Oct. 11, 2000

LOS ANGELES - The USC men's and women's basketball teams will kick off the 2000-2001 season with a 'Midnight Madness' event at the Lyon Center on the Trojan campus on Friday (Oct. 13).

The NCAA-mandated first day of practice is officially Saturday (Oct. 14). Festivities at the Lyon Center will begin at 10 p.m. on Friday, but the teams will not hit the court until the stroke of midnight.

The event is already a sellout, but a limited number of standing room only tickets will be made available on the night of the event after ticketed guests have been seated.

The men's team, under fifth-year coach Henry Bibby, returns all five starters from last year's team that went 16-14. The Trojans, featuring Wooden and Naismith Award candidate Brian Scalabrine, are listed among the Top 25 in most preseason polls.

The women's team, under fourth-year coach Chris Gobrecht, returns nine letterwinners from a team that posted its first winning record and made its first postseason appearance in three years. Returning All-Pac-10 selections Tiffany Elmore and Tashara Carter will lead a Women of Troy squad that includes a Top-20 incoming freshman class.