Relocated Puerto Rico Tip-Off featuring South Carolina gets underway Thursday

The Puerto Rico Tip-Off basketball tournament, which was relocated to Myrtle Beach from the U.S. territory because of the island’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Maria, is being played at CCU’s HTC Center on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

South Carolina, a 2017 Final Four team, is a headliner of the eight-team field. The Gamecocks (2-0) take on Illinois State (0-1) in the opener at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN2. That game will be followed Thursday by Boise State vs. Texas-El Paso at 2 p.m., Iowa State vs. Appalachian State at 5:30 p.m. and Tulsa vs. Western Michigan at 8 p.m.

All but one of the 12 games in the tournament bracket – there are two additional games – will be broadcast on either ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPNews, with the championship game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.

Tickets to all games are $99 plus tax and tickets to individual two-game sessions are $35 each and may be limited, and all tickets are available at www.primesport.com.

Parking near the HTC Center is extremely limited, especially with Coastal classes in session Thursday and Friday, so organizers recommend parking in lots on U.S. 501 and S.C. 544 and taking shuttles that leave every 15 minutes to the arena and back.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Relocated Puerto Rico Tip-Off featuring South Carolina gets underway Thursday."