The Rady Children’s Invitational debuted last year to rousing success.

The two-day college basketball event brought sold-out crowds to UC San Diego’s LionTree Arena, and a Fox television audience watched Oklahoma edge USC on a last-second put-back basket to win the tournament championship.

“It was a fun event,” said Mark Neville, CEO for Sports San Diego, who puts on the tournament. “People just had a good time. It’s going to be like that, and then some, this year.”

The 2024 Rady Children’s Invitational opens Thursday with a Final Four rematch between Purdue and North Carolina State.

The Boilermakers got the best of N.C. State a year ago, winning 63-50 to reach the title game.

This year, No. 13 Purdue will be without two-time national Player of the Year Zach Edey, a first-round pick of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

More than half of N.C. State’s roster features new players.

The field also includes No. 23 Ole Miss and BYU. The four teams come into the tournament sporting a combined record of 20-1.

The event sold out months ago, though basketball fans can still watch on Fox Networks.

Here’s a look at all four of the participating teams:

BYU (5-0)

Coach: Kevin Young

Scouting report: The Cougars rank 10th in the nation with 91 points per game, though they were only tested in an 86-80 win over UC Riverside during five home games to open the season. Victories over Central Arkansas, Queens, Idaho and Mississippi Valley came by an average of 37.5 points.

Foward Egor Demin (15.2 ppg), a 6-foot-9 freshman from Moscow (Russia, not Idaho) leads the way, followed by guard Richie Saunders (13.6), forward Fousseyni Traore (13.4, 8.8 rpg), forward Kanon Catchings (11.4) and guard Dallin Hall (10.0). Forward Keba Keita ranks among the top 20 players in the nation with 10.3 rebounds a game.

N.C. State (5-0)

Head coach: Kevin Keatts

Scouting report: The Wolfpack have also eased into the season schedule, winning by an average of 20 points against the likes of USC Upstate, Presbyterian, Coastal Carolina, Colgate and William & Mary.

It is a much different team than last season, with only two returning starters in guards Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell. Eight newcomers include five transfers and three freshmen.

Taylor (13.8 ppg), guard Marcus Hill (13.2) and forwards Ben Middlebrooks (11.8) and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (11.6) are the scoring leaders.

No. 23 Ole Miss (5-0)

Head coach: Chris Beard

Scouting report: The Rebels lead the nation with an 18-game nonconference winning streak. They went 13-0 heading into SEC play a year ago. The 5-0 start this season is highlighted by last week’s 100-68 win over Oral Roberts.

Guards Sean Pedulla (14.4 ppg), Jaylen Murray (12.2 ppg) and Matthew Murrell (11.6 ppg) and forwards Jaemyn Brakefield (11.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg) all are scoring in double digits. Murray, who ranks 16th in school history in career scoring, was a preseason All-Southeastern Conference pick.

No. 13 Purdue (5-1)

Head coach: Matt Painter

Scouting report: The Boilermakers opened the season with four straight wins, scoring 90 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Cristi and 92 against Yale before falling 76-58 at Marquette. Purdue’s most notable win was an 87-78 victory over Alabama.

Purdue is led in scoring and rebounding by forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (17.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Guards Fletcher Loyer (14.5 ppg) and  Braden Smith (12.2 ppg) also are scoring in double figures. Loyer and forward Camden Heide are both shooting 62% from 3-point range. Smith is third in the nation with 9.3 assists per game.

Rady Children’s Invitational

What: College basketball tournament at UC San Diego’s LionTree Arena

Thursday’s games

No. 13 Purdue vs. N.C. State, noon

No. 23 Ole Miss vs. BYU, 2:30 p.m.

Friday’s games

Third-place game, 12:30 p.m.

Championship game, 3 p.m.

TV: Thursday on Fox Sports 1; Friday on Fox

Ticket info: Sold out

Parking: Free parking is available in the Hopkins Parking Structure, which is located directly south of LionTree Arena.

Fan Zone: Food trucks and a beer garden, along with activities and a merchandise booth, will be open to fans with game tickets beginning 90 minutes before tipoff.

Originally Published: November 26, 2024 at 4:28 PM PST