College basketball is heading back to the Ocean Center as the Sunshine Slam returns to Daytona Beach for games on Nov. 22 and Nov. 24, pitting Wyoming, Duquesne, High Point and Kent State against each other in an early-season Division I tournament. Wyoming opens against Duquesne on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m., while Duquesne squares off with High Point on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m., and Wyoming closes out its slate against Kent State that same Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
The seventh annual event will take place at the Ocean Center, located at 101 North Atlantic Avenue, according to daytonabeach.com. Per gowyo.com, the Pokes will face Duquesne on Sunday before closing the event against Kent State on Tuesday. Duquesne, for its part, announced it will take on Wyoming on Nov. 22 and also face High Point on Nov. 24, with both games being played at the Ocean Center, according to goduquesne.com.
Tickets, Group Rates and What's Included
Tickets for the 2026 Sunshine Slam went on sale through Ticketmaster on Sept. 9, and the same announcement from Duquesne's athletic department noted that game-day purchases would also be available at the Ocean Center box office. Two games are scheduled for each event day, according to the tournament's own ticketing page at sunshineslam.com. Groups of 15 or more can also attend at a discounted rate, per the same source.
A Tournament With Deep Daytona Roots
The Sunshine Slam was created in 2019 and has been held in Daytona since 2021, according to the Daytona Times. The tournament's inaugural event was held in Kissimmee, Florida, in 2019, with Delaware winning, according to a report from sportstravelmagazine.com. That same account notes the event was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic before eventually returning with an eight-team field. The tournament is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, New Jersey, per the same report.
A separate Daytona Times report described an earlier Sunshine Slam held at the Ocean Center on Nov. 25 and 26, featuring a Beach Bracket with Clemson, Penn State, Fordham and San Francisco, alongside an Ocean Bracket that included Radford, Drexel, Chicago State and Purdue Fort Wayne. That expanded field illustrates how the tournament has drawn programs from across the country to the Ocean Center in past years.
History Between the Programs
Wyoming and Duquesne have a history on the court heading into their 2026 matchup. Duquesne's announcement noted the two programs have squared off four times, with the Dukes holding a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. Duquesne and High Point, meanwhile, are also set to meet.
