OU Women's Basketball: 2016 Puerto Rico Classic Moved To Las Vegas

The 2016 Puerto Rico Classic women’s basketball tournament will move its event to the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The tournament was previously scheduled to be played in San Juan, P.R., but has been relocated due to the concerns over the Zika virus in Puerto Rico.

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Oklahoma is one of eight teams competing in the pre-Christmas tournament. The dates for the event will remain the same as the three-day tournament will be held Dec. 19-21. The tournament field will also remain as originally announced with the Sooners being joined by Arkansas State, California, Kennesaw State, Northern Kentucky, Portland State, Southern Miss and Xavier.

“This is not an easy decision for us in light of our decades of relationships with our Puerto Rican partners,” said Sport Tours President Lee Frederick. “However, we understand it is what the universities want at this time.”

The Sooners will begin the tournament on Mon., Dec. 19 at 4:15 p.m. CT against Xavier. OU’s second matchup will come against Cal on Tues., Dec. 20 at 8:45 p.m. CT. The Sooners will wrap up their non-conference slate on Wed., Dec. 21 versus Portland State at 9 p.m. CT.

All 12 games of the Puerto Rico Classic will be played at the South Point Arena. Ticket information for the tournament will be available in the coming days.

The trip to Las Vegas marks OU’s first since the 2011-12 season when the Sooners competed in the Duel in the Desert Tournament, recording a 3-0 record with wins over Ohio, Syracuse and Xavier.

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