Photo by: Scobel Wiggins/Oregon State Athletics
Thompson Jr. To Participate In 3X3U National Championship
April 02, 2019 | Men's Basketball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Stephen Thompson Jr. has been selected to participate in the 2019 3X3U National Championship, scheduled for Friday through Sunday at Minnesota's Mall of America.
The tournament is comprised of all-star teams of seniors, who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility, representing all 32 Division I conferences. The teams will compete for a $150,000 prize pool, with the champions taking home $100,000, double the prize money from a year ago. Additionally, the winners will earn the right to compete in the 2019 USA Basketball 3x3 Open National Championship later this spring.
All games of the 3X3U National Championship will be carried live on Twitter or ESPN2. Pool play will begin at noon PT on Friday, with 24 games streamed live exclusively on Twitter. Pool play will continue on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. EPT with 24 more games streamed live exclusively on Twitter. Round of 16 and quarterfinal games will be streamed live exclusively on Twitter at 7:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, with semifinal, consolation and championship games televised live on ESPN2 later that day at noon PT. Returning to call all the action throughout the tournament will be the voice of FIBA 3x3 basketball, Kyle Montgomery, with Robbie Hummel of ESPN and Tate Frazier and Mark Titus of The Ringer's One Shining Podcast providing color commentary and sideline coverage.
Each team roster will be comprised of four eligible seniors from the same Division I conference. Teams will be organized into eight pools of four and each team will be guaranteed three pool play games, earning $1,000 for every victory on Friday and Saturday. The top two teams in each pool will move on to Sunday's knockout stage, where the stakes skyrocket. Only the teams competing in the tournament final will earn additional prize money, with the champions winning $100,000.
The setting for the second annual 3X3U National Championship will be unlike anything the 128 players have seen when they take to the half-court inside Mall of America, the most popular tourist destination in Minnesota with more than 40 million visitors each year. The 3X3U National Championship will be staged in the Rotunda at the Mall, which hosted the first WCW Monday Nitro in September 1995, and will be just the second live sporting event to be broadcast in the Mall's history.
Bragging rights for the winners won't end in Minnesota; the 2019 champion will earn the right to represent the 3X3U National Championship at the USA Basketball 3x3 Open National Championship later this spring. There, athletes will have the opportunity to be selected to represent the United States in the 2019 FIBA 3x3 World Cup, held June 18-23 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Participating athletes will also be considered for the USA Basketball 3x3 athlete pool, which may lead to future opportunities in other FIBA 3x3 competitions. Of note, the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will feature 3x3 basketball as a medal sport for the first time.
Admission to the 3X3U National Championship is free and fans are encouraged to be part of the atmosphere during regular Mall of America operating hours (10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. CT on April 5-6, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. CT on April 7).
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
The tournament is comprised of all-star teams of seniors, who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility, representing all 32 Division I conferences. The teams will compete for a $150,000 prize pool, with the champions taking home $100,000, double the prize money from a year ago. Additionally, the winners will earn the right to compete in the 2019 USA Basketball 3x3 Open National Championship later this spring.
All games of the 3X3U National Championship will be carried live on Twitter or ESPN2. Pool play will begin at noon PT on Friday, with 24 games streamed live exclusively on Twitter. Pool play will continue on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. EPT with 24 more games streamed live exclusively on Twitter. Round of 16 and quarterfinal games will be streamed live exclusively on Twitter at 7:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, with semifinal, consolation and championship games televised live on ESPN2 later that day at noon PT. Returning to call all the action throughout the tournament will be the voice of FIBA 3x3 basketball, Kyle Montgomery, with Robbie Hummel of ESPN and Tate Frazier and Mark Titus of The Ringer's One Shining Podcast providing color commentary and sideline coverage.
Each team roster will be comprised of four eligible seniors from the same Division I conference. Teams will be organized into eight pools of four and each team will be guaranteed three pool play games, earning $1,000 for every victory on Friday and Saturday. The top two teams in each pool will move on to Sunday's knockout stage, where the stakes skyrocket. Only the teams competing in the tournament final will earn additional prize money, with the champions winning $100,000.
The setting for the second annual 3X3U National Championship will be unlike anything the 128 players have seen when they take to the half-court inside Mall of America, the most popular tourist destination in Minnesota with more than 40 million visitors each year. The 3X3U National Championship will be staged in the Rotunda at the Mall, which hosted the first WCW Monday Nitro in September 1995, and will be just the second live sporting event to be broadcast in the Mall's history.
Bragging rights for the winners won't end in Minnesota; the 2019 champion will earn the right to represent the 3X3U National Championship at the USA Basketball 3x3 Open National Championship later this spring. There, athletes will have the opportunity to be selected to represent the United States in the 2019 FIBA 3x3 World Cup, held June 18-23 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Participating athletes will also be considered for the USA Basketball 3x3 athlete pool, which may lead to future opportunities in other FIBA 3x3 competitions. Of note, the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will feature 3x3 basketball as a medal sport for the first time.
Admission to the 3X3U National Championship is free and fans are encouraged to be part of the atmosphere during regular Mall of America operating hours (10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. CT on April 5-6, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. CT on April 7).
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
