Tide Plays Missouri State Saturday Night in Las Vegas
12/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS, NEV. ?? Round three play of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic finds the University of Alabama, 7-3, in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it will play Missouri State, 7-3, on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT in Orleans Arena.
"I think we're playing an excellent team," said Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried. "Missouri State has four seniors in their starting lineup. They won 22 games a year ago. They shoot the ball extremely well. They've got a big player in the middle who I like. He's a really good player on tape, so we know they are an excellent team."
Alabama hosted the first two round games in the four-game tournament, which played at campus sites for the eight teams in the opening rounds before moving to Las Vegas. Alabama defeated Wofford 80-73 in Tuscaloosa on Monday and Texas Pan-American 75-65 in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide flew to Las Vegas on Thursday morning and practice for a couple of hours Thursday afternoon at a local high school. Teams were allowed floor and an hour of practice time in Orleans Arena on Friday, so Alabama practiced again on Friday afternoon to prepare for the Bears in what will be a first meeting between the two schools in men's basketball.
The winner of the Alabama vs. Missouri State game plays the winner of the Iowa State vs. Purdue game on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. CT. The losers in those games play one another at 7 p.m. CT on Sunday.
None of the games in Las Vegas are televised, however fans can pay to watch the games on the internet by accessing the site www.lasvegasclassiconlinetv.com. Cost for viewing all of the tournament games online is $17.95. It is $7.95 per game.
Other games on Saturday include Wofford vs. Texas Southern at 2 p.m. CT; UT Pan-American vs. Bethune Cookman at 4:30 p.m. CT; Alabama vs. Missouri State at 7 p.m. CT; and Purdue vs. Iowa State at 9:30 p.m. CT.
