# 2022 The Basketball Classic

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+.

## Structure

Tournament organizers originally announced that there would be 32 teams in the field.; 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 then 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 Beatty, Travis Grant, Marques Haynes, Cleo Hill and Willis Reed, all of whom played college basketball at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). 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 | Sun Belt | 19–14 (.576) |
| Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 16–13 (.552) |
| Detroit Mercy | Horizon | 14–15 (.483) |
| Eastern Washington | Big Sky | 18–15 (.545) |
| Florida Gulf Coast | Atlantic Sun | 21–11 (.656) |
| Fresno State | Mountain West | 19–13 (.594) |
| Kent State | Mid-American | 23–10 (.697) |
| Maryland Eastern Shore | Mid-Eastern Athletic | 11–15 (.423) |
| Morgan State | Mid-Eastern Athletic | 13–14 (.481) |
| New Orleans | Southland | 18–13 (.581) |
| Portland | West Coast | 18–14 (.563) |
| South Alabama | Sun Belt | 19–11 (.633) |
| USC Upstate | Big South | 14–16 (.467) |
| Southeastern Louisiana | Southland | 19–14 (.576) |
| Southern Utah | Big Sky | 20–11 (.645) |
| UTEP | USA | 19–13 (.594) |
| Western Illinois | The Summit | 16–15 (.516) |
| Youngstown State | 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.
| Team | Conference | Overall Record |
| UMBC | America East | 18–14 (.563) |
| Merrimack | Northeast | 14–16 (.467) |
| Wofford | Southern | 19–13 (.594) |
The following seven programs declined invitations: Arkansas State, Liberty, Oakland, Sam Houston State, Samford, Utah Valley, Weber State.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Matchup | Score | Attendance |
| First Round ||||||
| March 15 | 6:30 p.m. | USC Upstate at Appalachian State | 80–74 | 2,146 |
| March 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Detroit Mercy at Florida Gulf Coast | 79–95 | 505 |
| March 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Zelmo Beatty Game Maryland Eastern Shore at Coastal Carolina | 42–66 | 923 |
| March 16 | 8:00 p.m. | Travis Grant Game Southeastern Louisiana at South Alabama | 68–70 | 885 |
| March 16 | 8:00 p.m. | Marques Haynes Game Morgan State at Youngstown State | 65–70 | 1,045 |
| March 16 | 9:00 p.m. | Willis Reed Game Kent State at Southern Utah | 79–83 | 1,316 |
| March 17 | 10:00 p.m. | Eastern Washington at Fresno State | 74–83 | 1,166 |
| March 19 | 3:00 p.m. | Western Illinois at UTEP | 54–80 | 3,500 |
| March 19 | 10:00 p.m. | New Orleans at Portland | 73–94 | 659 |
| Second Round ||||||
| March 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Florida Gulf Coast at Coastal Carolina | 68–84 | 825 |
| March 21 | 8:00 p.m. | USC Upstate at South Alabama | 79–83 | 699 |
| March 22 | 9:00 p.m. | Southern Utah at UTEP | 82–69 | 3,510 |
| Quarterfinals ||||||
| March 23 | 10:00 p.m. | Youngstown State at Fresno State | 71–80 | 1,754 |
| March 26 | 6:00 p.m. | Portland at Southern Utah | 66–77 | 1,504 |
| Semifinals ||||||
| March 28 | 8:00 p.m. | Coastal Carolina at South Alabama | 69–68 $^{OT}$ | 1,039 |
| March 28 | 10:00 p.m. | Southern Utah at Fresno State | 48–67 | 3,006 |
| Final ||||||
| April 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Fresno State at Coastal Carolina | 85–74 | 1,407 |
| Game times in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). All games broadcast on ESPN+. ||||||
The following games were announced but never played.
| Date | Time | Matchup |
| First Round ||||||
| March 16 | 6:30 p.m. | Merrimack at UMBC |
| Second Round ||||||
| March 19 | 2:00 p.m. | Cleo Hill Game Youngstown State at Wofford |
| Game times in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). All games broadcast on ESPN+. ||||||

## 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 Round March 16 | First Round March 16 | First/Second Round March 15–19/March 22 | First/Second Round March 15–19/March 22 | First/Second Round March 15–19/March 22 | Second Round/Quarterfinals March 21–23/March 26 | Second Round/Quarterfinals March 21–23/March 26 | Second Round/Quarterfinals March 21–23/March 26 | Semifinals March 28 | Semifinals March 28 | Semifinals March 28 | Final April 1 | Final April 1 | Final April 1 |
| | | | New Orleans | New Orleans | 73 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Portland | Portland | 94 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Portland | Portland | 66 | | | | | | |
| Kent State | Kent State | 79 | | | | Southern Utah | Southern Utah | 77 | | | | | | |
| Southern Utah | Southern Utah | 83 | Southern Utah | Southern Utah | 82 | | | | | | | | | |
| Western Illinois | Western Illinois | 54 | UTEP | UTEP | 69 | | | | | | | | | |
| UTEP | UTEP | 80 | | | | | | | Southern Utah | Southern Utah | 48 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Fresno State | Fresno State | 67 | | | |
| | | | Morgan State | Morgan State | 65 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Youngstown State | Youngstown State | 70 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Youngstown State | Youngstown State | 71 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Fresno State | Fresno State | 80 | | | | | | |
| | | | Eastern Washington | Eastern Washington | 74 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Fresno State | Fresno State | 83 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Fresno State | Fresno State | 85 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Coastal Carolina | Coastal Carolina | 74 |
| | | | Detroit Mercy | Detroit Mercy | 79 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Florida Gulf Coast | Florida Gulf Coast | 95 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Florida Gulf Coast | Florida Gulf Coast | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Coastal Carolina | Coastal Carolina | 84 | | | | | | |
| | | | Maryland Eastern Shore | Maryland Eastern Shore | 42 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Coastal Carolina | Coastal Carolina | 66 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Coastal Carolina | Coastal Carolina | 69 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | South Alabama | South Alabama | 68 $^{OT}$ | | | |
| | | | USC Upstate | USC Upstate | 80 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Appalachian State | Appalachian State | 74 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | USC Upstate | USC Upstate | 79 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | South Alabama | South Alabama | 83 | | | | | | |
| | | | Southeastern Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana | 68 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | South Alabama | South Alabama | 70 | | | | | | | | | |
Home teams listed second.

## Awards

The following were the most valuable players selected for each of the Legend Games:
* Zelmo Beaty Game – Rudi Williams, Coastal Carolina
* Travis Grant Game – Javon Franklin, South Alabama
* Marques Haynes Game – Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown State
* Cleo Hill Game – Canceled
* Willis Reed Game – Dre Marin, Southern Utah

## 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."