Matchups for 2016 ESPN Events Early Season Basketball Tournaments Revealed

Anna Negron

July 14, 2016

ESPN Events has revealed the brackets for its owned and operated early season college basketball tournaments. Featuring more than 40 teams, the tournaments begin in November and continue through Christmas weekend. The six, multi-day, destination events include the Gildan Charleston Classic (Nov. 17, 18 & 20), Puerto Rico Tip-off (Nov. 17, 18 & 20), AdvoCare Invitational (Nov. 24, 25 & 27), DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (Nov. 24, 25 & 27), NIT Season Tip-Off (Nov. 24-25) and Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22, 23 & 25).

The bracket-format tournaments feature 12 games over three days, with the NIT Season Tip-Off championship rounds taking place over two days with four games during Thanksgiving weekend. The teams compete once per day, advancing with a victory. The two teams that remain undefeated will face off in a championship game.

All schedules are subject to change.

Gildan Charleston Classic – Nov. 17, 18 & 20
The Gildan Charleston Classic, hosted by the Colonial Athletic Association, will be held at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. Teams participating in the tournament include NCAA National Champion Villanova, as well as Boise State, Charleston, Mississippi State, UCF, UTEP, Wake Forest and Western Michigan. Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Gildan Charleston Classic website.

Date	Time	Game	Network
Thu, Nov 17	11:30 a.m.	Western Michigan vs. Villanova	ESPN2
	1:30 p.m.	Wake Forest vs. UTEP	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Mississippi State vs. UCF	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	Boise State vs. Charleston	ESPN3
Fri, Nov 18	1:30 p.m.	Semifinal #1	ESPN2
	3:30 p.m.	Consolation #1	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Consolation #2	ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Semifinal #2	ESPNU
Sun, Nov 20	1:30 p.m.	7^th Place Game	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	5^th Place Game	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	3^rd Place Game	ESPNU
	9:30 p.m.	Championship Game	ESPN2
Wed, Nov 23	TBD	Charleston at Villanova ^	TBD

^ – Non-bracketed game

Puerto Rico Tip-Off – Nov. 17, 18 & 20
The Puerto Rico Tip-Off, played at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, showcases four teams that participated in postseason tournaments last season, including Oklahoma, which advanced to the Final Four, Xavier and Northern Iowa, which both advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, and Davidson, which earned an invitation to the postseason NIT. Arizona State, Clemson, Missouri and Tulane will also head to San Juan as participants in the tournament. Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Puerto Rico Tip-Off website.

Date	Time	Game	Network
Thu, Nov 17	11 a.m.	Clemson vs. Davidson	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Xavier vs. Missouri	ESPNU
	4:30 p.m.	Northern Iowa vs. Arizona State	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Tulane vs. Oklahoma	ESPN2 or ESPNU
Fri, Nov 18	11:30 a.m.	Consolation #1	ESPNU
	1:30 p.m.	Semifinal #1	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	Consolation #2	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Semifinal #2	ESPNU
Sun, Nov 20	Noon	7^th Place Game	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	5^th Place Game	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	3^rd Place Game	ESPNU
	7:30 p.m.	Championship Game	ESPN2
Sat, Nov 26	TBD	Northern Iowa at Xavier^	TBD

^ – Non-bracketed game

AdvoCare Invitational – Nov. 24, 25 & 27
The AdvoCare Invitational, played at the HP Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, will bring three Sweet 16 teams from last year’s NCAA tournament —Gonzaga, Iowa State and Miami — to Orlando, Fla. Joining those teams will be last season’s BIG EAST Champion Seton Hall, Florida, which advanced to the third round of the postseason NIT, Indiana State, Quinnipiac and Stanford. Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the AdvoCare Invitational website.

Date	Time	Game	Network
Thu, Nov 24	12:30 p.m.	Indiana State vs. Iowa State	ESPN2 or ESPNU
	2:30 p.m.	Stanford vs. Miami	ESPN2 or ESPNU
	6:30 p.m.	Gonzaga vs. Quinnipiac	ESPN2
	8:30 p.m.	Seton Hall vs. Florida	ESPN2
Fri, Nov 25	11 a.m.	Semifinal #1	ESPN2
	1 p.m.	Consolation #1	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	Consolation #2	ESPN2
	9:30 p.m.	Semifinal #2	ESPN2
Sun, Nov 27	11 a.m.	7^th Place Game	ESPNU
	1:30 p.m.	Championship Game	ESPN
	4:30 p.m.	3^rd Place Game	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	5^th Place Game	ESPNU

DIRECTV Wooden Legacy – Nov. 24, 25 & 27
The DIRECTV Wooden Legacy will take place Nov. 24, 25 and 27 at Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif., and the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. CSUN, Dayton, Nebraska, New Mexico, Portland, Texas A&M, which advanced to the Sweet 16 in last year’s NCAA tournament, UCLA and Virginia Tech will be participants in this year’s tournament.

Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy website.

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Sun, Nov 13	TBD	CSUN at UCLA^	TBD
Thu, Nov 24#	2 p.m.	Texas A&M vs. CSUN	ESPN3
	4:30 p.m.	New Mexico vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN
	8:30 p.m.	Dayton vs. Nebraska	ESPNU
	11 p.m.	Portland vs. UCLA	ESPN2
Fri, Nov 25#	3 p.m.	Consolation #1	ESPNU
	5:30 p.m.	Semifinal #1	ESPN2
	9:30 p.m.	Consolation #2	ESPN3
	Midnight	Semifinal #2	ESPN2
Sun, Nov 27*	2 p.m.	5^th Place Game	ESPNU
	4 p.m.	3^rd Place Game	ESPNU
	8:30 p.m.	Championship Game	ESPN
	11 p.m.	7^th Place Game	ESPNU

^ – Non-bracketed game
# – Titan Gym, Fullerton, Calif.
* – Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.

NIT Season Tip-Off – Nov. 24 & 25
Hosted by ESPN Events, this year’s NIT Season Tip-Off features Florida State, Illinois, Temple and West Virginia, facing off at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Temple and West Virginia both played in last year’s NCAA Tournament, while Florida State played in the postseason NIT. Other non-bracketed games will be played at campus sites in November. Matchups and the full schedule will be announced at a later date. Additional information can be found on the NIT Tip-Off website.

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Thu, Nov 24	12:30 p.m.	Temple vs. Florida State	ESPN2 or ESPNU
	2:30 p.m.	Illinois vs. West Virginia	ESPN2 or ESPNU
Fri, Nov 25	12:30 p.m.	3^rd Place Game	ESPNU
	3 p.m.	Championship	ESPN2

Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic – Dec. 22, 23 & 25
Stephen F. Austin, which caught the attention of fans everywhere with its NCAA tournament performance, is among the teams playing in this year’s Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Held at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, the tournament also includes Hawai’i, Illinois, San Diego State, Southern Mississippi, San Francisco, Tulsa and Utah. Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic website.

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Thu, Dec 22	4:30 p.m.	Tulsa vs. Stephen F. Austin	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	San Diego State vs. Southern Mississippi	ESPN2
	11 p.m.	San Francisco vs. Utah	ESPNU
	1:30 a.m.	Illinois State vs. Hawai’i	ESPN2
Fri, Dec 23	4:30 p.m.	Semifinal #1	ESPN2
	6:30 p.m.	Consolation #1	ESPN3
	10 p.m.	Semifinal #2	ESPN2
	12:30 a.m.	Consolation #2	ESPNU
Sun, Dec 25	1 p.m.	5^th Place Game or 7^th Place Game	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	5^th Place Game of 7^th Place Game	ESPNU
	6:30 p.m.	3^rd Place Game	ESPN2
	8:30 p.m.	Championship Game	ESPN2

ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; 13 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 250-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football
AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston); Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Daytona Beach, Fla.); Orlando Kickoff (Florida); Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); St. Petersburg Bowl (Florida); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)