2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

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^[1]

2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

Teams	26
Finals site	Levien Gymnasium New York City, New York
Champions	Columbia (1st title)
Runner-up	UC Irvine (1st title game)
Semifinalists	NJIT (2nd semifinal) Coastal Carolina (1st semifinal)
Winning coach	Kyle Smith (1st title)
MVP	Maodo Lo (Columbia)
Attendance	43,125
CIT Tournaments «2015 2017»

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:

Team	Conference	Overall record	Conference record
Army^[2]	Patriot	19–13	9–9
Ball State^[3]	Mid-American	19–13	10–8
Boston University^[4]	Patriot	18–14	11–7
Central Michigan^[5]	Mid-American	17–15	10–8
Coastal Carolina^[6]	Big South	18–11	12–6
Columbia^[7]	Ivy	21–10	10–4
Fordham^[8]	Atlantic 10	17–13	8–10
Fairfield^[9]	MAAC	19–13	12–8
Furman^[10]	Southern	18–15	11–7
Grand Canyon^[11]	WAC	25–6	11–3
Jackson State^[12]	SWAC	19–15	12–6
Louisiana–Monroe	Sun Belt	20–13	15–5
Louisiana–Lafayette	Sun Belt	17–14	12–8
Mercer^[13]	Southern	19–14	8–10
New Hampshire^[14]	America East	19–12	11–5
NJIT^[15]	Atlantic Sun	17–14	8–6
Norfolk State^[16]	MEAC	17–16	12–4
North Dakota	Big Sky	17–15	10–8
Sam Houston State	Southland	18–15	12–6
Savannah State	MEAC	16–15	9–7
South Carolina State	MEAC	19–14	12–4
Tennessee State^[17]	Ohio Valley	20–10	11–5
Texas–Arlington	Sun Belt	23–10	13–7
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	Southland	25–7	15–3
UC Irvine	Big West	25–9	13–3
UT Martin	Ohio 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[18] 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	7:30 pm	Jackson State at Sam Houston State		81–77^OT	376
March 14	10:00 pm	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	7:00 pm	Louisiana–Monroe at Furman		57–58	806
March 15	7:00 pm	Ball State at Tennessee State		78–73^2OT	1,013
March 16	7:00 pm	Texas–Arlington at Savannah State		75–59	1,192
March 16	7:00 pm	Boston University at Fordham		69–66	1,264
March 16	7:00 pm	Norfolk State at Columbia		54–86	1,037
March 16	7:00 pm	New Hampshire at Fairfield		77–62	2,479
March 16	7:00 pm	UT Martin at Central Michigan		76–73	832
March 16	7:30 pm	Army at NJIT	ESPN3	65–79	855
March 16	8:00 pm	UC Irvine at North Dakota	Midco SN	89–86^OT	1,263
March 16	8:00 pm	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi at Louisiana–Lafayette		72–96	1,205
Second round
March 17	10:00 pm	Jackson State at Grand Canyon	Cox7	54–64	7,015
March 19	2:00 pm	New Hampshire at Coastal Carolina		62–71	847
March 19	2:00 pm	Louisiana–Lafayette at Furman		80–72	1,308
March 20	6:00 pm	UT Martin at Ball State	ESPN3	80–83^OT	1,203
March 21	7:30 pm	Boston University at NJIT	ESPN3	72–83	1,134
Quarterfinals
March 23	7:00 pm	Ball State at Columbia		67–69	1,397
March 23	7:00 pm	Grand Canyon at Coastal Carolina		58–60	1,302
March 23	8:00 pm	UC Irvine at Louisiana–Lafayette		67–66	1,901
March 24	7:30 pm	Texas–Arlington at NJIT	ESPN3	60–63	1,383
Semifinals
March 27	6:00 pm	NJIT at Columbia	CBSSN	65–80	1,249
March 27	9:00 pm	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.

	First round March 14–16					Second round March 17–21					Quarterfinals March 23–24					Semifinals March 27					Championship March 29
	UC Irvine		89*
	North Dakota		86			UC Irvine
						Bye
											UC Irvine		67
	TX A&M–CC		72								Louisiana–Lafayette		66
	Louisiana–Lafayette		96			Louisiana–Lafayette		80
	Louisiana–Monroe		57			Furman		72
	Furman		58													UC Irvine		66
	Jackson State		81*													Coastal Carolina		47
	Sam Houston State		77			Jackson State		54
	South Carolina State		74			Grand Canyon		64
	Grand Canyon		78								Grand Canyon		58
	New Hampshire		77								Coastal Carolina		60
	Fairfield		62			New Hampshire		62
	Mercer		57			Coastal Carolina		71
	Coastal Carolina		65																		UC Irvine		67
	UT Arlington		75																		Columbia		73
	Savannah State		59			UT Arlington
						Bye
											UT Arlington		60
	Boston U		69								NJIT		63
	Fordham		66			Boston U		72
	Army		65			NJIT		83
	NJIT		79													NJIT		65
	UT Martin		76													Columbia		80
	Central Michigan		73			UT Martin		80
	Ball State		78**			Ball State		83*
	Tennessee State		73								Ball State		67
											Columbia		69
						Bye
	Norfolk State		54			Columbia
	Columbia		86

Home teams listed second.
* Denotes overtime period.

References

1. "2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Schedule". CollegeInsider.com. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
2. "Army West Point Official Athletics Site". Army.
3. "Ball State gets shot at redemption through CIT". The Star Press. March 10, 2016.
4. . Boston University Terriers. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
5. . Central Michigan Chippewas. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
6. Young, Ryan. . MyrtleBeachOnline.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
7. "Men's Basketball Accepts CIT Bid". gocolumbialions.com. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
8. "Fordham University Rams Athletics". Fordham University.
9. "Men'S Basketball Hosts New Hampshire Wednesday In CIT". FairfieldStags.com.
10. "Furman men's basketball team earns berth in postseason tournament". Greenville Online. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
11. @GCULopes (March 9, 2016). ".@GCU_Hoops is back! Next Monday GCU will host the @collegeinsider Coach John McLendon Classic! #LopesRising" (Tweet). Retweeted by GCU Men's Basketball – via Twitter.
12. . JSUTigers.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
13. . Mercer Bears. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
14. "UNH Wildcats - Men's Basketball Accepts CollegeInsider.com Tournament Invite". University of New Hampshire.
15. "NJIT Men Selected For The 2016 CIT". NJIT Highlanders.com. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
16. "Norfolk State University Spartans Athletics - NSU to Play Columbia Wednesday in CIT". Norfolk State Spartans.
17. "TSU to play in CollegeInsider.com Tournament". The Tennessean. March 10, 2016.
18. "2016 CIT Guide" (PDF). CollegeInsider. Retrieved February 29, 2016.