Indiana confirms Montreal trip from August 8-13

  • 06/04/2014 8:30 pm in

Following months of rumors that Indiana’s men’s basketball team will take a foreign tour this preseason, the Hoosiers made it official on Wednesday evening that they will play in Montreal, Canada, this August.

The Hoosiers will be playing five games in the span of six days, with the opener at Concordia University at 7 p.m. on August 8. They will also play Ottawa University, Carleton University, McGill University and University of Montreal-Quebec during their stint in Canada.

“I like the way our summer is structured, with our workouts and the fact that we are going to take this trip to Montreal, where we will play five games in six days,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said in a release. “Those games will be important because we will play some really good teams and at the same time we will get to practice.”

Carleton, last summer, defeated eventual national-finalists Wisconsin and took Syracuse to overtime, while Ottawa defeated TCU over the summer and won this past year’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport title.

The full release from Indiana is available after the jump.

Bloomington, Indiana – The 2014-15 Indiana University men’s basketball team will get a jump on the coming season with a trip to Canada August 7-13 to play five games in a six-day span which will include contests against some of the top collegiate teams in Canada. Indiana is eligible to bring returning players from last year’s team and each of the five freshmen recruits also will be able to play on the trip.

“I like the way our summer is structured, with our workouts and the fact that we are going to take this trip to Montreal, where we will play five games in six days,” said IU Coach Tom Crean. “Those games will be important because we will play some really good teams and at the same time we will get to practice.”

Game 1: August 8, IU at Concordia University, 7 p.m.
Game 2: August 10, IU vs. Ottawa University, at McGill University, 7 p.m.
Game 3: August 11, IU vs. Carleton University, at McGill, 7 p.m.
Game 4: August 12, IU at McGill, 7 p.m.
Game 5: August 13, IU at University of Montreal-Quebec, 1 p.m.

Carleton has won 10 of the last 12 CIS championships and beat Wisconsin last summer and took Syracuse to overtime. Ottawa was the top seeded team in last year’s CIS Championship and fell to Carleton in last year’s national final. They defeated TCU, 90-74 in an exhibition last summer.

“The 10 practices in the past used to be a much bigger deal until they put in the new rule where we will get two hours to work with our players and 10 practices, Crean added. “This trip will give us a chance to do a lot of things in a short period of time and I think that is really good.”

Other American teams expected to be involved in a similar tour are Memphis, Vermont and Illinois-Chicago.

Crean elaborated on his decision why Montreal was a preferred destination.

“Distance and they still get some quality summer time,” noted Crean. “They will still have some time when they get back before school. I think the key is that you get really good competition and we feel like the challenge is going to be pretty substantial for us.”

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