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College Basketball: Hawkeyes to return to Emerald Coast Classic

IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa, California, Clemson, and TCU headline the field for the 2022 Emerald Coast Classic, presented by Global Sports.

The tournament will be held Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 25-26, at Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. As part of the tournament, each of the four teams will also play two preliminary home contests prior to traveling to Florida. Game matchups will be announced later this summer.

Iowa and TCU, who competed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, will both be making their second appearance in the Emerald Coast Classic. The Horned Frogs won the 2017 Emerald Coast Classic title, beating St. Bonaventure in the championship. The Hawkeyes played in the 2016 Emerald Coast Classic.

Iowa captured the 2022 Big Ten Tournament championship, tied for fourth in the conference regular season standings and won 26 overall games, the second most wins in a single season in program history.

Fran McCaffery has coached Iowa to 20-plus wins eight of the last 10 seasons, including four straight years. The Hawkeyes have competed in the last three NCAA Tournaments and have been ranked in the final Associated Press Poll each of the last three years: No. 16 in 2020, No. 8 in 2021 and No. 25 in 2022.

“We’re excited that we continue to attract teams from the premier basketball conferences in the country,” said tournament director Maury Hanks, chief executive officer of Global Sports. “We strive to bring the best college basketball teams possible to the Emerald Coast of Florida.”

TCU finished 21-13 last season, its fourth 20-win season in six years under head coach Jamie Dixon with a program-record five wins over AP Top 25 teams. The Horned Frogs’ second NCAA Tournament invitation under Dixon was their fourth postseason appearance in the five completed seasons, the best in program history.

Clemson won five of its last six games to close out the 2021-22 campaign. Brad Brownell is the winningest coach in Clemson history, earning 218 victories in 12 years while guiding the Tigers to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, 2018 Sweet 16, 2011 NCAA Tournament, and three NIT appearances.

Cal posted a 12-20 overall record in head coach Mark Fox’s third year as head coach. Fox’s teams have averaged nearly 19 wins each year in his 17-year coaching career. In previous stops at Nevada and Georgia, Fox has guided teams to five appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Cal boasts 28 postseason appearances, including 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Global Sports has produced 49 multi-team college basketball tournaments since 2007 with two more slated for the 2022-23 season.

For more tournament information visit emeraldcoastclassic.com.

Iowa is 6-4 all-time against California, last playing against the Bears in 1997. The Hawkeyes are 2-1 against both Clemson and TCU. Iowa last faced the Tigers in 2011 and the Horned Frogs in 2017.

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