Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the facility became known as The Crown, and in 1999, it changed its name again to Firstar Center after Firstar Bank assumed naming rights. In 2002, following Firstar's merger with U.S. Bank, the arena took on the name U.S. Bank Arena and kept that name until 2019.
Mid-major is a term used in American college sports at the NCAA Division I level, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the Power Five conferences and the Big East, collectively referred to as the Power Six or "high majors".
The 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The 1992 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis. A total of 63 games were played.
The 2011 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 19, 2011, and concluded on April 5, 2011. The Texas A&M Aggies won the championship, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76–70 in the final held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The 2007 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was played from March 7 to March 10, 2007, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. George Washington University won the tournament. Maureece Rice, a guard on George Washington, was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. The top four teams in the conference received first-round byes, while La Salle University and St. Bonaventure University were left out of the tournament because they did not finish in the top twelve of the conference.
The 1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 14, 1997, and concluded on March 30, 1997, when Tennessee won the national title. The Final Four was held at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on March 28–30, 1997. Tennessee, Old Dominion, Stanford, and Notre Dame qualified for the Final Four. Tennessee and Old Dominion won their semi-final Final Four matchups and continued on to the championship. Tennessee defeated Old Dominion 68-59 for their fifth national title.
The 2005 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was played from March 9 to March 12, 2005, at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. George Washington won the tournament. The top two teams in each division received first-round byes. George Washington earned the conference's only bid to the NCAA tournament.
The George Washington Revolutionaries men's basketball team represents George Washington University in the United States' capital, Washington, D.C. It plays its home games in the Charles E. Smith Center, which is also shared with other George Washington Revolutionaries athletic programs. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The head coach is Chris Caputo. The official dance team for the Revolutionaries is the GW First Ladies.
The 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 11, 1999, with the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on April 3, 2000, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The 2015–16 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 40th season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The 2016 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The 2015–16 Saint Joseph's Hawks basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawks, led by 21st year head coach Phil Martelli, played their home games at Hagan Arena and are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Hawks finished the season 28–8, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in fourth place. They defeated George Washington, Dayton, and VCU to be champions of the A-10 tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #8 seed, they defeated Cincinnati in the first round, their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2004, to advance to the second round where they lost to Oregon. DeAndre' Bembry was named A-10 player of the year.
The 2016–17 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at Fifth Third Arena, with a capacity of 13,176. The season marked the final year prior to major renovations to Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats were led by 11th-year head coach Mick Cronin and were members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 to finish in second place in AAC play. They beat Tulsa and UConn in the AAC tournament before losing to SMU in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. They defeated No. 11-seeded Kansas State in the first round before losing to No. 3-seeded UCLA in the second round.
The 2016–17 Saint Joseph's Hawks basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawks, led by 22nd-year head coach Phil Martelli, played their home games at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 4–14 A-10 play to finish in a tie for 12th place. As the No. 13 seed in the A-10 tournament, they lost to Massachusetts in the first round.
The 2016–17 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 41st season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The 2017 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was held at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from March 8–12, 2017. Dayton won the regular season championship. Rhode Island won the A-10 Tournament by beating VCU in the tournament championship. As a result, Rhode Island received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Three A-10 teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament: Dayton, VCU, and Rhode Island. Both Dayton and VCU lost in the first round while Rhode Island lost in the second round. Richmond received the conference's sole bid to the National Invitation Tournament while George Mason and George Washington received bids to the College Basketball Invitational.
The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2021–22 season. The 83rd annual edition of the tournament began on March 15, 2022, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the Kansas Jayhawks defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels, 72–69, overcoming a 16-point first-half deficit, to claim the school's fourth national title.
The 2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at the BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky due to renovations at their home arena, Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats were led by 12th-year head coach Mick Cronin and are members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 31–5, 16–2 in AAC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated SMU, Memphis, and Houston to win the AAC tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 2 seed in the South region, they defeated Georgia State in the First Round before being upset by Nevada in the Second Round. In their loss to Nevada, they were up 22 before losing 75-73, tying the second largest comeback in NCAA Tournament history.
The Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals. The rivalry between these two schools, located about 100 miles (160 km) apart, dates to their first men's college basketball game in 1921, and has continued across all sports, with the football series gaining attention as well, having started in 1929. Both universities share common characteristics, both being over 200 year old institutions in urban settings. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of four conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference to Conference USA, and more recently in the Big East Conference, which in 2013 was renamed to the American Athletic Conference. After the 2013–14 season, Louisville joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and since then the rivalry has been put on hiatus in football and basketball. Cincinnati will officially join the Big 12 conference in 2023. However, many other sports at the universities, such as baseball, continue to battle periodically.
The 2017–18 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 42nd season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. League play began in late December and ended on March 3, 2018.
The 2018 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Atlantic 10 Conference's 2017–18 season. It was held March 7 through March 11, 2018 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Davidson won the tournament by defeating Rhode Island in the championship game. As a result, Davidson received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.