The Jacksonville State men’s basketball team is set to travel to Buffalo, N.Y., to take on Canisius on Wednesday at 6 p.m. to continue its postseason play in the College Basketball Invitational tournament.
The 16-team tournament begins March 13 and 14 with the opening rounds, followed by the quarterfinals on March 19, semifinals on March 21 and CBI Finals March 26, 28 and 30. The first round, quarterfinals and semifinals are single-elimination, while the final round is a best-of-three series and will air on ESPNU. All games will be played at the campus sites of the higher seed.
“We’re excited to continue postseason play,” Head coach Ray Harper said. “Our guys have worked hard all year and I know they are ready to get back on the court. We’re going to go out and try to win a championship.”
For just the second time in JSU’s Division I history, the Gamecocks are set to compete in a national postseason tournament. Harper, in his first season at the helm last year, led Jacksonville State to its first OVC Tournament berth since 2012 and to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Jacksonville State ended its regular season with 20 wins and went 1-1 in the OVC Championships with a 73-70 win over Tennessee Tech in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual-champion Murray State 70-63 in the semifinals.
Former Christian County All-State guard Tyrik Edwards is a sophomore with the Gamecocks, where he averages two points and one assist in 10 minutes per game.
Wednesday’s trip to Buffalo, N.Y., will be the Gamecocks’ second of the season. JSU first visited the Nickel City on Nov. 15 for a matchup with Buffalo University for the third game of the regular season. This will be the first ever meeting between Jacksonville State and Canisius.
Canisius (21-11, 15-3 MAAC) reached the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championships quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed. The Golden Griffins were 0-2 against common JSU opponents this season, dropping an 80-75 contest at Buffalo and a 60-52 loss to Tennessee State in Nashville.