The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field, and two games contested between the four lowest-seeded "at-large" teams in the field, which determine the last four teams to qualify for the 64-team bracket that plays the first round.
The Emerald Coast Classic is an 8 team college basketball tournament held during Thanksgiving of NCAA Division I men's basketball season, with the inaugural tournament beginning in 2014. The two final round games are played on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. The tournament will be presented by Global Sports. First and second-round games are played at on-campus sites, with the third round and championship round scheduled Thanksgiving weekend at Northwest Florida State College.
The Empire Classic is an annual college basketball event played in November at the beginning of the season and televised by ESPN. Originally known as the Atlantic City Shootout and produced by the Gazelle Group, Inc., the event was first played in 1995. The following year, it became the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic as a collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society in an effort to raise funds for cancer research. In 2012, the tournament beneficiary became Wounded Warrior Project, resulting in the tournament being renamed the 2K Sports Classic. In 2019, the 2K Sports Classic was renamed the 2K Empire Classic Benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, commonly referred to as the "Empire Classic".
The Vegas Showdown formerly known as the Wooden Legacy is an annual early-season men's college basketball competition that began in 2013. It was formerly named in honor of basketball coach John Wooden, whose UCLA Bruins teams won 10 national championships over the 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975.
The 2008 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 12–15, 2008. The tournament was sponsored by Phillips 66 and all first round, quarterfinal, and semifinal games were broadcast live on the MountainWest Sports Network and CBS College Sports Network, while the championship game was broadcast on Versus.
The Cancun Challenge is a college basketball tournament organized by Triple Crown Sports which currently features eight NCAA Division I men's basketball teams and ten women's basketball teams. The formats of the men's and women's tournaments have varied from year to year. The men's tournament currently splits the eight teams into two divisions of four and consists of games played in the United States at participants' campus sites followed by a bracketed tournament played in Cancún, Mexico. The women's tournament splits the ten teams into one division of six and one division of four and each features round-robin play in Cancún with no bracket, and therefore no champion. The two divisions in each tournament are the Riviera Division and the Mayan Division.
The Battle 4 Atlantis is an early-season college basketball tournament. It takes place at Atlantis Paradise Island on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, on the week of the US holiday of Thanksgiving. For sponsorship purposes, the tournament is officially named Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. The games are played in the Imperial Arena, a grand ballroom which is turned into a basketball venue. The tournament is known for being the richest Division I men's early-season college basketball tournament. Schools are awarded $2 million in exchange for their participation in the men's event.
The 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2015 Women's NCAA tournament. The annual tournament began on March 18 and ended on April 4, with the championship game televised on CBS Sports Network. All games were played on the campus sites of participating schools. The Tournament was won by the UCLA Bruins who defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers, 62–60, in the final before a crowd of 8,658 at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia, on April 4. It was UCLA's first WNIT title. UCLA's Jordin Canada was named the tournament's most valuable player.
The 2016 Horizon League men's basketball tournament was the conference tournament for the 2015–16 season of the Horizon League. It was played from March 5 through March 8, 2016 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The winner of the tournament received the Horizon League's automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA men's basketball tournament. This was the first Horizon League Tournament since 2002 to be played at a predetermined neutral site.
The 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2016 Women's NCAA tournament. The annual tournament began on March 16 and ended on April 2, with the championship game televised on CBS Sports Network. All games were played on the campus sites of participating schools.
The 2017 Women's National Invitation Tournament was an annual single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2017 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team field on March 13, following the selection of the NCAA Tournament field. The tournament began on March 15 and ended on April 1, with the championship game televised on the CBS Sports Network. In the championship game, the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 89–79, in triple overtime.
The 2019 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the national champion for the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 38th annual edition of the tournament began on March 22, and concluded with the championship game on April 7 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, with the University of South Florida serving as host. The tournament field was announced on March 18.
The 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2018–19 season. The 81st annual edition of the tournament began on March 19, 2019, and concluded with the championship game on April 8, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Virginia Cavaliers, with Virginia winning 85–77 in overtime.
The 2017–18 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the State University of New York at Buffalo during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by third-year head coach Nate Oats, played their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 27–9, 15–3 in MAC play to win the MAC East Division and regular season championships. they defeated Central Michigan, Kent State, and Toledo to win the MAC tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 13 seed in the South region, they upset Arizona in the First Round before losing to Kentucky in the Second Round.
The 2018 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was a postseason single-elimination tournament of NCAA Division I basketball teams. The tournament began on March 12, 2018, and concluded on March 30, 2018.
The 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 39th edition of the tournament began on March 21, 2021, in sites around San Antonio, Texas, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at the Alamodome, with the Stanford Cardinal defeating the Arizona Wildcats 54–53 to win their third NCAA title.
The 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was a postseason single-elimination tournament of NCAA Division I basketball teams. The tournament began on March 18, 2019, and concluded on April 4, 2019.
The Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic is an eight team college basketball tournament held in November and December of the NCAA Division I men's basketball season, with the inaugural tournament beginning in 2017. It is currently the only college tournament played across the Atlantic, and the first-ever NCAA basketball games played in Europe. In its inaugural season, only four teams participated, but it was increased for the 2018–19 season to eight teams. In 2017, the four participants played all their games at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with the winners moving on to the championship game, and the losers playing in the consolation game. Towson was the inaugural champion, defeating Manhattan 56–55, and winning the game on a last second shot by Tigers senior guard Mike Morsell.
The Jamaica Classic is an early-season college basketball tournament that takes place in November of each year at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Each year, Jamaica Classic participants play games at campus sites in the United States, some before and some after the Montego Bay games. At Montego Bay, those which host the campus-site games play in the "Montego Bay Division" of the Classic, while those which visit the hosts for campus-site games play separately in the "Rose Hall Division." A separate championship is awarded for each division, and a most valuable player is selected in each division.
The Nassau Championship is a preseason college basketball tournament, first held in 2017, designed strictly for mid-major NCAA Division I programs. The first two years were played at Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium. in Nassau, Bahamas. The 2019 Tournament was moved to Baha Mar Convention Center due to damage Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium suffered during Hurricane Dorian.
