Florida Gators’ bracket set for Phil Knight Invitational tournament in 2017-18

Basketball

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Details have finally been released for the Phil Knight Invitational, which will be held beginning Thursday, Nov. 23 in Portland, Oregon. The Florida Gators are one of 16 college basketball teams competing in the two eight-team brackets, each of which will crown a champion.

Florida play in the “Motion Bracket” along with Butler, Duke, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Portland State, Stanford and Texas. The Gators will open against the Cardinal on Thursday evening and move on to face either the Bulldogs or Buckeyes in second-round action the following day (the winners and losers of the respective games are matched up).

The victor in that game will take on one of the four teams to crown a bracket champion on Sunday. There will also be a winner in the loser’s half of the bracket, and every team will get to play three games.

The “Victory Bracket” includes Arkansas, UConn, Georgetown, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oregon and Portland, which will play in the same format. It was ensured that teams from the same conference did not share a bracket.

In case you’re wondering, “motion” refers to the Nike swoosh logo, while “victory” is in reference to Nike, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology.

All games will be played on Thursday, Nov. 23; Friday, Nov. 24; and Sunday, Nov. 26, presumably with Saturday reserved for the final week of the college football regular season.

PK80, the nickname for the event, is being held in honor of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who will be celebrating his 80th birthday. All games will be played at the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum.