NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS– Defending Big Sky champion Montana, Towson and Georgia Southern headline the field of the the second-annual “The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase” on Nov. 16-18, 2018 in Nassau. The event will feature 12 total games during the three-day event. The field and pairings for the tournament were released Thursday by the event’s organizer, bd Global.
“We are excited to once again partner with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, the National Sports Authority, and the Bahamas Basketball Federation to bring this tournament to Nassau,” said bd Global president Brooks Downing. “This truly is becoming a community event for Nassau, and last year, they witnessed two teams in our championship game – Vermont and Northern Kentucky – that played in the NCAA Tournament just six months earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple teams from this year’s tournament competing in March Madness this season as well.”
Montana finished 26-8 last year after capturing the Big Sky regular season and tournament titles to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Towson will look to win an early season tournament for the second straight season after beating Georgia Southern in the finals of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Southwest Florida. GSU went on to finish 21-12 on the season.
The field for the tournament features eight NCAA Division I teams:
- Florida Atlantic (Conference USA)
- Georgia Southern (Sun Belt Conference)
- Incarnate Word (Southland Conference)
- Miami (OH) (Mid-American Conference)
- Montana (Big Sky Conference)
- North Dakota State (Summit League)
- Pepperdine (West Coast Conference)
- Towson (Colonial Athletic Association)
All 12 games will be played at Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium with the teams residing at the exclusive Baha Mar resort. The schedule for the opening round of the tournament on Friday, Nov. 16 is as follows:
- 11 a.m. ET – Montana vs. Incarnate Word
- 2 p.m. ET – Miami (OH) vs. North Dakota State
- 5 p.m. ET – Georgia Southern vs. FAU
- 8 p.m. ET – Towson vs. Pepperdine
Consolation games will be played Saturday, Nov. 17 at 11 a.m./2 p.m. followed by the semifinals at 5 p.m./8 p.m. Sunday’s championship game will be at 8 p.m. ET.
bd Global is no stranger to the Bahamas as the firm currently manages two Web.com Tour professional golf events in the country each January. bdG partnered with Tourism to create the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in 2017 and both events return at the start of next year’s Web.com Tour in January.
For complete information, visit www.thebahamasshowcase.com or follow on Twitter at @BahamasShowcase.
Ticket & Hotel Information
All-session passes are now on-sale at www.thebahamasshowcase.com and are good for entry to any of the 12 games of the event. Fans can book rooms Grand Hyatt Baha Mar at the tournament rate, starting at $225 nightly, by visiting www.thebahamasshowcase.com.
Campus Games
- Nov. 9 – Carver Bible @ Georgia Southern
- Nov. 11 – Wesley @ Towson
- Nov. 12 – Texas Lutheran @ Incarnate Word
- Nov. 12 – Midway @ Miami (OH)
- Nov. 12 – Montana Tech @ Montana
- Nov. 21 – Palm Beach Atlantic @ FAU