CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament |
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois will make its third NCAA Division I national postseason tournament appearance when the Panthers compete in the 7th Annual CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) next week.
EIU's first round opponent will not be known until the complete field is announced on Sunday night. Eastern Illinois is currently 17-14 as the Panthers have posted their second winning season since 2001, which is the last time EIU made a postseason tournament appearance. EIU played in the 1992 and 2001 NCAA Tournaments
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament was created in 2009. What began as a 16-team event, expanded to 24 teams in 2011 and is now a 32-team postseason tournament, with invitations extended only to teams outside of the BCS power conferences.
There is no formal bracket for the tournament. The match-ups for each round are determined after the preceding round is completed. All 31 games are played on campus sites.
The first round will be played on March 17-18. Second-round CIT games will be played March 20-21, quarterfinal games March 24-25 and semifinal games March 31. The championship game will be played on April 2. The semifinals and the championship game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. Ohio Valley Conference member Murray State won the 2014 CIT.
During this past season EIU set a school record for consecutive wins as an NCAA Division I member with nine straight from Dec. 13 against Northern Illinois through Jan. 17 at Morehead State. EIU was 9-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference finishing third in the OVC West Division under third year head coach
Jay Spoonhour. EIU beat SIU Edwardsville in the opening round of the OVC Tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual OVC Tournament Champion Belmont.
Cornell Johnston was named the OVC Freshman of the Year and selected as a member of the OVC All-Newcomer team.
Trae Anderson was named a second team All-OVC selection and as a member of the OVC All-Newcomer team.
