The 2024 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was a postseason single-elimination tournament of NCAA Division I basketball teams. This was the first CIT contested since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 CITs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the CIT was replaced by The Basketball Classic. Neither The Basketball Classic nor the CIT were contested in 2023. However, CollegeInsider.com announced in early March 2024, that the CIT was to be revived in a 16-team pod-based format for the 2023–24 postseason.[1] Ultimately, only nine teams agreed to play in the 2024 edition.[2]

Quick Facts Season, Teams ...
2024 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
Season202324
Teams16 planned
9 accepted
Finals siteJoseph G. Echols Memorial Hall
Norfolk, Virginia
ChampionsNorfolk State (1st title)
Runner-upPurdue Fort Wayne (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachRobert Jones (1st title)
MVPChristian Ings (Norfolk State)
Attendance11,006
(average: 1,376 per game)
CIT tournaments
«2019 2025»
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Four classics were contested during the tournament, each named in honor of a legendary college basketball coach: Lou Henson, Jim Phelan, Hugh Durham and John McLendon. The winner of each classic was awarded a trophy, and a classic most valuable player was named.[1]

Norfolk State won their first-ever CIT title, defeating Purdue Fort Wayne, 75–67, after overcoming an 18-point deficit.

Participating teams

The teams listed below accepted an invitation to the 2024 CIT.[2]

Note: Team records are before playing in the tournament.

More information Team, Conference ...
Team Conference Record Appearance Last Bid
Abilene Christian[3] WAC 15–17 2nd 2018
Alabama A&M[4] SWAC 11–22 1st
Austin Peay[5] ASUN 19–15 3rd 2018
Bowling Green[6] MAC 20–13 3rd 2015
Norfolk State[7] MEAC 22–11 5th 2017
Purdue Fort Wayne[8] Horizon 21–12 5th 2018
Tarleton State[9] WAC 23–9 1st
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi[10] Southland 21–11 5th 2017
Texas Southern[11] SWAC 16–16 2nd 2019
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Although the initial announcement that the tournament would be contested stated that all the teams would be seeded, no seeds were assigned to teams on the published schedule. However, Norfolk State indicated they are the no. 1 seed,[7] and they received a bye to the semifinals and hosted both games in which they played.

Schedule

More information Session, Game ...
Session Game Date Time* Matchup Score Television Attendance Ref.
Lou Henson Classic
1 1 March 19 7:00 pm Texas Southern at Tarleton State 71–82 ESPN+ 1,426 [12]
2 9:00 pm Abilene Christian vs. Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 73–63 615 [13]
2 3 March 20 7:00 pm Abilene Christian at Tarleton State 59–86 1,576 [14]
Jim Phelan Classic
3 4 March 20 7:00 pm Purdue Fort Wayne at Bowling Green 77–75 ESPN+ 1,219 [15]
Hugh Durham Classic
4 5 March 20 8:00 pm Alabama A&M at Austin Peay 81–71 ESPN+ 1,386 [16]
John McLendon Classic (CIT Semifinal)
5 6 March 23 4:00 pm Alabama A&M at Norfolk State 81–66 Spartan Showcase 1,522 [17]
Semifinal
6 7 March 25 7:00 pm Purdue Fort Wayne at Tarleton State 73–72 ESPN+ 1,686 [18]
Championship
7 8 March 27 7:00 pm Purdue Fort Wayne at Norfolk State 67–75 Spartan Showcase 1,576 [19]
*Game times in EDT (UTC−4).
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Bracket

First round
March 19
Quarterfinals
March 20
Semifinals
March 23–25
Championship
March 27
        
Norfolk State 81
Alabama A&M 66
Alabama A&M 81
Austin Peay 71
Norfolk State 75
Purdue Fort Wayne 67
Abilene Christian 73
Texas A&M–CC 63
Abilene Christian 59
Tarleton State 86
Texas Southern 71
Tarleton State 82
Tarleton State 72
Purdue Fort Wayne 73
Purdue Fort Wayne 77
Bowling Green 75

Game summaries

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

First round

ESPN+
March 19
7:00 p.m.
Texas Southern 71, Tarleton State 82
Scoring by half: 26–36, 45–46
Pts: Stroud, Wysinger 18
Rebs: Cisse 8
Asts: Cisse 6
Pts: Williams 21
Rebs: Gaddy 10
Asts: Moussa 6
Tarleton State advances to CIT quarterfinals
Wisdom Gymnasium
Stephenville, Texas
Attendance: 1,426
Referees: Robert Bissant, Wes Ford, Randal Anders
ESPN+
March 19
9:00 p.m.
Abilene Christian 73, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 63
Scoring by half: 36–33, 37–30
Pts: DeGruy 16
Rebs: Bettiol 10
Asts: Steele 4
Pts: Roberts 22
Rebs: Dease 10
Asts: Humphrey 4
Abilene Christian advances to CIT quarterfinals
Wisdom Gymnasium
Stephenville, Texas
Attendance: 615
Referees: Joe Wilbert, Tommy Johnson, Jon Stigliano

Quarterfinals

ESPN+
March 20
7:00 p.m.
Abilene Christian 59, Tarleton State 86
Scoring by half: 25–37, 34–49
Pts: Bettiol 14
Rebs: Bettiol 8
Asts: Madden 3
Pts: Gaddy 16
Rebs: Innocenti 8
Asts: Innocenti 6
Tarleton State wins Lou Henson Classic and advances to CIT semifinals
Wisdom Gymnasium
Stephenville, Texas
Attendance: 1,576
Referees: Wes Ford, Randal Anders, Tommy Johnson
ESPN+
March 20
7:00 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne 77, Bowling Green 75
Scoring by half: 43–31, 34–44
Pts: Jackson 18
Rebs: Mulder 8
Asts: Bello 5
Pts: Hill 26
Rebs: Spurgin 8
Asts: Spurgin 5
Purdue Fort Wayne wins Jim Phelan Classic and advances to CIT semifinals
Stroh Center
Bowling Green, Ohio
Attendance: 1,219
Referees: Tariq Lucas, Scott Siville, Tim Stewart
ESPN+
March 20
8:00 p.m.
Alabama A&M 81, Austin Peay 71
Scoring by half: 42–31, 39–40
Pts: Moodie 24
Rebs: Tucker 13
Asts: Tucker 4
Pts: Jones 21
Rebs: Witt 7
Asts: Jones 4
Alabama A&M wins Hugh Durham Classic and advances to CIT semifinals
F&M Bank Arena
Clarksville, Tennessee
Attendance: 1,386
Referees: James Gibson, Joshua Pitto, Kevin Driver

Semifinals

Spartan Showcase (stream)
March 23
4:00 p.m.
Alabama A&M 66, Norfolk State 81
Scoring by half: 31–28, 35–53
Pts: Downey, Riley 15
Rebs: Blackwell 6
Asts: Tucker 6
Pts: Betrand 16
Rebs: Darden, Fields 8
Asts: Darden 8
Norfolk State wins John McLendon Classic and advances to CIT final
Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall
Norfolk, Virginia
Attendance: 1,522
Referees: Scott Arbogast, Christopher Bennett, Tony Dawkins
ESPN+
March 25
7:00 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne 73, Tarleton State 72
Scoring by half: 36–41, 37–31
Pts: Bello 21
Rebs: Mulder 15
Asts: Jackson 4
Pts: Moussa 16
Rebs: Smith 7
Asts: Moussa 4
Purdue Fort Wayne advances to CIT final
Wisdom Gymnasium
Stephenville, Texas
Attendance: 1,686
Referees: Randal Anders, Jon Stigliano, Tommy Johnson

Final

Spartan Showcase (stream)
March 27
7:00 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne 67, Norfolk State 75
Scoring by half: 41–31, 26–44
Pts: Roberts 18
Rebs: Roberts 8
Asts: Bello 8
Pts: Ings 17
Rebs: Fields Jr. 7
Asts: Thomas 5
Norfolk State wins CIT championship
Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall
Norfolk, Virginia
Attendance: 1,576
Referees: Steven Perry Jr., Kendall B. Ridley, Antoine Dawkins

Awards

The CIT presented the awards shown below.

More information Award, Recipient ...
Award Recipient School
CIT MVP Christian Ings[2] Norfolk State
Lou Henson Classic MVP KiAndre Gaddy[20] Tarleton State
Jim Phelan Classic MVP Jalen Jackson[21] Purdue Fort Wayne
Hugh Durham Classic MVP
John McLendon Classic MVP Daryl Anderson[22] Norfolk State
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References

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