Monday, March 14, 2011

BOSTON - For the first time since the 2004 NIT, two Atlantic Sun men's basketball teams will compete in the same postseason tournament as Jacksonville and ETSU each accepted bids to the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament.

ETSU will host the program’s first-ever home game in a national postseason tournament - taking on former Southern Conference rival Furman Tuesday evening. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

“We’re excited about this opportunity to play in the postseason,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, who has led the Bucs to five 20-win seasons and five postseason berths in eight years at ETSU. “We think having a former Southern Conference team in the Dome will make for an interesting matchup for our fans.”

ETSU finished the season at 22-11 overall, but fell short of a third straight NCAA Tournament trip by falling in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships. Despite that loss, the Bucs enjoyed a successful campaign, having consistently posted a strong RPI in the Top 100 throughout year. In fact, the Bucs enjoyed quality wins over teams such as Atlantic 10 Conference foe Dayton and SEC opponent Mississippi State, on way to their highest national RPI ranking since 2003-04.

The Dolphins (19-11) first round matchup is on the road against East Carolina (18-15) on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Pirates are coming off a run to the Conference USA semifinals, upsetting regular season champion UAB in the quarterfinals. The three-year postseason streak is the second longest in program history, trailing just JU’s five-season run from 1970-74.

“We appreciate the CollegeInsider.com committee recognizing our resume and inviting us to play in the event,” said JU head coach Cliff Warren. “Fortunately we practiced last week in preparation for this opportunity. Our guys are looking forward to going back out on the court again as a team.”

Last year, JU made some late night noise in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) – upsetting No. 1 seed Arizona State, 68-67, on Ben Smith’s 3-pointer at the buzzer. This year’s squad is seeking to become the first group to win postseason games in back-to-back season ever at JU.

JU and ETSU will be the second and third teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference to participate in the event. Belmont won its first round game in 2009 over Evansville. In the 2004 NIT, Belmont and Troy each secured bids for the Atlantic Sun.

THE 2011 CIT SCHEDULE
All times EST

FIRST ROUND
March 14-16

MONDAY
Buffalo (18-13) @ Quinnipiac (22-9) 7:00 pm

TUESDAY
Ohio (18-15) @ Marshall (22-11) 7:00 pm
Furman (22-10) @ ETSU (22-11) 7:00 pm
Jacksonville (19-11) @ East Carolina (18-15) 8:00 pm
Rider (23-10) @ Northern Iowa (19-13) 8:00 pm
North Dakota (19-14) @ Air Force (15-15) 9:00 pm
Northern Arizona (19-12) @ Santa Clara (19-14) 10:00 pm
Portland (20-11) @ Hawaii (18-12) 12:00 am (midnight)

WEDNESDAY
Tennessee Tech (20-12) @ Western Michigan (20-12) 7:00 pm
Iona (22-11) @ Valparaiso (23-11) 8:00 pm
Oral Roberts (19-15) @ SMU (17-14) 8:00 pm
Idaho (18-13) @ San Francisco (17-14) 10:00 pm

SECOND ROUND
March 18-19

QUARTERFINALS
March 21-22

SEMIFINALS
March 25

2011 CIT CHAMPIONSHIP
March 30

Note: 12 teams will advance. 4 will receive a bye into the quarterfinals. Seeding, which will be based on RPI, strength of schedule, conference ranking and geographical location, will determine the byes.