The King Cotton Holiday Classic announced Monday the 14 teams that will compete in this year’s edition of the annual high school boys basketball tournament at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
The tournament will be held Dec. 27-28 and Dec. 30, taking Sunday off.
Half of the field will consist of Arkansas schools, with the other half coming from across the country.
The Pine Bluff Zebras will once again represent the host city as one of three 5A-South teams participating in King Cotton this season. Benton returns for its second straight season after the Panthers and Zebras faced off in last year’s Class 5A championship game.
Hot Springs, led by former White Hall coach Josh Hayes and former White Hall player Jai’Chaunn Hayes, will also take part.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Springdale and Springdale Har-Ber will make the trip to Pine Bluff out of Class 6A, while Class 4A Little Rock Hall will round out the seven Arkansas teams in the field.
After Arkansas, Texas has the most participating teams with three. Waxahachie will represent the Dallas area, while the Houston area is sending Bellaire and Xavier Academy.
The rest of the teams will each come from different states: Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Germantown (Miss.), Holy Innocents’ Episcopal (Atlanta) and Bishop Ireton (Alexandria, Va.). Westminster is the lone out-of-state team returning from last year.
Eight teams will compete in the Creed Bracket. These teams will play three games in a traditional bracket format, culminating in the King Cotton championship game on Monday.
The Creed Bracket will feature Pine Bluff, Springdale, Bryant, Benton, Westminster, Bellaire, Waxahachie and Bishop Ireton. Each Arkansas team will face an out-of-state opponent in the first round.
The other six teams will play predetermined showcase games Friday and Saturday and will not return Monday. These teams will play two games apiece.
The showcase teams will be Hot Springs, Hall, Har-Ber, Xavier Academy, Germantown and Holy Innocents Episcopal.
Parking at the Pine Bluff Convention Center will be free this year. Single day tickets are $15, while tournament passes are $35.