Duke, UNC learn opponents for massive PK80 tournament

Duke will face Portland State while reigning NCAA champion North Carolina plays Portland when they start play at the PK80 – Phil Knight Invitational basketball tournament in Portland, Oregon, Thanksgiving weekend.

The 16-team tournament’s brackets were announced on Wednesday by ESPN, which will broadcast the event. The tournament, organized to celebrate Nike founder Phil Knight’s 80th birthday, features three of last season’s Final Four teams – UNC, Oregon and Gonzaga.

Games will be played Nov. 23-24 and Nov. 26 at the Moda Center, which is the home of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland’s Rose Quarter.

Duke and Portland State are an eight-team bracket that also includes Florida, Stanford, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Butler and Texas. Duke will play either Butler or Texas in its second game on Nov. 24.

The bracket featuring UNC and Portland also includes Connecticut, Oregon, Georgetown, Michigan State, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Tar Heels will play either Arkansas or Oklahoma in their second tournament game on Nov. 24.

The event is set up such that teams from the same conferences are in separate brackets. Two bracket winners will be determined, but won’t meet, which prevents conference foes like Duke and UNC from playing against each other in the tournament.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Duke, UNC learn opponents for massive PK80 tournament."