BOSTON — The expanded 24-team field for the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament was completed and announced by tournament officials on Sunday. The University of North Dakota men’s basketball team will open its run in the CIT at Air Force on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT.

This is the third annual CIT, which featured 16 teams in its first two seasons of existence before giving eight more collegiate basketball teams a chance to compete in postseason play this season.

“We are extremely pleased with the field we have assembled for the 2011 CIT,” Riley Wallace, who is the chairman of the selection committee, said. “I think the committee did an outstanding job of identifying teams early on, which made the process easier.”

 

The Fighting Sioux earned the only automatic berth in the field after capturing the Great West Conference Tournament title in dramatic fashion on Saturday. UND’s Josh Schuler (Urbana, Ohio) hit a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds to play in double overtime to give the Sioux a 77-76 victory over long-time rival South Dakota.

This will be the third meeting between the Sioux and the Falcons on the hardwood and the first since the 1964-65 season when UND defeated Air Force, 61-54, in Grand Forks. The Falcons won the previous year's contest 77-61 in Colorado Springs.

 

Air Force (15-15, Mountain West), Buffalo (18-13, Mid-American), East Carolina (18-15, Conference USA), East Tennessee State (22-11, Atlantic Sun), Furman (22-10, Southern), Hawaii (18-12, Western Athletic), Idaho (18-13, Western Athletic), Iona (22-11), Jacksonville (19-11, Atlantic Sun), Marshall (22-11, Conference USA), North Dakota (19-14, Great West), Northern Arizona (19-12, Big Sky), Northern Iowa (19-13,  Missouri Valley), Ohio (18-15, Mid-American), Oral Roberts (19-15, Summit League), Portland (20-11, West Coast), Quinnipiac (22-9, Northeast), Rider (23-10, Metro Atlantic), San Francisco (17-14, West Coast), Santa Clara (19-14, West Coast), SMU (17-14, Conference USA), Tennessee Tech (20-12, Ohio Valley), Western Michigan (20-12, Mid-American) and Valparaiso (23-11, Horizon League). 

Opening Round: March 15 -16 (12 games)

Second Round: March 18-19 (four games, four byes)

Quarterfinal Round: March 21-22 (four games)

Semifinal Round: March 25 (two games)

Championship Game: March 30

 

The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is a single-elimination tournament, consisting of five rounds, all games played on on-campus sites, which will be determined by seeding.

The event will feature 12 first-round games, four second-round games (in which the top 4 remaining seeds receive a bye), four quarterfinal games, a semi-final round and then the championship game.

Bracketing will be done geographically into multiple regions of the country to minimize missed class time. Brackets will be balanced competitively within each region. This process will take place after the NCAA and NIT Tournament fields are announced.

 

Fox College Sports will broadcast the Championship Game of the CIT on Wednesday, March 30.

 

This is the third year of the CIT.  Old Dominion defeated Bradley 66-62 in the 2009 title game and Missouri State defeated Pacific 78-65 for the 2010 championship.  Great West Conference member South Dakota lost to Creighton in last year’s first round.

 

Tickets are $12 for lower bowl and $8 for upper bowl at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs.  Tickets can be ordered online at http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/.

 

Live on 100.3 FM – Cat Country, Grand Forks

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– Go Sioux –