The CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) opens on Monday night with a tribute to the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Grand Canyon and South Carolina State will meet in the Coach John McLendon Classic, a game that honors the trailblazing North Carolina Central head coach more than 70 years after his groundbreaking victory in what's come to be known as "secret game." In a pre-integration NCAA landscape, McLendon's all-black team routed an all-white squad of former college basketball stars in a matchup that helped bring equal rights to the hardwood.
The McClendon Classic will be an annual part of the CIT, an 8-year-old postseason tournament that accommodates the expanding ranks of Division I basketball. This year's bracket is a low-major bonanza of intriguing showdowns. Fifteen different conferences, ranging from the WAC to the Ivy League, are represented. That includes recent NCAA Tournament giant slayers like Mercer and Norfolk State.
The tournament begins Monday and will crown a champion on March 29.
The format
Unlike the NCAA Tournament, the CIT does not use a bracket format. This means that second-round games are only determined once all the first-round games have been played. The CIT selection committee, which includes NFL Pro Bowlers Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson, does the same thing to determine matchups in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The tournament uses this method to minimize both travel costs and missed class time, according to the CIT's official guide.
The teams
(in no particular order, because the CIT does not announce seeds)
1. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
2. UC Irvine
3. Tennessee-Martin
4. Army
5. New Hampshire
6. Norfolk State
7. Boston University
8. Texas at Arlington
9. Ball State
10. Louisiana-Monroe
11. Mercer
12. South Carolina State
13. Jackson State
14. Sam Houston State
15. Grand Canyon
16. Coastal Carolina
17. Furman
18. Tennessee State
19. Savannah State
20. Fordham
21. Columbia
22. Fairfield
23. NJIT
24. Central Michigan
25. North Dakota
26. Louisiana-Lafayette
Schedule and results (all times Eastern):
First round
March 14
Jackson State Tigers 81, Sam Houston State Bearkats 77 (OT)
Grand Canyon Antelopes 78, South Carolina State Bulldogs 74
March 15
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 65, Mercer Bears 57
Furman Paladins 58, ULM Warhawks 57
Ball State Cardinals 78, Tennessee State Tigers 73
March 16
UT Arlington Mavericks 75, Savannah State Tigers 59
Boston University Terriers 69, Fordham Rams 66
Columbia Lions 86, Norfolk State Spartans 54
New Hampshire Wildcats 77, Fairfield Stags 62
NJIT Highlanders 79, Army Black Knights 65
UT-Martin Skyhawks 76, Central Michigan Chippewas 73
UC Irvine Anteaters 89, North Dakota 86
UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 96, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 72
Second round
March 17
Grand Canyon 64, Jackson State 54
March 19
UL Lafayette 80, Furman 72
Coastal Carolina 71, New Hampshire 62
March 20
Ball State 83, UT Martin 80 (OT)
March 21
NJIT 83, Boston 72
Quarterfinals
March 23
Coastal Carolina 60, Grand Canyon 58
Columbia 69, Ball State 67
UC Irvine 67, UL-Lafayette 66
March 24
NJIT 63, Texas-Arlington 60
Semifinals
March 27
Columbia 80, NJIT 65
UC Irvine 66, Coastal Carolina 47
Final
March 29
Columbia vs. UC Irvine (CBS Sports Network)
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