2019 BRACKET (PDF)

GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS — Game matchups for the third annual Cayman Islands Classic were announced Wednesday by Caymax Sports LTD.

Eight teams will compete in the tournament held Nov. 25-27 at John Gray Gymnasium, just minutes away from world famous Seven Mile Beach.

New Mexico State and Old Dominion advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, while Loyola of Chicago and Nebraska played in the NIT and South Florida captured the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship.

Colorado State will face New Mexico State in the opening game at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time followed by Loyola of Chicago meeting South Florida at 1:30 p.m.

In the first game of the evening session at 5 p.m. George Mason plays Old Dominion. Washington State and Nebraska will conclude opening-day action in the final matchup of the day starting at 7:30 p.m.

Fans can purchase tickets online here.

Semifinal round games are slated for 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. the following day, Tuesday, Nov. 26.

Teams in the consolation bracket will play their second game Nov. 26 with tip offs at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The seventh-place game will open the final day of competition on Wednesday, Nov. 27 starting at 11 a.m., followed by the fifth-place game (1:30 p.m.), third-place game (5 p.m.) and title game (7:30 p.m.) to crown the Cayman Islands Classic champion.

The Cayman Islands Classic is sponsored by the Mountain West Conference.

Located in the western Caribbean Sea, an hour from Miami, the Cayman Islands comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. 

New Mexico State has a rich basketball tradition having played in the NCAA Tournament eight times in the past 10 years, including the last three straight. Behind head coach Chris Jans, the Aggies are the two-time defending Western Athletic Conference regular season and post-season tournament champion. The Aggies are coming off a school-record 30-5 overall mark this past season.

Colorado State, under the guidance of second-year coach Niko Medved, is led by 6-foot 11-inch senior center Nico Carvacho, who ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in rebounding this past season with a 13.2 average. Carvacho earned U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District honors as well as first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors, while being named to the league’s All-Defensive Team.

Loyola of Chicago is the two-time defending Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion under coach Porter Moser. The Ramblers’ run to the NCAA Final Four in 2018 was one of the great college basketball stories of this decade en route to posting a school-record 32-6 mark. Junior center Cameron Krutwig, who finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year balloting, will lead the Ramblers fortunes this upcoming season.

South Florida looks to ride the momentum from this past season when it posted a school record 24 victories (24-14 mark), which was the top improvement turnaround in the NCAA winning 14 more games than in 2017-18. Brian Gregory, entering his third year as head coach, has three top players to continue the Bulls’ rise in the American Athletic Conference headed by junior guard David Collins, who was named the most valuable player in the College Basketball Invitational.

Old Dominion posted a 25-6 record en route to winning the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. Guard Xavier Green, the C-USA tournament most valuable player, is among the top-returning players.

George Mason, under coach Dave Paulsen, posted an 18-15 record this past season while winning the most conference games (11) since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2013-14. Senior guard Justin Kier, named the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player, will be the Patriots’ top returning player after leading the team in scoring (14.2 avg.) and rebounding (7.6 avg.) while earning all-league honors.

Nebraska and Washington State are opening new chapters in program history with first-year coaches Fred Hoiberg and Kyle Smith, respectively. Hoiberg inherits a Nebraska program that went 19-17 this past season while advancing to the second round of the NIT. He led Iowa State to four NCAA Tournaments from 2010-15, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2014, before becoming head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 2015-18. Smith was named the new head coach at Washington State March 27 after a successful coaching tenure at San Francisco where he guided the Dons to three straight 20-plus-victory campaigns. Forward CJ Elleby, who was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team after averaging 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds, is among the top returnees for the upcoming season for the Cougars.