![]() The most likely TV windows on ESPN or its affiliates are Friday evening and Sunday afternoon, with Saturday off for college football. The matchups are expected to be announced soon. Washington is the only team in the Vegas field that didn’t play in the tournament, going 16-16 but returning a promising group of youngsters. Saint Mary’s went 27-8, tied Gonzaga for the WCC title and lost in the second round to eventual champion Connecticut. Xavier went 27-10 last season in the return of coach Sean Miller, finished second in the Big East and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Texas. The replacements, Xavier and Saint Mary’s, represent an upgrade, both having reached the NCAA Tournament last season and both considered preseason top 25 teams in 2023-24, along with the Aztecs. ![]() The original field reportedly included Pitt and Minnesota, but both are playing in different events. We knew it was going to be a challenge for some.” None of this was taken lightly on our end. It’s going to cost me a little more but it’s going to be great.’ But then you have your fans who look at it, and it’s a little harder decision. “You’ll have your hard-core fans who see the positive in it and say, ‘I’ve got a heck of weekend with F1. It’s a calculated gamble on our part to see how it goes. Or we ride it out for a year and see what happens. ![]() “We could move and lose really good TV with ESPN and get maybe not as good windows. “There were no good answers, no matter which way we went with it,” said Jon Albaugh, senior director of bdG Sports, the promotions company that organizes this event and several others. The 2023 event set its dates two years ago, before F1 settled on the week before Thanksgiving and opted for a rare Saturday night race in a sport almost exclusively contested on Sundays. UCLA, Baylor, Illinois and Virginia played last November and drew respectable crowds. The last time the Aztecs played in the Las Vegas Invitational, it was held at the Orleans Arena, but BD Global Sports moved it to T-Mobile Arena two years ago with attractive ESPN television slots. The Las Vegas event has been part of SDSU’s four-year rotational of MTEs with the Maui Invitational, Diamond Head Classic and Wooden Legacy (which historically has been in Orange County but this year is moving to Las Vegas). ![]()
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