NC State basketball makes Thanksgiving plans at inaugural Las Vegas tournament

The N.C. State men’s basketball team is getting a head start on its holiday planning.

The Wolfpack, which completed a big turnaround last season by earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, is among four teams selected to participate in a new Thanksgiving-weekend tournament in Las Vegas, it was announced Thursday.

ESPN Events revealed the inaugural Vegas Showdown will be one of 10 ESPN owned and operated events during the 2023-24 college basketball season. The new four-team event will feature N.C. State, Arizona State, BYU and Vanderbilt. Games will be held on Nov. 23 and 24 in Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

The Pack made the NCAA Tournament last season, going 23-11, on the strength of a rebuilt roster that was largely assembled via the transfer portal. Coach Kevin Keatts’ team is in the midst of a second consecutive portal-aided rebuild.

The teams the Pack may face are no slouches, either.

Arizona State, led by coach Bobby Hurley, has topped the 20-win mark in four of the past five full seasons, including three NCAA Tournament appearances during that span.

BYU, led by coach Mark Pope, enters its first season in the Big 12 on a run of 20 postseason (NCAA or NIT) appearances in the past 23 years in which postseason tournaments were held.

And Vanderbilt is on an upswing of its own after a few dismal years in the SEC. Coach Jerry Stackhouse has guided the Commodores to a postseason berth in each of the past two years, advancing to the NIT Quarterfinals both years.

This story was originally published May 11, 2023 at 2:45 PM.