Three-time NCAA champion Villanova, ranked Baylor join CCU in Myrtle Beach Invitational
Coastal Carolina and a pair of teams ranked in the national top 25 are among the eight college basketball programs vying this week for the second Myrtle Beach Invitational title at the HTC Center.
The Chanticleers are joined by 2016 and 2018 national champion Villanova (2-1), which is ranked 17th in this week’s AP Top 25 and 15th in the Coaches Poll, and Baylor (2-1), which is ranked 24th/23rd.
Every team in the event is .500 or better this season and have a combined record of 22-6. The other participants are Mississippi State (4-0), Utah (3-0), Tulane (3-0), Ohio (3-1) and Middle Tennessee State (3-1).
“What a great event,” CCU coach Cliff Ellis said. “If you’re a basketball fan, you’re not going to find better basketball where you don’t have to drive two or three hours. You can come right here and see some great basketball for three or four days.
“This is a big event for all of us.”
Coastal (2-2) is making its first appearance in the tournament, and because NCAA rules allow participation by a team in a particular tournament just once every four years, the Chants aren’t eligible to participate again until 2023.
Coastal handed Middle Tennessee – an NCAA Tournament team in two of the past four years – its first loss of the season on Monday, 93-72, after one-point losses to Campbell and Northern Kentucky were sandwiched around a win over NCAA Division III Hampden-Sydney. The tournament will conclude seven consecutive home games to start the season for the Chants.
“Utah is Utah. Most of the time you have to play them at their place so it’s kind of good that you get to play them at your place,” Ellis said.
Ellis has been without a few players for much of the preseason and early season because of injuries, but has gotten back to full strength.
Sophomore point guard Devante Jones, the 2018-19 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, missed the preseason and the opener with a leg injury but is averaging 15 points and a team-high 5.3 assists in his three games.
Freshman 6-7 forward Hosana Kitenge of England missed two weeks of practice with a concussion and 6-10 junior center Levi Cook missed six weeks after surgery for a torn meniscus.
“We’ve really been a team for two weeks,” Ellis said. “It was one thing after another. It was one of the toughest fall practices we’ve had. But we are just now starting to get ourselves in the condition to play. I don’t think we are where everybody else is that had that six weeks. . . . They just need to play together.”
Senior guard Tyrell Gumbs-Frater leads the Chants with 16.3 points per game, and junior guards Keishawn Brewton and Garrick Green, sophomore guard Ebrima Dibba and senior forward Tommy Burton are all also averaging at least 9.5 points per game. Dibba has a team-high seven steals and Green leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.
Coastal will face either Ohio or Baylor on Friday in either the semifinals at 5 p.m. or loser’s bracket at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Utah has defeated Minnesota and Mississippi Valley State at home and Nevada on the road, and is receiving votes in the Coaches Poll. Five Utes are averaging double figures in scoring led by 6-6 sophomore forward Timmy Allen, who is averaging 22.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
The Utes reached the championship game of the NIT last season and last made the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years in 2015-16, losing to Duke in the Sweet 16 in 2015.
As for the tournament favorites, both of their losses have come to ranked teams. Villanova fell at No. 10 Ohio State and Baylor lost against No. 25/24 Washington in Alaska, 67-64.
The tournament is officially hosted by the American Athletic Conference and is owned and operated by ESPN, which will televise all games on ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPNews. The championship game is set for 5 p.m. Sunday.
Central Florida from the AAC captured the inaugural title last year, defeating Western Kentucky in the title game.
Tickets can be purchased at the CCU ticket office, by calling 843-347-8499 or visiting https://espnevents.com/myrtle-beach-invitational/tickets/.
Tournament schedule
Thursday
Game 1 - Villanova vs. Middle Tennessee, 11:30 a.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 2 - Mississippi State vs. Tulane, 1:30 or 2 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 3 - Ohio vs. Baylor, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
Game 4 - Utah vs. Coastal Carolina 7 p.m., ESPNU/ESPNews
Friday
Game 5 - Villanova/Middle Tennessee loser vs. Mississippi State/Tulane loser, 12 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 6 - Villanova/Middle Tennessee winner vs. Mississippi State/Tulane winner, 2 or 2:30 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 7 - Ohio/Baylor winner vs. Utah/Coastal Carolina winner, 4:30 or 5 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 8 - Ohio/Baylor loser vs. Utah/Coastal Carolina loser, 7 or 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Sunday
Game 9 - Game 5 and Game 8 winners, 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 10 - Game 6 and Game 7 losers, 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 11, Championship - Game 6 and Game 7 winners, 5 p.m., ESPN
Game 12 - Game 5 and Game 8 losers, 7:30 p.m., ESPNews
