MEN’S TOURNAMENT (NOV 18-21, 2018)
Basketball fans in Vancouver will now have an additional opportunity to watch some of the best programs in U.S. college basketball when the Vancouver Showcase tips-off at the Vancouver Convention Centre. A revised men’s format, featuring a newly confirmed match-up between Washington vs. Minnesota on Nov. 21 was announced today as organizers released the final schedule for the week-long event on Nov. 18-24.
The final schedule for the men’s field will feature evening doubleheaders on Sunday, Nov. 18 and Tuesday, Nov. 20 with the additional game on Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. PT.
The full men’s schedule is as follows:
Sunday, Nov. 18
- Washington vs. Santa Clara – 5 p.m. PT
- Texas A&M vs. Minnesota – 7:30 p.m. PT
Tuesday, Nov. 20
- Santa Clara vs. Minnesota – 6 p.m. PT
- Washington vs. Texas A&M – 8:30 p.m. PT
Wednesday, Nov. 21
- Minnesota vs. Washington – 5 p.m. PT
WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT (NOV 22-24, 2018)
Defending NCAA Champion Notre Dame will tip-off the inaugural Vancouver Showcase women’s tournament against two-time defending West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga on Thursday, Nov. 22 at noon PT at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The loaded field also includes 2017 National Champion South Carolina and Pac-12 power Oregon State.
In addition to boasting the last two national champions, the tournament features six teams that competed in this past season’s NCAA Tournament and three coaches that are a part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (Notre Dame’s Muffett McGraw, Rutgers Vivian Stringer and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, inducted as a player). The pairings for the women’s tournament are as follows (all times are Pacific):
- Notre Dame vs. Gonzaga – Noon
- Drake vs. Rutgers – 2:30 p.m.
- South Carolina vs. ETSU – 6 p.m.
- Oregon State vs. Western Kentucky – 8:30 p.m.
Game times will be the same on Friday with the semifinals being played at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday’s evening session featuring the championship/third place games will tip at 5 p.m.
“This is an incredible field in which to christen college basketball to Vancouver, and without question, the best early season tournament in the sport,” said ESPN analyst and women’s tournament director Debbie Antonelli. “It features three teams that finished in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight with Notre Dame, South Carolina and Oregon State, and three other teams that won their respective conference tournaments – Western Kentucky, Drake and Gonzaga. It will strongly resemble an NCAA Tournament regional weekend in Vancouver.”