(November 24, 2008) Throngs of college basketball fans will be treated to the best college basketball preseason competition in the country at the Old Spice Classic starting Thursday at Disney�s Wide World of Sports Complex

The tournament, rated by Sports Illustrated magazine as the nation�s No. 1 preseason college basketball tournament, is loaded with current and traditional college basketball powerhouses such as Georgetown, Michigan State, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Siena and Wichita State. Four teams are ranked in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches� Poll (Michigan State, Gonzaga, Tennessee and Georgetown) and five teams made the NCAA Tournament last season (Michigan State, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Siena and Georgetown). 

The tournament (Thursday, Friday and Sunday) involves 12 games in three days and will be televised live on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.  In the first round, Tennessee takes on Siena at noon ET; Wichita State faces Georgetown at 2 p.m.; Maryland goes against Michigan State at 7 p.m.; and Oklahoma State squares off with Gonzaga at 9 p.m.  Friday�s action begins at 10:30 a.m. with the last game tipping off at 8 p.m.  Sunday will be the final day of the tournament starting at 10:30 a.m. with the Championship game scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The inaugural Old Spice Classic was played in 2006 with Arkansas defeating West Virginia in the championship game at The Milk House.  In 2007, North Carolina State edged Villanova for the Old Spice Classic Championship. 

Tickets are still available for the tournament.  Fans can purchase tickets to all six sessions (12 games) for $90 each, or single-session tickets (two games) for $15 each.  Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com, by calling Ticketmaster at (407) 839-3900 or at the sports complex box office.  Please visit www.oldspiceclassic.com for more information.

The Old Spice Classic is one of many basketball events Disney�s Wide World of Sports hosts each year including the Men�s and Women�s Division 2 Tip-off Classic,  AAU Championships, Small Fry Basketball and many others.  For more information on this event as well as others hosted at Disney�s Wide World of Sports visit disneysports.com.

-- Posted November 25, 2008