ESTERO, Fla. – Green Bay and local “Dunk City” favorite FGCU headline the pairings for the 2014 Gulf Coast Showcase. All 12 games of the tournament will be played Nov. 24-26, 2014 at Germain Arena in Southwest Florida. First-round play will start on Monday, Nov. 24 with the following match-ups:
- 12:00 p.m. ET – Green Bay vs. East Carolina
- 2:30 p.m. ET – Fresno State vs. Evansville
- 6:00 p.m. ET – FGCU vs. Marist
- 8:30 p.m. ET – San Francisco vs. Hawaii
Game times for Tuesday and Wednesday will be the same with semifinal games on Nov. 25 at 6:00/8:30. Wednesday’s championship game will tip at 8:30.
“We’re excited to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase alongside some great teams while challenging ourselves against quality competition,” said FGCU coach Joe Dooley. “A field of several 20-win teams has been assembled, and we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to compete in three games over three days at a venue just down the road from our campus.”
The Gulf Coast Showcase launched in Nov. 2013 with Louisiana Tech defeating St. Bonaventure to claim the inaugural men’s title. Middle Tennessee took home the 2013 women’s title over a field that featured four eventual NCAA Tournament teams.
“We created the Gulf Coast Showcase to be a premium tournament strictly for college basketball’s top mid-major schools,” said bd Global President Brooks Downing. “With some of the nation’s top programs and the hometown FGCU Eagles, this year’s event will certainly have a “March Madness” feel at Germain Arena.”
Individual session men’s tournament tickets now available
Individual session tickets for the 2014 Gulf Coast Showcase men’s tournament are now on-sale at GermainArena.com or through Ticketmaster. Tickets range from $10 General Admission to $45 Courtside for each two-game session. Each day of the tournament will feature an afternoon session (12 p.m./2:30 p.m.) and evening session (6 p.m./8:30 p.m.) and tickets will be good for both games of a given session. All-session passes have been on-sale since April and will continue to be available to fans.
“Opening Games” schedule
As part of the event, five “opening games” will be played at home sites:
- North Carolina Wesleyan @ East Carolina – Nov. 14
- Illinois-Springfield @ Green Bay – Nov. 14
- Bristol @ Fresno State – Nov. 17
- Notre Dame de Namur @ San Francisco – Nov. 19
- Hawaii-Hilo @ Hawaii – Nov. 19
Women’s tournament pairings
Pairings for the Gulf Coast Showcase women’s tournament were announced in early August. The tournament commences on Friday, Nov. 28at noon and is headlined by two-time defending National Champion Connecticut. The rest of the field includes Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, College of Charleston, Green Bay, Villanova and Vanderbilt.
For complete information, visit www.gulfcoastshowcase.com or follow on Twitter at @GCShowcase.