Hogs oppose Sooners in Phil Knight tourney

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas faces Oklahoma for starters and possibly North Carolina in the second round of the 2017 Phil Knight Invitational basketball tournament.

Held over Thanksgiving week in Portland, Ore., the tournament honors Nike’s co-founder and chairman.

Arkansas and Oklahoma meet in the early session Thursday, Nov. 23, the Razorbacks leading the series 15-12 and with an 81-78 victory in Walton Arena in the most recent matchup (2012-13 season). Arkansas is 4-0 all-time against Oklahoma in neutral-site games.

North Carolina and Portland also square off in the early session, leaving a potential second-round showdown between Arkansas and UNC. The Tar Heels beat the Razorbacks 72-65 in an NCAA second-round game in March in Greenville, S.C. North Carolina went on to its third NCAA title under coach Roy Williams and sixth in school history.

Also in the “Victory” bracket are Connecticut, Georgetown, Michigan State and Oregon. The “Motion” bracket features Butler, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Portland State, Stanford and Texas.

Games will run simultaneously from the Rose Quarter’s Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum with the crowning of two bracket champions. All 24 conquests will air on ESPN networks.

Single-season tickets, which include seats for two games, go on sale at noon Friday, June 9 at locations including ticketmaster.com, calling 800-745-3000 or going online at pkinvitational.com/ tickets. Fans can join the presale for single-session seats by going online at http://pkinvitational.com/event-info/.