James Madison will make its 13th appearance in a postseason tournament as it has accepted an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and will play at USC Upstate on Tuesday, March 17 in Spartanburg, S.C. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at the Hodge Center.
The Dukes enter the CIT with a 19-13 record and earned a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title with a 12-6 conference record before exiting the CAA Championship with a quarterfinal loss to Hofstra, 74-57, on March 7 in Baltimore.
The Spartans are amidst their best Division I season in program history, amassing a 23-11 record and finishing third in the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 8-6 record. They upset second-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the A-Sun semifinals before falling in the Atlantic Sun title game, 63-57, at North Florida on March 8.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Dukes and Spartans. JMU has only played two games previously against A-Sun opponents and holds a 2-0 record with a win over Kennesaw State (82-69 in 2008-09) and Stetson (71-69 OT in 2011-12).
The Dukes will be making their second appearance in the CIT and first since the inaugural tournament in 2009 when they went 2-1, advancing to the semifinals before falling to former CAA foe and eventual champion Old Dominion. The Spartans will be making their third postseason appearance over the past four seasons, as they competed in both the 2012 and 2014 CIT tournaments, going a combined 1-2 in those years.
The game can be heard live on the JMU/nTelos Wireless Broadcast Network as well as on the local airwaves at WSVA 550 AM and 92.1 FM.
About the CIT: The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is in its seventh year of existence and was created to provide more teams the opportunity to compete in postseason basketball, that were not selected to the NCAA Tournament nor the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
The CIT is made up of 32 teams in a single-elimination format that features non-BCS basketball programs. All 31 games will be played at campus sites and uses the old NIT model, with future round opponents being determined by results of the previous round, ensuring geographic stability.
Both semifinals and the championship game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
CAA Teams in the CIT:
- James Madison: 2009 (2-1, semifinalist)
- Old Dominion: 2009 (4-0, champion); 2012 (2-1, quarterfinals)
- George Mason: 2010 (0-1, first round)
- Georgia State: 2012 (1-1, second round)
- Towson: 2014 (2-1, quarterfinals)
Tournament Schedule:
First Round – March 17-18
Second Round – March 20-21
Quarterfinals – March 24-25
Semifinals – March 31
Championship – April 2
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