2017 PK80 - Phil Knight Invitational

When a one-off, 16 team college basketball extravaganza was announced back in 2015 for Thanksgiving weekend 2017, I knew right then what my holiday plans would be for this year.  Having the opportunity to see both of my teams (UConn and Gonzaga) in the same "tournament" for the 2nd time in 3 years was definitely going to be a can't miss event.

The ability to have 2 tournaments running simultaneously in buildings a few hundred yards from each other was a perfect setup for the event in that it allowed me to catch 15 games over the course of the 3 days(including 7 of the 8 games on Day 1).  ESPN did manage to botch scheduling on Day 2 making the semifinal matchups overlap with each other (when both my teams were playing in them no less!), but other than that the coordination of the event was pretty strong.

Can't say I was thrilled having to watch Duke and Michigan St. win their respective brackets, but it was definitely a memorable event over a memorable weekend honoring the man behind Nike, Mr. Phil Knight.

Moda Center glowing in a clear Portland evening

The man being honored with PK80 - Mr. Phil Knight

Outside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum - the 2nd building hosting PK80 games all weekend long

Jalen Adams (UConn) with the jumper in a PK80 quarterfinal matchup with Oregon

Upstairs vantage point inside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the PK80

Josh Perkins (Gonzaga) pulls up for 3 against Ohio St. in a PK80 quarterfinal