By Paul Bartelt IPA Sports Editor
Anaheim, Ca. The Wooden Legacy, a collegiate basketball tournament held annually over the Thanksgiving weekend, is returning to the Anaheim Arena on November 28 and 29 , with the championship game being played on December 1st. As one of the highlights of the beginning of the college basketball season, the annual tournament was formed in 2013 and features eight collegiate teams. All games are televised live nationally on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
This years participating schools include Long Beach State, Providence, Wake Forest, College of Charleston, University of Central Florida, Penn, Arizona and Pepperdine. The opening round has Providence vs. Long Beach State at 11 am, Wake Forest vs. College of Charleston at 1:30 pm and UCF vs. Penn at 5:30 pm. Each team will play three games in the annual 12 game bracket tournament. The Wooden Legacy is named in honor of former UCLA Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden, who’s Bruins basketball teams won 10 national championships in 12 season, including seven consecutive championships. The Big West Conference is this years host conference. A key matchup this year features Arizonal facing Peperdine at 8 pm. in the final game of the opening round. All times listed are Pacific. Pepperdine is led by former Washington coach and Arizona assistant Lorenzo Romar. The Wooden legacy is one of six early-season college basketball tournaments owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN. Tickets for the Wooden Legacy are available at Primesport.