The Cal Poly men’s basketball program will be represented at the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship for a second straight season with senior guard Donovan Fields having accepted an invitation to represent the Big West Conference in the April 5-7 competition at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.
Featuring players who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility, the 3X3U National Championship features four-man teams representing each of the 32 NCAA Division I conferences in a three-on-three format. Each game consists of 10 minutes and a 12-second shot clock with one point awarded for baskets inside the three-point arc and two for baskets outside the arc. The first team to 21 points wins.
The 32 teams will compete for a $150,000 prize pool, with the champions taking home $100,000. Additionally, the winners will earn the right to compete in the 2019 USA Basketball 3X3 Open National Championship, scheduled for May 3-4 in Las Vegas.
Aside from Fields, the Big West squad is comprised of Long Beach State guard Deishuan Booker, UC Santa Barbara guard Ar’mond Davis and UC Irvine forward Jonathan Galloway.
Fields was named to the All-Big West second team and as the Big West Co-Hustle Player of the Year this past season and finishing sixth among conference players with 17.0 points per game and fifth with 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He scored 20-plus points 11 times and led the Mustangs with 22 double-digit scoring games.
Cal Poly’s all-time leading free throw shooter at 87.4 percent, Fields is the only player in program history to record at least 1,000 career points, distribute 300-plus assists and produce more than 100 steals. Categorically, Fields – in just three seasons – ranks ninth in program history with 1,245 points, sixth with 303 assists and seventh with 112 steals. In 91 career games, Fields scored in double figures 61 times.
The Big West team was placed in Pool C alongside the American Athletic Conference, the Atlantic 10 Conference and the Northeast Conference. Each team will be guaranteed three pool games with the top two squads in each of the eight pools advancing to the Sunday, April 7 knockout round.
All games at the 3X3U National Championship will be broadcasted live. All pool play games will be streamed on Twitter, beginning with the opening 24 games on Friday, April 5 at 12 noon PT. Pool action concludes on Saturday, April 6 at 6:30 a.m. PT with the final 24 games.
The round of 16 and quarterfinal matchups will also be streamed via Twitter, starting at 7:30 a.m. PT on Sunday, April 7.
The semifinal, third-place game and championship matchup will air live on ESPN2 at 12 noon.
During the inaugural 2018 3X3U National Championship, the Big West – which included former Mustang guard Victor Joseph – finished as runners-up to the Big Ten Conference.
–Provided by Cal Poly