Spartans Set to Host Tampa Classic

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's basketball team to be back in action on Thursday as it will host the Tampa Classic, welcoming three teams for the two-day event.

In addition to Tampa, fellow Sunshine State Conference opponent Eckerd College will be joined by Winston Salem State University and Brock University (Canada). Three of the teams own winning records, with Winston Salem State bringing a perfect 7-0 showing. Brock is 6-2 while Eckerd is 5-3. The Spartans are 2-7.

Ashton Graham leads Tampa with 10.7 points per game, as the senior guard is the lone Spartan averaging double figures. Graham is also the team's top rebounder, at 5.0 per game. Freshman Jon Riles is the lone Spartan to start all nine games and leads UT with 19 assists.

Following is a complete schedule of the 2011 Tampa Classic. UT will offer live stats for all games through tampaspartans.com. Fans may then find the live stats under the Multimedia tab. Tampa will also offer a video webcast for both UT games, which may be accessed through tampaspartans.tv.

All games will be played at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the campus of UT. Tickets may be purchased at the gate for $5 (adults) and $3 (students and senior citizens). UT students and faculty/staff are admitted free with a valid campus ID.

Thursday, December 29, 2011
Eckerd vs. Winston Salem State, 3 p.m.
Tampa vs. Brock, 5 p.m.

Friday, December 30, 2011
Eckerd vs. Brock, 12:30 p.m.
Tampa vs. Winston Salem State, 2:30 p.m.

Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/utathletics). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.