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 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: TeamConferenceOverall recordConference recordAbilene ChristianSouthland 16–15 8–10Austin PeayOVC 18–14 12–6Central MichiganMAC 19–14 7–11DrakeMVC 16–16 10–8Eastern MichiganMAC 21–12 11–7Fort WayneSummit 18–14 7–7HartfordAmerica East 19–13 11–5LamarSouthland 19–13 11–7LibertyBig South 20–14 9–9Louisiana–MonroeSun Belt 16–15 9–9NiagaraMAAC 19–13 12–6North Carolina A&TMEAC 20–14 11–5Northern ColoradoBig Sky 22–12 11–7Portland StateBig Sky 20–13 9–9Saint Francis (PA)NEC 18–12 12–6Sam Houston StateSouthland 19–14 12–6San DiegoWCC 18–13 9–9UICHorizon 17–15 12–6UTSAC-USA 19–14 11–7WoffordSouthern 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 roundMarch 1212:00 pmCentral Michigan at Fort Wayne(Hugh Durham Classic) 94–89 1,234CBSSN2:00 pmAbilene Christian at Drake(Lou Henson Classic) 73–80 OT 3,5656:00 pmNorth Carolina A&T at Liberty(Jim Phelan Classic)52–6548610:00 pmHartford at San Diego(Riley Wallace Classic)72–88893March 147:00 pmNiagara at Eastern Michigan65–831,138CBS Sports Livewatchcit.com8:00 pmSaint Francis (PA) at UIC61–841,1378:00 pmLamar at UTSA69–761,012March 158:00 pmLouisiana–Monroe at Austin Peay(Coach John McLendon Classic)66–801,228 Second roundMarch 167:00 pmCentral Michigan at Wofford98–941,448CBS Sports Livewatchcit.comMarch 1710:00 pmPortland State at San Diego64–671,019March 185:00 pmDrake at Northern Colorado72–811,074March 197:30 pmEastern Michigan at Sam Houston State62–69322 QuarterfinalsMarch 21 8:00 pm UIC at Austin Peay 83–81 1,121 CBS Sports Livewatchcit.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 SemifinalsMarch 287:00 pm UIC at Liberty 67–51 2,248CBSSN9:00 pm Sam Houston State at Northern Colorado 80–99 2,019 ChampionshipMarch 307:00 pm UIC at Northern Colorado 71–76 3,198CBSSN *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.
Home teams listed second. * Denotes overtime period.
References
External links CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament