Tournament organizers originally announced that there would be 32 teams in the field.[1]; however, when the list of participating teams was released, only 21 were present. Three of the 21 teams subsequently withdrew prior to competing, leaving the actual field size for the tournament at 18. Due to the fluidity of the field, rather than adhering to the traditional bracket, a model previously used by the National Invitation Tournament was leveraged in which matchups were set only one round at a time. Later-round host sites were determined, at least in part, by earlier-round game attendance figures.
Five matchups in the tournament were designated as "Legend Games", honoring Zelmo Beaty, Travis Grant, Marques Haynes, Cleo Hill and Willis Reed, all of whom played college basketball at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).[2] In addition to advancing in the tournament, the winning teams received a trophy honoring the legend for whom the particular game was named. Due to scheduling issues, the designated Cleo Hill game was unable to be held.
The following eighteen teams accepted invitations to the tournament and competed. Team records are as of the end of the regular season and prior to the beginning of the tournament.
The following three teams accepted invitations to the tournament, but withdrew prior to competing. Team records are as of the end of the regular season and prior to the beginning of the tournament.
The Basketball Classic field was announced after the field for the NIT was released on March 13.
With an 18-team bracket, organizers chose to match one second-round winner against Portland, with three other second-round winners advancing directly to the semifinals.
Note: Bracket is for visual purposes only. In lieu of a traditional bracket, the field and matchups were determined following the completion of the preceding round.
First Round March 16
First/Second Round March 15–19/March 22
Second Round/Quarterfinals March 21–23/March 26
Semifinals March 28
Final April 1
New Orleans
73
Portland
94
Portland
66
Kent State
79
Southern Utah
77
Southern Utah
83
Southern Utah
82
Western Illinois
54
UTEP
69
UTEP
80
Southern Utah
48
Fresno State
67
Morgan State
65
Youngstown State
70
Youngstown State
71
Fresno State
80
Eastern Washington
74
Fresno State
83
Fresno State
85
Coastal Carolina
74
Detroit Mercy
79
Florida Gulf Coast
95
Florida Gulf Coast
68
Coastal Carolina
84
Maryland Eastern Shore
42
Coastal Carolina
66
Coastal Carolina
69
South Alabama
68 OT
USC Upstate
80
Appalachian State
74
USC Upstate
79
South Alabama
83
Southeastern Louisiana
68
South Alabama
70
Home teams listed second.
Awards
The following were the most valuable players selected for each of the Legend Games:
Zelmo Beaty Game – Rudi Williams, Coastal Carolina[53]
Travis Grant Game – Javon Franklin, South Alabama[54]
Marques Haynes Game – Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown State[35]
Joel Whetzel: "Disappointing, to be sure ... simply a microcosm of how this tournament has gone since conference tournaments ended. The shame is the tournament could serve a great purpose if things were to go correctly." [56]
Notes
↑ After Merrimack's first-round opponent (UMBC) withdrew, Merrimack no longer appeared in the schedule section of the tournament's website.
↑ Western Illinois at UTEP was originally scheduled for March 15, then postponed to March 19 due to travel issues for Western Illinois.[38]
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