Mississippi State To Battle Utah And South Florida At Cayman Islands Classic

October 3, 2024 – Mississippi State women’s basketball learned its final non-conference opponents on Wednesday when the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic Women’s Tournament announced its match ups and times.

In addition to Mississippi State, the five-team field will be comprised of Utah, Notre Dame, TCU and South Florida. The field combined to produce an impressive .764 winning percentage with four of the five teams eclipsing the 20-win mark last season.

The second edition of the tournament, hosted by Caymax Sports Ltd., will be held at the John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Grand Cayman from Nov. 28-30.

Mississippi State and Utah will tip off action with a stand-alone game on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Mississippi State will then face South Florida on Friday, Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. CT.

“We’re very excited to compete in the Cayman Islands Classic,” said head coach Sam Purcell. “This tournament has a proven track record of bringing in a field of talented programs that expect to make deep runs in March. The top-notch competition will test where we are in the early portion of the season and prepare us for the challenges of the SEC schedule, all while providing our student-athletes with a world-class experience in a destination setting.”

Mississippi State has experienced success in Thanksgiving break tournaments under Purcell. The Bulldogs are 4-1 overall in such games after splitting two games at the 2022 Puerto Rico Classico and sweeping three to be crowned champions at the 2023 Van Chancellor Classic.