KU men’s basketball to face North Texas in opening round of ESPN Events Invitational on Nov. 25

By Matt Tait Jul 15, 2021

Associated Press

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji drives to the basket in front of Iowa State guard Jaden Walker, left, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, in Ames, Iowa. Kansas won 64-50. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The Kansas men’s basketball team will face North Texas in the opening round of the ESPN Events Invitational on Nov. 25 in Kissimmee, Fla., the network announced Thursday.

KU is one of eight teams playing in the Thanksgiving-week event, which will feature three games in four days.

The game time is set for either 1 or 1:30 p.m. that day and the winner will advance to the 12 p.m. semifinal on Nov. 26 against the winner of the Dayton-Miami (Fla.) first-round contest.

The championship game is set for Nov. 28 at a time yet to be announced.

The Mean Green won the Conference USA tournament title last season to earn an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. While there, they upset Purdue in the first round to deliver the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

UNT had not been in the NCAA Tournament since 2010.

The Mean Green then lost to Villanova in the second round in Indianapolis and finished the season at 18-10 overall.

North Texas, which is coached by fifth-year head coach Grant McCasland, will return roughly half of its roster from last season, including 2020-21 starters Thomas Bell and Mardrez McBride.

The matchup will mark the second-ever meeting between UNT and KU. The Jayhawks won the first meeting, 93-60, in Nov. of 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

On the other side of the bracket, an Alabama squad that is expected to enter the season in the top 10 of the national polls will face Iona and Belmont will take on Drake in the other opening-round contests.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.