No. 8 Creighton looks to become first three-time winner of KC’s Hall of Fame Classic

Blair Kerkhoff
·2 min read

Thanksgiving week is college basketball tournament time, with major events happening in Hawaii, the Bahamas, Las Vegas ... and Kansas City.

The 23th Hall of Fame Classic at T-Mobile Center has altered its traditional Monday/Tuesday schedule and will be played Wednesday and Thursday this year. Also, the games are in the afternoon instead of the evening, with start times at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. both days.

In Wednesday’s semifinals, Boston College takes on Colorado State. Some 20 minutes later, eighth-ranked Creighton plays Loyola, Ill.

The third-place and championship games will be played Thursday.

Here’s a closer look at the teams participating in this year’s event:

  • Boston College (4-0) was picked to finish 12th in the preseason ACC poll. Seven-footer Quinten Post averages a double-double at 19.5 points and 10.1 rebounds. He also steps outside, where he’s made eight of 16 3-pointers. Post started his career at Mississippi State. This is his third season at Boston College.

  • Colorado State (4-0) is coming off a 84-61 victory over the KC Roos. Four players average in double figures, led by guards Isaiah Stevens and Joel Scott. Freshman guard Kyan Evans, who played at Staley High, was the 2023 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year.

  • Creighton (4-0) was picked to finish second in the preseason Big East poll. The Blue Jays reached last season’s Elite Eight and return center Ryan Kalkbrenner and guards Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman. Creighton has won its four games by an average of 30 points and is bidding to become the first three-time winner of the Hall of Fame Classic.

  • Loyola, Illinois (2-2) got a double-double from Dame Adelekun (22 points, 11 rebounds), a 6-8 transfer from Dartmouth, in a 73-70 victory over New Orleans on Saturday. The Ramblers were picked to finish eighth in the 15-team Atlantic-10.

For tickets, visit: https://www.t-mobilecenter.com/events/detail/hall-of-fame-classic-6

Hall of Fame Classic champions:

2001 Missouri, 2002 Creighton, 2003 South Carolina, 2004 Creighton, 2005 Texas, 2006 Marquette, 2007 UCLA, 2008 Syracuse, 2009 Texas, 2010 Duke, 2011 Missouri, 2012 Kansas, 2013 Wichita State, 2014 Maryland, 2015 North Carolina, 2016 Kansas, 2017 Baylor, 2018 Texas Tech, 2019 Butler, 2020 TCU, 2021 Arkansas, 2022 San Francisco.