The 2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was a postseason single-elimination tournament of 26 NCAA Division I basketball teams. The first round was played March 14–16, 2016. The second round March 18–20, Quarterfinals March 22–24 the semifinals March 27, and the championship game was played on March 29

Participants who belonged to "mid-major" conferences, not invited to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, National Invitation Tournament, College Basketball Invitational or the Vegas 16 made up the field. An experimental rule allowing players six personal fouls instead of five was used in all 2016 national postseason tournaments except for the NCAA Tournament.

Originally set to include 32 teams, the 2016 tournament consisted of 26 participants. After all 26 teams played in the first round, the top-three highest rated teams based on the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings regular season rating automatically advanced to the quarterfinals.

Columbia beat UC Irvine 73–67 in the championship game to give the Ivy League just its second postseason tournament title in conference history (Princeton won the 1975 NIT).

Participating teams The following teams received an invitation to the 2016 CIT: TeamConferenceOverall recordConference recordArmyPatriot 19–13 9–9Ball StateMid-American 19–13 10–8Boston UniversityPatriot 18–14 11–7Central MichiganMid-American 17–15 10–8Coastal CarolinaBig South 18–11 12–6ColumbiaIvy 21–10 10–4FordhamAtlantic 10 17–13 8–10FairfieldMAAC 19–13 12–8FurmanSouthern 18–15 11–7Grand CanyonWAC 25–6 11–3Jackson StateSWAC 19–15 12–6Louisiana–MonroeSun Belt 20–13 15–5Louisiana–LafayetteSun Belt 17–14 12–8MercerSouthern 19–14 8–10New HampshireAmerica East 19–12 11–5NJITAtlantic Sun 17–14 8–6Norfolk StateMEAC 17–16 12–4North DakotaBig Sky 17–15 10–8Sam Houston StateSouthland 18–15 12–6Savannah StateMEAC 16–15 9–7South Carolina StateMEAC 19–14 12–4Tennessee StateOhio Valley 20–10 11–5Texas–ArlingtonSun Belt 23–10 13–7Texas A&M–Corpus ChristiSouthland 25–7 15–3UC IrvineBig West 25–9 13–3UT MartinOhio Valley 19–14 10–6

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. After all 26 teams played in the first round, the top-three highest rated teams based on the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings regular season rating automatically advanced to the quarterfinals.

Coach John McLendon Classic The Coach John McLendon Classic was televised March 14, on CBS Sports Network as part of the CIT. The Classic will feature at least one historically black college/university. The winner of the John McLendon Classic advanced to the second round of the CIT. This will be the first time in NCAA Division I Basketball history, that a "Classic" has been part of a postseason tournament. Previously the John McLendon Classic was played during the regular season.

Schedule Date Time* Matchup Television Score Attendance First round March 14 7:30pm Jackson State at Sam Houston State 81–77OT 376 March 14 10:00pm South Carolina State vs Grand Canyon (Coach John McLendon Classic) CBSSN 74–78 7,315 March 15 7:00 pm Mercer at Coastal Carolina 57–65 940 March 15 7:00pm Louisiana–Monroe at Furman 57–58 806 March 15 7:00pm Ball State at Tennessee State 78–732OT 1,013 March 16 7:00pm Texas–Arlington at Savannah State 75–59 1,192 March 16 7:00pm Boston University at Fordham 69–66 1,264 March 16 7:00pm Norfolk State at Columbia 54–86 1,037 March 16 7:00pm New Hampshire at Fairfield 77–62 2,479 March 16 7:00pm UT Martin at Central Michigan 76–73 832 March 16 7:30pm Army at NJIT ESPN3 65–79 855 March 16 8:00pm UC Irvine at North Dakota Midco SN 89–86OT 1,263 March 16 8:00pm Texas A&M–Corpus Christi at Louisiana–Lafayette 72–96 1,205 Second round March 17 10:00pm Jackson State at Grand Canyon Cox7 54–64 7,015 March 19 2:00pm New Hampshire at Coastal Carolina 62–71 847 March 19 2:00pm Louisiana–Lafayette at Furman 80–72 1,308 March 20 6:00pm UT Martin at Ball State ESPN3 80–83OT 1,203 March 21 7:30pm Boston University at NJIT ESPN3 72–83 1,134 Quarterfinals March 23 7:00pm Ball State at Columbia 67–69 1,397 March 23 7:00pm Grand Canyon at Coastal Carolina 58–60 1,302 March 23 8:00pm UC Irvine at Louisiana–Lafayette 67–66 1,901 March 24 7:30pm Texas–Arlington at NJIT ESPN3 60–63 1,383 Semifinals March 27 6:00pm NJIT at Columbia CBSSN 65–80 1,249 March 27 9:00pm UC Irvine at Coastal Carolina 66–47 1,204 Championship March 29 7:00 pm UC Irvine at Columbia CBSSN 67–73 2,603 *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 have a set bracket.

Home teams listed second. * Denotes overtime period.

References