March 31, 2009

Tournament Information Packet in PDF Format

The University of Dayton men's basketball team, fresh off a 27-8 season and an NCAA first-round win, will play in the third annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off next November. ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today seven of the eight teams in the field for the 2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, to be held Nov. 19-22 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, in the cosmopolitan Hato Rey district of San Juan.

The field for the third annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off will include UAB, Dayton, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas State and 2009 Final Four participant Villanova. The eighth team will be announced at a later date.

"This is exactly the kind of scheduling opportunity we are always looking for," UD Vice-President and Director of Athletics Tim Wabler said. "Events like this, and the Chicago Invitational Challenge that we won last year, give us multiple games against quality opponents while increasing our exposure nationally."

Five of the seven teams announced reached the postseason this year. Villanova and Dayton played in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, with the Flyers advancing to the second round. The Wildcats, a No. 3 seed, will face No. 1 seed North Carolina in the Final Four on Saturday, April 4, in Detroit. UAB, George Mason and Kansas State played in the NIT.

"With the announcement of this year's field, we couldn't be more thrilled with the continued quality of this event," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Regional Television. "Coming off of last year's event that placed five teams in the NCAA Tournament and one in the NIT, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off is quickly being recognized as one the premier events in college basketball."

The 2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, a bracket-format tournament, will feature 12 games in three days, Nov. 19 -22. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 22. Games from Puerto Rico will be televised on the ESPN Family networks. Information regarding what ESPN platform (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, etc.) will be announced after pairings are finalized.

Last November, Xavier took home the 2008 Puerto Rico Tip-Off trophy. In 2007, the Miami Hurricanes won the inaugural O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Dayton's 27-8 record tied UD for the second-most wins in school history. The Flyers return all but one player from that team, including all four players who earned Atlantic 10 post season honors in 2008-09 - Chris Wright, Marcus Johnson, London Warren and Chris Johnson. Wright, who was also First Team NABC All-District, led UD in scoring (13.3) and rebounding (6.6), and set a school single-season record for dunks (54).

Ticket information will also be announced at a later date. Additional information can be found on the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off Web site at www.PuertoRicoTipoff.com.