COACHES vs. CANCER CLASSIC

"We are excited about participating in what has become one of the premier college basketball tournaments in the country. Not only does this event raise money, but it also gives us, as coaches, a platform to help find a cure."

--Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski

Click on the camera above to view pictures from past Coaches vs. Cancer Classics.

2004 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

Date:	November 18th and 19th, 2004
Place:	Madison Square Garden

The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic has been expanded to 16 teams this season (four regional winners will advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden). Last year's event used a two-doubleheader format that featured eight schools at Madison Square Garden on consecutive nights.

This year's format has four teams hosting a four-team regional. Three regional games will take place during November 11-12, while the Memphis regional will be held November 11th and 13th. The semifinals are in New York on November 18th, with the championship game to be held on the following night (Nov. 19).

Regional games were held in the following cities:

Syracuse, New York: Syracuse vs. Northern Colorado and Princeton vs. Bucknell
Berkeley, California: California vs. UC Riverside and St. Mary's vs. Belmont
Birmingham, Alabama: Mississippi State vs. Fairfield and Alabama A&M vs. Birmingham-Southern
Memphis, Tennesse: Memphis vs. Savannah State and George Mason vs. IPFW

2004 Coaches vs. Cancer
SEMIFINALS	FINALS	RESULTS
Memphis 81	Memphis 62	Champions: Syracuse Consolation: Mississippi St.
Saint Mary's 66
Syracuse 71	Syracuse 77
Mississippi St. 58

Results from the 2004 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

Championship Game- November 19th, 2004: Syracuse 77, Memphis 62

Hakim Warrick scored 25 points and Gerry McNamara added 21 to lead Syracuse to a 77-62 victory over Memphis in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Warrick, a senior forward, and McNamara, a junior guard, led for Syracuse, whose 26-11 run over the final eight minutes sealed the victory. Both teammates were on the Orange’s national championship team two seasons ago and are two of five returning starters this year. Memphis’ Rodney Carney, coming off a career-high 33 points in the semifinals, had 20 points in the first half, but put up only five points in the second half. Memphis defeated Syracuse (70-63) in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic two years ago when each team played just one game. This year there were 16 teams in the field with the semifinalists advancing to play in New York.

Consolation Game- November 19th, 2004: Mississippi State 67, Saint Mary’s 54

The Mississippi State Bulldog’s defeated the Saint Mary’s Gaels by a score of 67-54 in the consolation game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. In the end of the first half, the Bulldog’s extended their lead with a 13-5 run, and then went on a 14-3 run at the start of the second half to build an insurmountable lead that would not be relinquished. Mississippi State forward Lawrence Roberts, an All-American last season who was playing in just his second game of this season, shot 6-of-18 scoring 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Saint Mary’s, which upset California in the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament, were impressive throughout the tournament surprising many with their fourth place finish.

Semifinal Games- November 18th, 2004

Syracuse 71, Mississippi State 58

Hakim Warrick scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half leading the Syracuse Orange to victory over Mississippi State (71-58) in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The score was tied at 25-25 at the end of the first half as both teams struggled offensively with the Orange shooting 29% and the Bulldog’s 27% from the floor. The Orange picked up their scoring at the start of the second half with a 12-0 run and shot 68% throughout the rest of the game. Shane Power had 18 points for Mississippi State, which shot 31.3 percent for the game (20-for-64). Syracuse is 3-0 all-time against Mississippi State with the last meeting in the NCAA semifinals in 1996.

Memphis 81, Saint Mary’s 66

The Memphis Tigers defeated the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the second semifinal game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Memphis’ Rodney Carney scored a career-high 33 points to lead the Tigers into the finals. The Tigers shot 50.8% from the field topping the Gaels who shot 35.8%. Saint Mary's, which beat California in the quarterfinals, was the lone mid-major in the field of 16 to reach the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. St. Mary’s’ Daniel Kickert scored 12 of their first 14 points in the opening four minutes, but Memphis stuck several defenders on him as Saint Mary's continued to run its spread offense. Kickert finished the half with 15 points. The Gaels pulled to 64-56 on five straight points from Kickert with 7:18 left to play. Kickert’s five-point run was answered by Memphis’s Carney and Jeremy Hunt who proceeded to hit consecutive 3-pointers to extend their lead to 14. Carney's previous career high was 26 points last season against South Carolina. He finished 13-for-20 from the field, including 3-for-3 on 3s, and had nine rebounds.

2004 All-Tournament Team:

Hakim Warrick (Syracuse) - MVP
Gerry McNamara (Syracuse)
Rodney Carney (Memphis)
Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State)
Daniel Kickert (Saint Mary's)

2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

Date:	November 13th and 14th, 2003
Place:	Madison Square Garden

In the first college-basketball game of the 2003-04 season, Wake Forest defeated John Calipari and the Memphis Tigers 85-76 at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York's Madison Square Garden. In the second game of the doubleheader, St. John's cold shooting (31.4 percent on FGs) allowed Marquette to escape with a 52-45 victory. On day two of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, No. 22 Pittsburgh topped Alabama 71-62. Pittsburgh coach, Jamie Dixon, got the win in his first game as head coach of the Panthers. During the second game, Jameer Nelson lead 17th ranked, Saint Joseph's University, to a 73-66 victory over No. 10 Gonzaga.

2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
November 13th - 7:00 pm - Madison Square Garden
	vs.			vs.
Memphis		Wake Forest	Marquette		St. John's
Wake Forrest (85-76)			Marquette (52-45)
November 14th - 7:00 pm - Madison Square Garden
	vs.			vs.
Pittsburgh		Alabama	Gonzaga		Saint Joseph's
Pitt (71-62)			SJU (73-66)

2002 AT&T WIRELESS Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

Date:	November 14th and 15th, 2002
Place:	Madison Square Garden

The 7th annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic will take place on November 14-15,2002 at Madison Square Garden. The event will feature eight elite collegiate teams. The format has been changed to two doubleheaders rather than an actual tournament. This event has raised over two million dollars for Coaches vs. Cancer since 1995. It is well known as the premier basketball event of the pre-season.

2002 AT&T WIRELESS Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
November 14th - 7:00 pm - Madison Square Garden
	vs.			vs.
Syracuse		Memphis	#3-Oklahoma		#8-Alabama
Memphis Wins (70-63)			Alabama Wins (68-62)
November 15th - 6:30 pm - Madison Square Garden
	vs.			vs.
Villanova (61)		#19-Marquette (73)	#5-Texas (77)		#16-Georgia (71)
Marquette Wins (73-61)			Texas Wins (77-71)

2001 Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic

Date:	November 8th and 9th, 2001
Place:	Madison Square Garden

Arizona (71) vs. Maryland (67)

Florida (72) vs. Temple (64)

Consolation Game:

Maryland (82) vs. Temple (74)

Championship Game:

Arizona (75) vs. Florida (71)

2001 IKON Classic Tournament MVP
The Tournament's MVP was Jason Gardner from Arizona
2001 IKON Classic All-Tournament Team
SCHOOL	PLAYER
Maryland	Juan Dixon
Temple	Lynn Greer
Arizona	Will Bynum
Florida	Brett Nelson

2000 Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic

	Date:	November 9th and 10th
	Place:	Madison Square Garden

Kansas (99) vs. UCLA (98)

St. John's (62) vs. Kentucky (61)

Consolation Game:

UCLA (97) vs. Kentucky (92) (OT)

Championship Game:

Kansas (82) vs. St. John's (74)

2000 IKON Classic Tournament MVPs
School	MVP
St. Johns	Omar Cook
UCLA	Earl Watson
Kansas	Drew Gooden
Kentucky	Keith Bogans
The Tournament's MVP was Kenny Gregory from Kansas