2022 The Basketball Classic
American college basketball tournament
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The 2022 The Basketball Classic (TBC) was a single-elimination men's college basketball postseason tournament featuring National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams not selected to participate in the NCAA tournament or the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The tournament began on March 15 with the championship game played on April 1. The tournament was won by the Fresno State Bulldogs. All games were streamed on ESPN+.
21 bids accepted
18 teams competed
Conway, South Carolina
| |||||
| Season | 2021–22 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 32 planned 21 bids accepted 18 teams competed | ||||
| Finals site | HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina | ||||
| Champions | Fresno State (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Coastal Carolina (1st title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Justin Hutson (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Orlando Robinson (Fresno State) | ||||
| Attendance | 1,407 (championship game) | ||||
| |||||
Structure
Tournament organizers originally announced that there would be 32 teams in the field;[1] however, when the list of participating teams was released, only 21 were present. Three of the 21 teams subsequently withdrew prior to competing, leaving the actual field size for the tournament at 18. Due to the fluidity of the field, rather than adhering to the traditional bracket, a model previously used by the National Invitation Tournament was leveraged in which matchups were set only one round at a time. Later-round host sites were determined, at least in part, by earlier-round game attendance figures.
Five matchups in the tournament were designated as "Legend Games", honoring Zelmo Beaty, Travis Grant, Marques Haynes, Cleo Hill and Willis Reed, all of whom played college basketball at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).[2] In addition to advancing in the tournament, the winning teams received a trophy honoring the legend for whom the particular game was named. Due to scheduling issues, the designated Cleo Hill game was unable to be held.
Participating teams
The following eighteen teams accepted invitations to the tournament and competed. Team records are as of the end of the regular season and prior to the beginning of the tournament.
| Team | Conference | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State[3][4] | Sun Belt | 19–14 (.576) |
| Coastal Carolina[5][6] | Sun Belt | 16–13 (.552) |
| Detroit Mercy[7][8] | Horizon | 14–15 (.483) |
| Eastern Washington[9] | Big Sky | 18–15 (.545) |
| Florida Gulf Coast[10] | Atlantic Sun | 21–11 (.656) |
| Fresno State[11] | Mountain West | 19–13 (.594) |
| Kent State[12] | Mid-American | 23–10 (.697) |
| Maryland Eastern Shore[6] | Mid-Eastern Athletic | 11–15 (.423) |
| Morgan State | Mid-Eastern Athletic | 13–14 (.481) |
| New Orleans[13] | Southland | 18–13 (.581) |
| Portland[14] | West Coast | 18–14 (.563) |
| South Alabama[15][16] | Sun Belt | 19–11 (.633) |
| USC Upstate[4] | Big South | 14–16 (.467) |
| Southeastern Louisiana[16] | Southland | 19–14 (.576) |
| Southern Utah[12][17][18] | Big Sky | 20–11 (.645) |
| UTEP[19][20] | USA | 19–13 (.594) |
| Western Illinois[20] | The Summit | 16–15 (.516) |
| Youngstown State[21] | Horizon | 18–14 (.563) |
The following three teams accepted invitations to the tournament, but withdrew prior to competing. Team records are as of the end of the regular season and prior to the beginning of the tournament.
The following seven programs declined invitations: Arkansas State,[27] Liberty,[28] Oakland,[8] Sam Houston State,[29] Samford,[30] Utah Valley,[18][29] Weber State.[18]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | |||||
| March 15 | 6:30 p.m. | USC Upstate at Appalachian State | 80–74 | 2,146 | [31] |
| March 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Detroit Mercy at Florida Gulf Coast | 79–95 | 505 | [32] |
| Zelmo Beaty Game Maryland Eastern Shore at Coastal Carolina |
42–66 | 923 | [33] | ||
| 8:00 p.m. | Travis Grant Game Southeastern Louisiana at South Alabama |
68–70 | 885 | [34] | |
| Marques Haynes Game Morgan State at Youngstown State |
65–70 | 1,045 | [35] | ||
| 9:00 p.m. | Willis Reed Game Kent State at Southern Utah |
79–83 | 1,316 | [36] | |
| March 17 | 10:00 p.m. | Eastern Washington at Fresno State | 74–83 | 1,166 | [37] |
| March 19 | 3:00 p.m. | Western Illinois at UTEP[b] | 54–80 | 3,500 | [39] |
| 10:00 p.m. | New Orleans at Portland | 73–94 | 659 | [40] | |
| Second Round | |||||
| March 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Florida Gulf Coast at Coastal Carolina | 68–84 | 825 | [41] |
| 8:00 p.m. | USC Upstate at South Alabama | 79–83 | 699 | [42] | |
| March 22 | 9:00 p.m. | Southern Utah at UTEP | 82–69 | 3,510 | [43] |
| Quarterfinals | |||||
| March 23 | 10:00 p.m. | Youngstown State at Fresno State | 71–80 | 1,754 | [44] |
| March 26 | 6:00 p.m. | Portland at Southern Utah | 66–77 | 1,504 | [45] |
| Semifinals | |||||
| March 28 | 8:00 p.m. | Coastal Carolina at South Alabama | 69–68 OT | 1,039 | [46] |
| 10:00 p.m. | Southern Utah at Fresno State | 48–67 | 3,006 | [47] | |
| Final | |||||
| April 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Fresno State at Coastal Carolina | 85–74 | 1,407 | [48] |
| Game times in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). All games broadcast on ESPN+.[49] | |||||
The following games were announced but never played.
Bracket
The Basketball Classic field was announced after the field for the NIT was released on March 13.
With an 18-team bracket, organizers chose to match one second-round winner against Portland, with three other second-round winners advancing directly to the semifinals.
Note: Bracket is for visual purposes only. In lieu of a traditional bracket, the field and matchups were determined following the completion of the preceding round.
| First Round March 16 | First/Second Round March 15–19/March 22 | Second Round/Quarterfinals March 21–23/March 26 | Semifinals March 28 | Final April 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| New Orleans | 73 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland | 94 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland | 66 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 79 | Southern Utah | 77 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Utah | 83 | Southern Utah | 82 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Illinois | 54 | UTEP | 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 80 | Southern Utah | 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 67 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morgan State | 65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 70 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 71 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Washington | 74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 83 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 85 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina | 74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Mercy | 79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Gulf Coast | 95 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Gulf Coast | 68 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina | 84 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland Eastern Shore | 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina | 66 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina | 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Alabama | 68 OT | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC Upstate | 80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appalachian State | 74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC Upstate | 79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Alabama | 83 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southeastern Louisiana | 68 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Alabama | 70 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Home teams listed second.
Awards
The following were the most valuable players selected for each of the Legend Games:
Editorials & Opinions
Joel Whetzel: "Disappointing, to be sure ... simply a microcosm of how this tournament has gone since conference tournaments ended. The shame is the tournament could serve a great purpose if things were to go correctly." [55]