Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena will host the third annual U.S. LBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge featuring a tripleheader of marquee men’s basketball games on Saturday, Dec. 16.
A Texas team will play in each game of the tripleheader, with TCU taking on Arizona State in the 9 p.m. finale. The action will get underway at 4 p.m. with UT Arlington vs. the Air Force Academy, followed by a 6:30 p.m. clash pitting Texas Tech against Vanderbilt.
Tickets go sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2, via Ticketmaster.com and can be purchased in advance from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 1) using the unlock code: DICKIES.
The games will feature a wealth of big-time college talent with TCU bringing back five players – including two regular starters – from last season’s team that went 22-13 overall, 9-9 in the Big 12 Conference and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
All-Big 12 performer Emanuel Miller is the Horned Frogs’ top returning scorer, averaging 12.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a year ago. Miller is one of five 1,000-point scorers for the Frogs, four of whom are among seven newcomers on the team. Jamie Dixon is in his eighth season as TCU’s head coach.
Texas Tech is led by head coach Grant McCasland, who is in his first season with the Red Raiders after six seasons at North Texas. The Tech roster includes five returning players and nine newcomers. The lone returning starter is Pop Isaacs, who averaged 11.5 points per game last season and earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors.
The Red Raiders added experienced players from the transfer portal with the additions of Devan Cambridge (Arizona State), Joe Toussaint (West Virginia), KyeRon Lindsay (Georgia), Darrion Williams (Nevada), Chance McMillian (Grand Canyon)and Warren Washington (Arizona State).
UTA is entering its second consecutive season and third overall in the Western Athletic Conference, which last year ranked as the 11th-best league in the nation. The Mavericks are led by KT Turner, the 10th full-time head coach in program history.
With Shemar Wilson, Brandyn Talbot, Aaron Cash and Shaysten Cornish returning from last year, UTA has 11 players on the 2023-24 roster who have previous Division 1 playing experience.
Coast to Coast Challenge sponsor U.S. LBM is the largest privately owned, full-line distributor of specialty building materials in the United States, offering a comprehensive portfolio of specialty products including windows, doors, millwork, wallboard,roofing, siding, engineered components and cabinetry.
Dickies Arena is a 14,000 seat, multipurpose venue built in 2019. It is owned by the city of Fort Worth and managed by the not-for-profit operating entity, Trail Drive Management Corp. The facility has been nominated for Arena of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 2022 and by Pollstar Magazine in 2022 and 2023. Billboard Magazine recently ranked Dickies Arena No. 1 in North America and No. 2 in the world among venues with a seating capacity of 10,001 to 15,000.
Information for this article was provided by Dickies Arena.