CLARKSVILLE—Senior Chris Porter-Bunton of the Austin Peay State University men's basketball team has been invited to compete in 3x3U National Championship in Minneapolis in conjunction with the 2019 Final Four.
The second-annual event will bring seniors from around the nation to compete and will pit 32 four-man teams consisting of players from every Division I college basketball conference against each other in a three-day, 3-on-3 tournament. These teams, comprised of seniors who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility, will compete for a $150,000 prize pool viewable live on Twitter and ESPN2 from April 5-7 at Mall of America, marking just the second live sporting event to ever originate from the country's largest retail and entertainment destination and the first in more than 20 years.
Returning to call all the action throughout the tournament will be the voice of FIBA 3x3 basketball, Kyle Montgomery, with Robbie Hummel of ESPN and Tate Frazier and Mark Titus of The Ringer's One Shining Podcast providing color commentary and sideline coverage. Barstool Sports' Bobby Reagan will also serve as a social media correspondent.
Additionally, the championship team will earn the right to compete in the 2019 USA Basketball 3x3 Open National Championship in May.
Porter-Bunton will be joined by Murray State's Shaq Buchanan, Jacksonville State's Jason Burnell and Morehead State's Lamontray Harris. The Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship Player Selection Committee consists of college basketball experts from a wide range of media outlets including ESPN, CBS Sports, The Athletic, USA Today, NBC Sports, The Ringer, and more. The Committee worked feverishly throughout the season to determine the nation's top senior college basketball players who have been selected to compete. It's the second season in a row a Gov has been tabbed for the event; Averyl Ugba represented Austin Peay last season in San Antonio.
Porter-Bunton was a pivotal piece for Austin Peay since his redshirt freshman campaign in 2015-16 ended in an OVC Tournament title. The only difference in his final season is that he became a more featured part of the offense, averaging career-highs in points (13.6 ppg), minutes (27.0) and rebounding (4.9 rpg). Once the quintessential glue guy, Porter-Bunton stepped up his statistical production with no drop-off to his harder-to-quantify duties as leader and on-court energy boost. With career highs in field goal, three-point and free-throw attempts, he's managed to eclipse his career percentages in all three categories, including a 42.9 percent mark from three which leads the OVC.
He made a lasting impression at the OVC Tournament, averaging 22.5 points on 65.4 percent shooting from the floor and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc. In the quarterfinals against Morehead State, he scored his 1,000th career point; he finished at 1,028, good for 33rd all-time.
Pool play will begin at 3 p.m. ET on April 5, with 24 games streamed live exclusively on Twitter. Pool play will continue on April 6 at 9:30 a.m. with 24 more games streamed live exclusively on Twitter; each win during the 48 pool games nets the winning team $1,000. Round of 16 and quarterfinal games will be streamed live exclusively on Twitter at 10:30 a.m. on April 7, with semifinal, consolation and championship games televised live on ESPN2 later that day at 3 p.m. The runner-up will take home $2,000, with the winning team taking the remaining $100,000.
