2023 ESPN Events Invitational: Full college basketball tournament schedule and results
Penn State men’s basketball will ramp up the level of difficulty in non-conference play by participating in this year’s ESPN Events Invitational in Florida. The Nittany Lions are one of eight programs participating in this year’s event over the Thanksgiving weekend, and they will help get things started in the first game with a rematch with Texas A&M on Thursday afternoon.
Penn State bounced the Aggies in the first round of last season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, but a lot has happened with Penn State’s program since that meeting. Penn State went through a coaching change and a good amount of roster turnover as well. The Aggies continued to build and will arrive in Florida with a top-15 ranking in the basketball polls. A bit of revenge will be on the mind for Texas A&M in the first game of this week’s ESPN Events Invitational.
Penn State could also match up with one of last season’s Final Four teams, FAU, or the former program coached by Mike Rhoades, VCU. This could make for a fun weekend for Penn State.
Penn State is making its second appearance in the ESPN Events Invitational, but the last trip did not go well. Penn State went 0-3 in the 2007 tournament with losses to South Carolina, Rider, and UCF. That year’s tournament was won by NC State with a one-point victory over Villanova. The last Big Ten team to win the tournament was Maryland in 2019. It is the only year a Big Ten school has won the tournament. The Big Ten has been represented in 13 of the 16 events.
Here is a full schedule of this year’s ESPN Events Invitational, with TV and stream information and approximate starting times for each game. This tracker will be updated with final scores, photos, and updated matchups as the tournament unfolds, so be sure to bookmark this post for future reference.
Game 1: Texas A&M 89, Penn State 77
Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
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Game 2: Florida Atlantic 91, Butler 86
Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Game 3: Iowa State 68, VCU 64
Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Game 4: Virginia Tech 82, Boise State 75
Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2 or ESPNU
Semi Final 1: Florida Atlantic 96, Texas A&M 89
Date: Friday, Nov. 24
Time: 11:00 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Consolation 1: Butler 88, Penn State 78
Date: Friday, Nov. 24
Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
Semi Final 2: Virginia Tech 71, Iowa State 62
Date: Friday, Nov. 24
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Consolation 2: Boise State 65, VCU 61
Date: Friday, Nov. 24
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
7th Place Game: Penn State vs. VCU
Date: Sunday, Nov. 26
Time: 10:30 a.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Championship: Florida Atlantic vs. Virginia Tech
Date: Sunday, Nov. 26
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
5th Place Game: Butler vs. Boise State
Date: Sunday, Nov. 26
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
3rd Place Game: Texas A&M vs. Iowa State
Date: Sunday, Nov. 26
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
