2018 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
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.[1]
| Teams | 20 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, Colorado | ||||
| Champions | Northern Colorado (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | UIC (1st title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Jeff Linder (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Andre Spight (Northern Colorado) | ||||
| Attendance | 26,023 | ||||
| |||||
The field was composed of participants who belong to "mid-major" conferences and who were not invited to the NCAA tournament, the National Invitation Tournament, or the College Basketball Invitational.
Participating teams
The following teams received an invitation to the 2018 CIT:
| Team | Conference | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian[2] | Southland | 16–15 | 8–10 |
| Austin Peay[3] | OVC | 18–14 | 12–6 |
| Central Michigan[4] | MAC | 19–14 | 7–11 |
| Drake[5] | MVC | 16–16 | 10–8 |
| Eastern Michigan | MAC | 21–12 | 11–7 |
| Fort Wayne[6] | Summit | 18–14 | 7–7 |
| Hartford | America East | 19–13 | 11–5 |
| Lamar | Southland | 19–13 | 11–7 |
| Liberty[7] | Big South | 20–14 | 9–9 |
| Louisiana–Monroe | Sun Belt | 16–15 | 9–9 |
| Niagara[8] | MAAC | 19–13 | 12–6 |
| North Carolina A&T[9] | MEAC | 20–14 | 11–5 |
| Northern Colorado | Big Sky | 22–12 | 11–7 |
| Portland State | Big Sky | 20–13 | 9–9 |
| Saint Francis (PA)[10] | NEC | 18–12 | 12–6 |
| Sam Houston State | Southland | 19–14 | 12–6 |
| San Diego[11] | WCC | 18–13 | 9–9 |
| UIC | Horizon | 17–15 | 12–6 |
| UTSA | C-USA | 19–14 | 11–7 |
| Wofford | Southern | 21–12 | 11–7 |
Format
The CIT uses the old NIT model in which there is no set bracket. Future round opponents are determined by the results of the previous round.
Postseason classics
In 2016, the CIT introduced the Coach John McLendon Classic as the first "Classic" game to ever be played during a postseason tournament. For 2017, the CIT introduced three more "Classic" games, for a total of four, all to be played in the first round. In 2018, a fifth "Classic" was added.
Coach John McLendon Classic
Hugh Durham Classic
Lou Henson Classic
Riley Wallace Classic
Jim Phelan Classic
The winners of each Classic received a trophy and advanced to the second round or to the quarterfinals if they received a second round bye.
Schedule
- Wofford, Northern Colorado, Portland State, and Sam Houston State received first round byes.
- Liberty, UTSA, Austin Peay, and UIC received second round byes.
| Date | Time* | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Television |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | |||||
| March 12 | 12:00 pm | Central Michigan at Fort Wayne (Hugh Durham Classic) |
94–89 | 1,234 | CBSSN |
| 2:00 pm | Abilene Christian at Drake (Lou Henson Classic) |
73–80 OT | 3,565 | ||
| 6:00 pm | North Carolina A&T at Liberty (Jim Phelan Classic) |
52–65 | 486 | ||
| 10:00 pm | Hartford at San Diego (Riley Wallace Classic) |
72–88 | 893 | ||
| March 14 | 7:00 pm | Niagara at Eastern Michigan | 65–83 | 1,138 | CBS Sports Live watchcit.com |
| 8:00 pm | Saint Francis (PA) at UIC | 61–84 | 1,137 | ||
| 8:00 pm | Lamar at UTSA | 69–76 | 1,012 | ||
| March 15 | 8:00 pm | Louisiana–Monroe at Austin Peay (Coach John McLendon Classic) |
66–80 | 1,228 | |
| Second round | |||||
| March 16 | 7:00 pm | Central Michigan at Wofford | 98–94 | 1,448 | CBS Sports Live watchcit.com |
| March 17 | 10:00 pm | Portland State at San Diego | 64–67 | 1,019 | |
| March 18 | 5:00 pm | Drake at Northern Colorado | 72–81 | 1,074 | |
| March 19 | 7:30 pm | Eastern Michigan at Sam Houston State | 62–69 | 322 | |
| Quarterfinals | |||||
| March 21 | 8:00 pm | UIC at Austin Peay | 83–81 | 1,121 | CBS Sports Live watchcit.com |
| 10:00 pm | Northern Colorado at San Diego | 86–75 | 1,053 | ||
| March 22 | 8:00 pm | Sam Houston State at UTSA | 76–69 | 1,352 | |
| March 24 | 2:00 pm | Central Michigan at Liberty | 71–84 | 476 | |
| Semifinals | |||||
| March 28 | 7:00 pm | UIC at Liberty | 67–51 | 2,248 | CBSSN |
| 9:00 pm | Sam Houston State at Northern Colorado | 80–99 | 2,019 | ||
| Championship | |||||
| March 30 | 7:00 pm | UIC at Northern Colorado | 71–76 | 3,198 | CBSSN |
| *All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4). Winning team in bold. | |||||
Bracket
Bracket is for visual purposes only. The CIT does not use a set bracket.
| First round March 12–15 | Second round March 16–19 | Quarterfinals March 21–24 | Semifinals March 28 | Championship March 30 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Francis (PA) | 61 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| UIC | 84 | Bye | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UIC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UIC | 83 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana–Monroe | 66 | Austin Peay | 81 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Austin Peay | 88 | Bye | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Austin Peay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UIC | 67 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 94 | Liberty | 51 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fort Wayne | 89 | Central Michigan | 98 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wofford | 94 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 71 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina A&T | 52 | Liberty | 84 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Liberty | 65 | Bye | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liberty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UIC | 71 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Niagara | 65 | Northern Colorado | 76 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 83 | Eastern Michigan | 62 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 76 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lamar | 69 | UTSA | 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| UTSA | 76 | Bye | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTSA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilene Christian | 73 | Northern Colorado | 99 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Drake | 80* | Drake | 72 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Colorado | 81 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Colorado | 86 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hartford | 72 | San Diego | 75 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego | 88 | Portland State | 64 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego | 67 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Home teams listed second.
* Denotes overtime period.
References
- "2018 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Schedule". CollegeInsider.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- "Wildcats to make Division I postseason debut in CIT". Abilene Christian University. March 7, 2018.
- "Govs accept CIT bid, will host opening-round game March 15". Austin Peay State University. March 6, 2018.
- Petzold, Evan (March 9, 2018). "Men's basketball to play in College Insider Tournament". Central Michigan Life.
- "Not done yet! We've accepted an invitation to compete in the CIT!". Drake Basketball. March 12, 2018.
- "Men's Hoops To Host CMU In CIT Game On Monday On CBS Sports Network". Fort Wayne Mastodons. March 9, 2018.
- "Liberty Accepts CIT Invitation, Hosts First Round". Liberty Flames. March 7, 2018.
- "Back To The Postseason! Niagara To Play In 10th Annual CIT". Niagara University. March 8, 2018.
- "Aggie Men Lose In Semis, Earn Postseason Bid". North Carolina A&T Aggies. March 9, 2018.
- "Excited to announce we have been accepted into the CIT! It's our third postseason appearance in the last four years. We will update you as soon as we find out our". Saint Francis U MBB. March 10, 2018.
- "Toreros to host Hartford in CIT 1st round game on Monday". University of San Diego. March 10, 2018. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2018.