
The winners of Game One (Virginia Tech-Fairfield) and Game Two (Missouri-Xavier) will meet on Nov. 21 at 9:30 a.m. (CT) and the losers will square off at 11:30 a.m. Each of those contests will be televised nationally on ESPNU as well.
In a unique tournament twist, the eight participating teams have a built-in off day on Nov. 22, before concluding the tournament on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Although basketball practice officially gets started across the country on Oct. 17, the 2008-09 Tigers will get an early jump as they begin preparing for a three-game Labor Day weekend tour of Canada. The Mizzou veterans begin practice on Aug. 23 and newcomers are allowed to join workouts on Aug. 25, the first day of the 2008 Fall Semester. The team will then depart for Canada on Aug. 29 and will play three games from Aug. 30-Sept. 1.
For more information on the University of Missouri Basketball program, please visit our website at mutigers.com.
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