Texas, West Virginia highlight challenging women’s field for 2024 Gulf Coast Showcase

ESTERO, Fla. – Texas and West Virginia headline a challenging eight-team women’s basketball field set to battle in the Gulf Coast Showcase, Friday, Nov. 29 through Sunday, Dec. 1 at Hertz Arena.  

The complete field features Butler (15-17, 6-12 Big East in 2023-24), Boise State (21-14, 10-8 Mountain West), High Point (20-12, 14-2 Big South), Illinois State (22-12, 13-7 Missouri Valley), New Mexico State (13-18, 6-10 Conference USA), Santa Clara (25-9, 12-4 West Coast Conference), Texas (33-5, 14-4 Big 12) and West Virginia (25-8, 12-6 Big 12).  

Seven of the eight teams competing in the event advanced to postseason play a year ago, led by Texas (Gulf Coast Showcase champions in 2018), who reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and West Virginia, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

Boise State, Butler and Illinois State took part in the WNIT in 2023-24 while High Point and Santa Clara participated in the WBIT a year ago. Six of the eight teams in the field posted 20 or more wins last season. 

Gulf Coast Showcase action tips Friday, Nov. 29 with the following matchups: 

  • Boise State vs. Illinois State – 11 a.m. ET
  • West Virginia vs. High Point – 1:30 p.m.
  • Butler vs. Santa Clara – 5 p.m.
  • Texas vs. New Mexico State – 7:30 p.m.

Game times for Saturday and Sunday will be the same with semifinal games Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s championship game set to tip at 7:30 p.m.

All games will be streamed live on FloHoops.   

TICKET AND FAN TRAVEL INFORMATION

Fan travel information, including preferred hotel rates at the official tournament resort, and ticket information can be found at the official event website – www.gulfcoastshowcase.com.

Ball Dawgs Classic at Lee’s Family Forum headlined by Long Beach State men and three top-20 women’s teams

HENDERSON, NEV. – Long Beach State returns to the arena where it won the Big West men’s basketball championship in March while three Top-20 women’s teams battle when the Ball Dawgs Classic tips at Lee’s Family Forum in November. The event is managed by veteran Las Vegas promoter bdG Sports which has managed numerous college basketball events across the Las Vegas Valley, including the Big West Championships at the same arena.

The action tips with the women’s tournament on Monday, Nov. 25 at noon PT featuring three teams ranked in the top-15 of Talia Goodman’s post-spring Top-25 on On3.com. The women’s schedule is as follows:

Monday, Nov. 25

  • No. 10 Duke (22-12 record last season) vs. No. 14 Kansas State (26-8) – Noon PT
  • No. 12 Oklahoma (23-10) vs DePaul (12-20) – 30 minutes following

 Wednesday, Nov. 27

  • Consolation game – 11 a.m. PT
  • Championship game – 30 minutes following

The men’s event features round-robin play on Nov. 25-27 with two games each night. Long Beach State (21-15 record last year and Big West champions), UNCG (21-11), UTEP (18-16) and San Jose State (9-23) make up the field. The schedule follows:

Monday, Nov. 25

  • San Jose State vs UTEP – 5:30 p.m. PT
  • Long Beach State vs. UNCG – 30 minutes following

Tuesday, Nov. 26

  • UTEP vs Long Beach State – 5:30 p.m. PT
  • San Jose State vs. UNCG – 30 minutes following

Wednesday, Nov. 27

  • UNCG vs. UTEP – 4:30 p.m. PT
  • Long Beach State vs. San Jose State – 30 minutes following

bdG Sports has once again partnered with Ball Dawgs, a fast-rising sports content provider with more than 1.5 million followers on its social media platforms, to promote the games and showcase the action on the court.

Lee’s Family Forum opened in March 2022 as home to the Vegas Golden Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. A product of a public-private partnership between the City of Henderson and a group of investors led by Bill Foley, the 5,567-seat arena is operated by the Foley Entertainment Group. Lee’s Family Forum, also home to the Indoor Football League’s Vegas Knight Hawks, National Lacrosse League’s Las Vegas Desert Dogs, Pro Volleyball Federation’s Las Vegas Thrill, Big West Basketball Championships and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame, sits in the heart of Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas which has grown to become Nevada’s second largest city with more than 330,000 residents.

Tickets for the event will go on-sale on Friday, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m. PT at www.leesfamilyforum.com, www.axs.com and on the AXS app. Full event information can be found at www.balldawgsclassic.com and on social media at @VegasMainEvent on all social media channels as well as @BallDawgs on Instagram and @TheBallDawgs on Twitter.