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Illinois State will spend Thanksgiving weekend in San Francisco

Illinois State v Louisville

LOUISVILLE, KY - DECEMBER 1: Head coach Dan Muller of the Illinois State Redbirds looks on against the Louisville Cardinals during the game at KFC Yum! Center on December 1, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 69-66. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

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Originally scheduled to play in a tournament that included a pair of games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico over Thanksgiving weekend, the Illinois State basketball program needed to adjust their plans due to the tournament organizer’s inability to fill out the event. On Wednesday the school announced that they’d found a new event to play in that weekend, as the Redbirds will be one of four teams playing in the USF Battle in the Bay.

The games, which will be hosted by the University of San Francisco, will be played on November 27, 29 and 30. The event will be of the round-robin variety, with the host Dons, Illinois State and Vermont currently committed to play. The fourth team will be announced at a later date.

“After a long and frustrating process, I am thrilled about our games in San Francisco,” Illinois State head coach Muller said in the release. “The opportunity to play three quality teams in four days will be very valuable for my team.

“Trips and experiences like these can help bring teams together, and we certainly hope the Battle in the Bay can do that for us.”

Illinois State finished the 2012-13 season with an 18-15 record, going 8-10 in Missouri Valley Conference play in Muller’s debut campaign at the helm. The Redbirds lost their top four scorers from last season, including guard Tyler Brown (18.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and power forward Jackie Carmichael (17.4, 9.3).

Of the three teams committed to the event Vermont looks to be the one most capable of going on to win their conference title (America East) in 2013-14. Six of John Becker’s top seven scorers from last season return, including forwards Clancy Rugg (11.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and Luke Apfeld (10.7, 4.4). And while he isn’t much of a scorer, forward Brian Voelkel led UVM in both rebounding (8.6 rpg) and assists (4.9 apg) in 2012-13.

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