FSU basketball gets ESPN invite to play at Disney
By Chuck Walsh
Seminoles.com
Florida State will play in one of the most competitive early college basketball tournaments of the 2022 season as the Seminoles return to the ESPN Events Invitational. The tournament is scheduled for the HP Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on Nov. 24-27.
The Seminoles are joined in the event by Memphis, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Seton Hall, Siena, and Stanford in the eight-team event.
Florida State will play the event for the third time, after defeating Marquette to win the championship in 2009 and falling to Villanova in the championship game in 2018.
Dayton defeated Belmont to win the championship of the ESPN Events Invitational in 2021.
“This is a great event for our program to be invited to play in at Disney,” said head coach Leonard Hamilton. “It’s a great field every year, and this season is certainly no exception. The games are always competitive because the quality of the teams we will play against is so great.
“The challenge for our team will be getting prepared to play three high-level opponents early in the season. This tournament also gives us a wonderful opportunity to play at a venue in the state of Florida that many of our fans will be excited to watch us play during the Thanksgiving holiday.”
The 2022 ESPN Events Invitational marks the 15th anniversary of the Thanksgiving weekend event. Previously known as the Old Spice Classic, AdvoCare Invitational, and Orlando Invitational, the event will feature 12 games over three days during Thanksgiving week, with each team competing in one game per day while advancing through a bracket-tournament format.
The complete bracket, including Florida State’s first round opponent, will be announced later this summer.
The Seminoles have won the championship in three of their last four early season tournaments – the Jamaica Classic (2018), the Emerald Coast Classic (2020) and the Jacksonville Classic (2022).
Florida State returns both of its leading scorers from its’ 2021-22 season, with guards Caleb Mills (12.7 ppg, 30 3 FGM) and Matthew Cleveland (11.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg. Cleveland was named the ACC Sixth Man of the Year in 2022 – the fourth consecutive Seminole to win the award.
