Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Bracket Unveiled for the Inaugural Myrtle Beach Invitational
July 11, 2018 02:16 PM | Men's Basketball
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, has revealed the bracket for the inaugural Myrtle Beach Invitational on November 15, 16 & 18 at the HTC Center in Conway, SC.
The top half of the bracket will feature St. Joseph's vs. Wake Forest and UCF vs. Cal State Fullerton. Wake Forest is expected to have a bounce back year behind its strong recruiting class, ranked 17th overall in the ESPN rankings; while St. Joseph's has earned a postseason bid in four of the past seven seasons. Cal State Fullerton is appearing in its second consecutive ESPN Events early-season tournament (2017 Wooden Legacy). Cal State Fullerton will face a UCF squad expected to be one of the top teams in the American Athletic Conference.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Valparaiso will make its first appearance in an ESPN Event with a showdown against Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are coming off a 27-win season that included a deep run to the NIT semifinals. Monmouth, a team that has won the regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title in two of the past three seasons, will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers have earned an NCAA tournament bid in nine out of the last 11 seasons, including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2017 and 2018.
The bracket-format tournament will feature 12 games over three days. The teams compete once per day, regardless of results. The two remaining undefeated teams will face off in the championship game on Sunday, November 18 at 6:30 p.m. that will air on ESPN2.
Travel packages for the Myrtle Beach Invitational are available now. Packages include discounted hotel rates and the opportunity to purchase all-session game tickets prior to the public on-sale. To purchase a travel package through Anthony Travel visit https://www.anthonytravel.com/myrtle-beach/ or call 888-632-6951.
All-session tickets will go on-sale to the public on August 15.
Additional information can be found on the Myrtle Beach Invitational website.
ESPN Events ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 32 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 12 college basketball events, a college softball event and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
Collegiate Football Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl(Tampa, Fla.); Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff(Orlando, Fla.); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Frisco Bowl (Texas); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff(Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu); Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Atlanta); Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl(Montgomery, Ala.); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta)
Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Fort Bliss, Texas); Charleston Classic (South Carolina);College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy's (Los Angeles); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men's Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women's Classic Presented by Corona (South Bend, Ind.); Myrtle Beach Invitational (Conway, S.C.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off; State Farm Champions Classic (Indianapolis) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)
Collegiate Softball
Elite Softball Invitational (Clearwater, Fla.)
For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.
Myrtle Beach Invitational Media Contact: Tim Simmons at bfishinc@aol.com or at 720-244-6580 (cell) or 303-678-8484
The top half of the bracket will feature St. Joseph's vs. Wake Forest and UCF vs. Cal State Fullerton. Wake Forest is expected to have a bounce back year behind its strong recruiting class, ranked 17th overall in the ESPN rankings; while St. Joseph's has earned a postseason bid in four of the past seven seasons. Cal State Fullerton is appearing in its second consecutive ESPN Events early-season tournament (2017 Wooden Legacy). Cal State Fullerton will face a UCF squad expected to be one of the top teams in the American Athletic Conference.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Valparaiso will make its first appearance in an ESPN Event with a showdown against Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are coming off a 27-win season that included a deep run to the NIT semifinals. Monmouth, a team that has won the regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title in two of the past three seasons, will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers have earned an NCAA tournament bid in nine out of the last 11 seasons, including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2017 and 2018.
The bracket-format tournament will feature 12 games over three days. The teams compete once per day, regardless of results. The two remaining undefeated teams will face off in the championship game on Sunday, November 18 at 6:30 p.m. that will air on ESPN2.
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Network |
| Thu, Nov 15 | 11:30 a.m. | St. Joseph's vs. Wake Forest | ESPNU |
| 1:30 p.m. | UCF vs. Cal State Fullerton | ESPN3 | |
| 5 p.m. | Valparaiso vs. Western Kentucky |
ESPNU | |
| 7 p.m. | Monmouth vs. West Virginia | ESPNU | |
| Fri, Nov 16 | 11 a.m. | Consolation #1 | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. | Semifinal #1 | ESPN2 or ESPNU | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Consolation #2 | ESPN3 | |
| 9 p.m. | Semifinal #2 | ESPNU | |
| Sun, Nov 18 | 10:30 a.m. | 5th Place Game | ESPNU |
| 12:30 p.m. | 7th Place Game | ESPN3 | |
| 4 p.m. | 3rd Place Game | ESPNU | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Championship | ESPN2 |
Travel packages for the Myrtle Beach Invitational are available now. Packages include discounted hotel rates and the opportunity to purchase all-session game tickets prior to the public on-sale. To purchase a travel package through Anthony Travel visit https://www.anthonytravel.com/myrtle-beach/ or call 888-632-6951.
All-session tickets will go on-sale to the public on August 15.
Additional information can be found on the Myrtle Beach Invitational website.
ESPN Events ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 32 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 12 college basketball events, a college softball event and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
Collegiate Football Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl(Tampa, Fla.); Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff(Orlando, Fla.); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Frisco Bowl (Texas); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff(Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu); Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Atlanta); Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl(Montgomery, Ala.); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta)
Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Fort Bliss, Texas); Charleston Classic (South Carolina);College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy's (Los Angeles); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men's Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women's Classic Presented by Corona (South Bend, Ind.); Myrtle Beach Invitational (Conway, S.C.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off; State Farm Champions Classic (Indianapolis) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)
Collegiate Softball
Elite Softball Invitational (Clearwater, Fla.)
For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.
Myrtle Beach Invitational Media Contact: Tim Simmons at bfishinc@aol.com or at 720-244-6580 (cell) or 303-678-8484
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