Williamsburg - For the second straight season, the William and Mary men's basketball team will take part in a regular season classic hosted by the Gazelle Group as it takes part in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. The Tribe will open the event and its season at St. John's on Monday, Nov. 7, before traveling to Lynchburg, Va., to take part in a subregional hosted by Liberty. The College will face Lehigh, Eastern Kentucky and the host Flames, Nov. 18-20, at the subregional.

The Tribe's season-opening clash against the Red Storm will be televised nationally on ESPNU. It marks the fifth time in the last three seasons that W&M will have a game televised on the ESPN family of networks. The W&M-SJU tipoff is slated for a 7 p.m. at St. John's on-campus facility, Carnesecca Arena, in Queens, N.Y. Under first-year head coach Steve Lavin in 2010-11, St. John's advanced to the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid, while finishing the season with a 21-12 mark. It will mark the fourth meeting between the two schools with the Red Storm leading the all-time series at 3-0.

As part of the 2K Sports Classic Subregional in Lynchburg, Va., W&M will be three games in three days, giving head coach Tony Shaver and his team the opportunity to gain the experience needed at the end of the season in a CAA Tournament-type situation. The Green and Gold will open the subregional against 2011 Patriot League semifinalist Lehigh at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, in the Vines Center. The Mountain Hawks finished last season at 16-15 and return 2010 Patriot League Player of the Year C.J. McCollum.

The Tribe faces Ohio Valley foe Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. It will mark the third meeting between W&M and EKU, but the first since 1965. The Colonels return nine players from a team that won 15 games last season and went 9-9 in the OVC.

The College closes out the subregional against the host Liberty on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m. It will mark the second meeting between the two teams inside a week as the Flames were already scheduled to play in Williamsburg on Nov. 14 prior to both teams being placed into the same subregional at the 2K Sports Classic. Liberty leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 3-1, and W&M will look for its first win in Lynchburg against the Flames. Last season, Liberty finished the year at 19-13 and second in the Big South at 13-5.

W&M is one of 14 teams taking part in the 2011 edition of the 2K Sports Classic, along with: St. John's, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Akron, Duquesne, Eastern Kentucky, Liberty, University of the District of Columbia , Valparaiso, Lehigh, Hiram and Indiana University-Kokomo. The 2K Sports Classic is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the Progressive CBE Classic, TicketCity Legends Classic, the CBI presented by Zebra Pen, and the All-American Championship. The Gazelle Group is a member of USA Basketball. For more information on the Gazelle Group, visit www.gazellegroup.com.

The Coaches vs. Cancer program, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), exists to leverage the strength and community leadership of the nation's basketball coaches to raise awareness and reduce the risk of cancer while raising funds for the American Cancer Society's fight to save lives from cancer.

Last season, W&M took part in the Legends Classic also hosted by the Gazelle Group. The Tribe narrowly missed upseting No. 10-ranked Syracuse, 63-60, on the road, before returning home to claim the Williamsburg subregional with a 2-1 record. The Tribe knocked off Gardner-Webb and Mercer, before falling to Western Carolina.