2024 Bracket

GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS –  Game matchups for the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic were announced Tuesday by Caymax Sports LTD.
 
Eight teams will compete in the tournament to be held Nov. 24-26 at John Gray Gymnasium, just minutes away from world famous Seven Mile Beach.
 
Hampton will meet Boise State in the first game of the tournament, tipping at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, Nov. 24. The second game of the opening session will feature South Dakota State against Duquesne at 1:30 p.m.
 
The evening session begins with Missouri State challenging High Point at 5 p.m. while Old Dominion will meet Boston College to conclude opening-day action in the final matchup of the day starting at 7:30 p.m.  
 
Boise State, Duquesne and South Dakota State all participated in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, while Boston College advanced to the NIT and High Point was runner-up in the CBI. The eight participating teams in the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic posted a combined winning percentage of .542 last season (149-126) with five schools winning 20 or more games. High Point led the parade  (27 wins), followed by Duquesne (25), South Dakota State and Boise State (22 each) and Boston College (20).
 
Boise State and head coach Leon Rice return to the Cayman Islands Classic after participating in the event in 2018. The Broncos enjoyed a 22-11 overall record in 2023-24 including a 13-5 worksheet in the Mountain West Conference, and made its third consecutive NCAA Tournament. Boise State will be led by 6-8 senior forward Tyson Degenhart, a two-time first-team all-conference selection as well as a first-team CSC Academic All-American after averaging 16.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. 
 
Duquesne posted a 25-12 record in 2023-24 and claimed the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament championship to gain a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where they knocked off BYU in the first round. Dru Joyce III was named head coach, moving up after two seasons as associate head coach. He’ll have 6-9 forward David Dixon and sophomore guard Jake DiMichele as his nucleus. Dixon averaged 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, and blocked 60 shots while playing in all 37 contests.
 
South Dakota State enters its sixth season under head coach Eric Henderson, owning an impressive 109-48 record in his previous five seasons including a 65-15 mark in the Summit League. A year ago, the Jackrabbits were 22-13, swept to the Summit crown with three convincing wins and advanced to the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament. While graduation has taken some key scorers, SDSU will have a couple of stalwart returnees to build upon. Sophomore guard Kalen Garry averaged 7.3 points and 3.6 rebounds, while 7-foot forward Nate Barnhart averaged 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds and blocked 30 shots.
 
Boston College head coach Earl Grant’s first victory of the coming season will be the 50^th with the Eagles for the veteran coach as he enters his fourth season at the helm. Boston College is coming off a 20-16 record last season when the Eagles earned a spot in the NIT and grabbed a first-round triumph. Sophomore guard Donald Hand Jr. (5.0 ppg) and junior Chas Kelley III (3.7 ppg) are the key returnees on a roster that added a bevy of newcomers.  
 
In his first year as High Point head coach, Alan Huss was named Big South Conference Coach of the Year, guiding the Panthers to the league title and runner-up spot in the CBI Tournament with a final mark of 27-9 after being picked seventh in the preseason. He had the most wins in the nation among all 31 first-year head coaches. Huss returns to the Cayman tournament after serving as an assistant coach at Creighton in 2018 when the Bluejays won the title. First-team all-Big South guard Duke Miles will headline the attack after averaging 17.5 points. The lineup is loaded, returning nine of the team’s top 10 scorers including two first-team all-conference picks, guard Kezza Griffa and forward Kimani Hamilton. Seven-foot sophomore Juslin Bodo Bodo, the top rebounding freshman in the nation, is also back. He was the Big South Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman.  
 
Head coach Mike Jones, a former Monarch player, took over the Old Dominion reins of his alma mater in March to begin the rebuilding process. He has a solid inside-outside combination to lead the Monarchs, beginning with 6-foot-6 senior R.J. Blakney who played in all 32 games and averaged 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds. Sophomore Dani Pounds averaged 2.8 points and 3.8 rebounds as a freshman and played in 31 games.
 
Another team under new leadership is Missouri State, although Cuonzo Martin is no stranger to the program. He was previously the Bears’ head coach from 2008-2011. He takes over a team that posted a 17-16 mark, but will work with an almost entirely new roster, with two returnees.
 
Hampton has also made a transition at the top, where Ivan Thomas has taken control as head coach. Junior guard Kyrese Mullen, the team’s leading scorer with 14.8 points per game last year, will be a building block on which Thomas can look to rebuild the program. Mullen led the Pirates in rebounds as both a freshman and sophomore.
 
For more information, please visit www.CaymanIslandsClassic.com. 
 
For travel packages, visit https://caymanislandsclassictravel.com/ or call 1-877-669-8903. 

Cayman Islands Classic History
2023 — Utah State, champion; Stephen F. Austin, runner-up
2022 — Kansas State, champion; LSU, runner-up
2019 — George Mason, champion; New Mexico State, runner-up
2018 — Creighton, champion; Clemson, runner-up
2017 — Cincinnati, champion; Wyoming, runner-up