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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga to open Phil Knight Legacy against Portland State, could face Purdue in semifinal

Veterans Memorial Coliseum is seen before the start of the first round of the PK-80 basketball tournament on Thursday, November 23, 2017, in Portland, Oregon. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

Gonzaga fans can start to tailor their Thanksgiving week plans around this year’s PK85 Tournament, set to take place Nov. 24-27 at three separate venues in Portland.

On Monday, Rip City Management released a bracket for the Phil Knight Legacy, which features Gonzaga, Duke, Florida, Oregon State, Portland State, Purdue, West Virginia and Xavier. The Phil Knight Invitational includes North Carolina, Portland, Villanova, Iowa State, UConn, Oregon, Michigan State and Alabama.

Gonzaga will open the Portland-based tournament on Nov. 24 at 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) against Portland State at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It’ll be the first matchup between the teams since the Vikings edged the Bulldogs 77-70 at McCarthey Athletic Center in 2009.

A win against Portland State would move Gonzaga into a Nov. 25 semifinal against either Purdue or West Virginia. The game would tip off at 9:30 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2) at the Moda Center. The Gonzaga-Portland State loser plays the loser of Purdue-West Virginia in a 7 p.m. consolation game at the Moda Center (ESPN 2 or ESPNU).

The Phil Knight Legacy championship game will take place at 12:30 p.m. (ABC) on Nov. 27 at the Moda Center followed by a 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) third-place game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Times and television networks for fifth- and seventh-place games have yet to be announced, but both will be held at the Chiles Center.

Portland State won 10 of its final 14 games to finish the 2021-22 season with a 14-17 record and 10-10 mark against Big Sky Conference opponents. The Bulldogs are 18-7 all-time against the Vikings and won 10 straight games before the seven-point loss in 2009.

Gonzaga has played Purdue just twice in its history and the teams haven’t met since 2000, when the Bulldogs lost 75-66 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers went 29-8 last season, entering the postseason as a No. 3 seed before being upset by NCAA tourney Cinderella Saint Peter’s. Despite losing guard Jaden Ivy, the fifth overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Purdue, which brings back All-American candidate center Zach Edey, is widely considered to be a Top 25 contender in 2022-23.

The Bulldogs and Mountaineers could meet for the third time in seven seasons. Gonzaga last played West Virginia on Dec. 2, 2020, in Indianapolis as part of the Jimmy V classic, when the Bulldogs overcame a 39-34 halftime deficit to win 87-82. The teams also played in a memorable Sweet 16 showdown at the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Jordan Mathews hit the game-winning 3-pointer to secure a 61-58 victory. WVU went 16-17 last season and finished 10th in the Big-12 standings.