Written by Francisco Vera.
The ESPN Events Invitational was held from November 24 to 28 at the State Farm Fieldhouse, situated within the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World. The tournament featured a total of 16 Division 1 College Basketball teams split up into three brackets.
Last year’s winner was the star-studded Florida Gators, led by current Utah Jazz guard Walter Clayton. The Gators would then go on and win it all, becoming NCAA National Champions for the third time in program history.
This year, the tournament expanded to 16 teams for the first time, with the 9th-ranked BYU Cougars and star freshman AJ Dybantsa headlining the event. They faced off against the Miami Hurricanes on Thanksgiving Day in front of a packed venue.
The Cougars had the clear advantage as the State Farm Fieldhouse was decked in blue for this matchup. Miami also had fans in attendance, but it could not compare.
“It’s something unique about BYU… we have fans planted all over the place, and our fans travel, so to see that much blue, especially on a holiday, it was really cool… I know our guys feed off of it, and it gives us kind of an extra boost.” Said BYU Head Coach Kevin Young about the BYU fan attendance.
BYU’s fan advantage did not deter Miami in the first half, as they kept it close until halftime. Coming out into the second half, it was a different story as the Cougars slowly pulled away from the Hurricanes.
BYU would walk away victorious with the final score of 74-64. Kennard Davis Jr. from the Cougars led both teams in scoring with 18 points. Leading the scoresheet for Miami was Malik Reneau with 14.
The Cougars moved on and faced Dayton in the championship game of the Magic Bracket. The final score for that matchup was 83-79 in favor of BYU, making them the 2025 ESPN Events Invitational champions.
Other notable matchup results for the ESPN Events Invitational were:
Adventure Bracket:
- Championship Game: UC San Diego (87) v. (73) Towson
- Third Place Game: Bradley (74) v. (64) Liberty
- Fifth Place Game: Rhode Island (90) v. (75) Temple
- Seventh Place Game: Vermont (79) v. (74) Princeton
Magic Bracket:
- Championship Game: BYU (83) v. (79) Dayton
- Third Place Game: Miami (78) v. (65) Georgetown
Imagination Bracket:
- Championship Game: Illinois State (72) v. (65) Furman
- Third Place Game: Richmond (71) v. (66) Charlotte
