College Basketball Thanksgiving Week Feast In Las Vegas Features Duke-Gonzaga Heavyweight Showdown With Blue Devils Edging Zags, 84-81, Before 20,389 Friday
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The solitary figure in the darkened tunnel leading to the basketball court at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was striding with a relaxed gait and confident purpose. Another a man toting a TV camera on his shoulder was walking backward, with another man keeping the camera cable from tripping up the famous basketball coach.
It was 7:30 pm on the day after Thanksgiving before the start of the college basketball game between powers Duke and Gonzaga in a one-off sports event that Las Vegas is superb at hosting.
As Mike Krzyzewski was approaching the light at the end of the tunnel and making his entrance at a sold out arena of 20,000 Blue Devils and Zags fans, the noise in the arena increased in intensity as fans realized it was Krzyzewski emerging onto the corner of the hardwood.
The Duke-Gonzaga showdown in the Continental Tire Challenge was an immediate hit with tickets gobbled up immediately earlier this year. And when Krzyzewski said this was final season, the heavyweight college basketball showdown was a sellout.
Announced attendance tonight: 20,389.
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How do these November non-conference battles come together? Before tonight’s game, LVSportsBiz.com interviewed promoter Brooks Downing, owner of bdG Sports, on how he brought Duke and Gonzaga to T-Mobile Arena for this day-after-Thanksgiving classic.
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As for the game, it was a well-played close game with Duke beating Gonzaga by three points, 84-81.
Duke’s star freshman, a six-foot, ten-inch Paolo Banchero, scored 21 points, while Gonzaga’s star freshman, seven-foot Chet Holmgren, dropped in 16 points.
LVSportsBiz.com will be reporting Saturday from Thomas & Mack Center, where UNLV hosts UCLA, and then T-Mobile Arena, which will transform into a hockey arena for the Vegas Golden Knights vs the Edmonton Oilers.
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