CofC basketball featured in 2023 Veterans Classic Field

ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Navy vs. Temple and College of Charleston vs. Duquesne are the pairings for the 10th edition of the Veterans Classic men’s basketball doubleheader, slated to be played Friday, Nov. 10 in Annapolis. CBS Sports Network will televise both games, as it has since the inception of the event. The Cougars and the Dukes will tip at 6 p.m. and the Mids and the Owls will follow at 8:30 p.m.

CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports, is widely available through all major cable, satellite and telco distributors as well as via OTT streaming service providers YouTube TV, fuboTV, DirecTV and Hulu. Additionally, a live CBS Sports Network stream is available through CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App by authenticating with select providers. For more information, including a full programming schedule, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

The Veterans Classic, held annually around Veterans Day, honors our nation’s veterans and showcases the U.S. Naval Academy. Each of the visiting teams immerse themselves in the inner workings of the U.S. Naval Academy through guided tours held on the day before the games.

Tickets for the doubleheader will be on sale starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 1, through the Navy Ticket Office at either 1-800-US4-NAVY or by clicking on the TICKETS tab in the masthead of NavySports.com and then selecting BASKETBALL. Reserved tickets for the doubleheader in the lower level of Alumni Hall are $40 and upper level general admission seats can be purchased for $25.

This will be the second all-time meeting between the College of Charleston and Duquesne. The Cougars defeated the Dukes, 69-66, Nov. 24, 2000, in a game played in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The College of Charleston compiled a 31-4 record during the 2022-23 season and shared the Colonial Athletic Association’s regular season title with a 16-2 record. The Cougars went on to win the CAA Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

The College of Charleston is the first CAA team to play in the Veterans Classic.

The Cougars have played one prior game in Annapolis and that was a 90-71 loss to the Mids on Nov. 16, 2015.

“The United States Naval Academy is one of the great institutions in the world,” said College of Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey. “We are honored to be guests and to experience first-hand what goes into producing some of our country’s great leaders. Coach DeChellis, in my opinion, is one of the best coaches in the country and what he has accomplished at Navy is very underrated. Playing Duquesne will be a great early season test for us. Coach Keith Dambrot prepares his team so well and we will have our hands full.

Duquense was one of the most improved teams in the country last season. The Dukes tied for third in the ranking –– with the College of Charleston –– as they went from posting a 6-24 record in 2021-22 to compiling a 20-13 mark in 2022-23. Duquesne tied for sixth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season this past year with a 10-8 record and ended the campaign by playing in the College Basketball Invitational.

This is the fifth season in a row and the sixth year overall in which an Atlantic 10 team is playing in the Veterans Classic.

Duquesne has not played a game on The Yard since it posted a 35-33 win over Navy on Jan. 23, 1926.

Winners of past Veterans Classic games include VCU, Michigan State, North Carolina, Florida, Marquette, Ohio State, Alabama, Maryland, Auburn, Virginia Tech and Houston, with Navy recording victories against Pittsburgh, East Carolina, George Washington and Princeton.

In the eight seasons in which a postseason tournament has been held in the same year as the Veterans Classic, 12 visiting teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament with an additional four teams competing in the NIT. This honor roll includes Michigan State, which reached the 2015 Final Four, and North Carolina, which advanced to the 2016 national championship game. The field for the 2022 Veterans Classic featured Houston and Princeton, both of which advanced to the Sweet 16 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

There have been 30 Veterans Classic players who have gone on to play in the NBA. An additional five former Veterans Classic players were on 2023 NBA Summer League rosters.

Past Veterans Classic Results

2014: No. 15 VCU 85, Tennessee 69; No. 18 Michigan State 64, Navy 59

2015: No. 1 North Carolina 91, Temple 67; Florida 59, Navy 41

2016: Marquette 95, Vanderbilt 71; Ohio State 78, Navy 68

2017: No. 25 Alabama 82, Memphis 70; Navy 71, Pittsburgh 62

2018: Wichita State 83, Providence 80; Maryland 78, Navy 57

2019: No. 24 / 23 Auburn 76, Davidson 66; Navy 62, East Carolina 57

2020: Navy 78, George Washington 71

2021: Utah State 85, Richmond 74; Virginia Tech 77, Navy 57

2022: No. 3 / 3 Houston 81, Saint Joseph’s 55; Navy 74, Princeton 73

Veterans Classic Visiting Team Conference Representation

American Athletic Conference (5): Temple (2015, 2023), Memphis (2017), Wichita State (2018), East Carolina (2019), Houston (2022)

Atlantic Coast Conference (3): North Carolina (2015), Pittsburgh (2017), Virginia Tech (2021)

Atlantic 10 Conference (6): VCU (2014), Davidson (2019), George Washington (2020), Richmond (2021), Saint Joseph’s (2022), Duquesne (2023)

Big East Conference (2): Marquette (2016), Providence (2018)

Big Ten Conference (3): Michigan State (2014), Ohio State (2016), Maryland (2018)

Colonial Athletic Association (1): College of Charleston (2023)

Ivy League (1): Princeton (2022)

Mountain West Conference (1): Utah State (2021)

Southeastern Conference (5): Tennessee (2014), Florida (2015), Vanderbilt (2016), Alabama (2017), Auburn (2019)

Future NBA Players to play in the Veterans Classic (30)

2014: Michigan State - Matt Costello, Branden Dawson, Bryn Forbes, Denzel Valentine; Tennessee - Josh Richardson, Tariq Owens; VCU - Treveon Graham.

2015: Florida - Chris Chiozza, Dorian Finney-Smith, Devin Robinson; North Carolina - Isaiah Hicks, Justin Jackson, Brice Johnson, Theo Pinson.

2016: Ohio State - Keita Bates-Diop, Micah Potter, Jae’Sean Tate; Vanderbilt - Luke Kornet; Marquette - Markus Howard, Sam Hauser.

2017: Alabama - Donta Hall, Herb Jones; Memphis - Jeremiah Martin.

2018: Providence - David Duke; Maryland - Bruno Fernando, Jalen Smith, Aaron Wiggins.

2019: Wichita State - Jaime Echenique; Auburn - Isaac Okoro.

2021: Richmond - Jacob Gilyard

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