SUU To Play In The Basketball Classic; Weber State, UVU Decline Invites

SALT LAKE CITY – The SUU men’s basketball program announced that they will participate in The Basketball Classic, while Weber State and UVU declined their invites.

SUU will host Kent State in the first round of The Basketball Classic on Wednesday, while UVU and Weber State have decided to end their seasons.

Southern Utah ended their regular season with a 20-11 overall record and 14-6 in Big Sky play. They received the 2-seed in the Big Sky Tournament before losing to Portland State in the quarterfinals. SUU had wins over Bethesda, Yale, Bowling Green, Eastern Washington (twice), Idaho (twice), Utah Valley, University of Saint Katherine, Dixie State, Sacramento State (twice), Portland State (twice), Idaho State (twice), Northern Arizona (twice), Montana and Weber State.

Their losses came against Dixie State, Saint Mary’s, Cal, Michigan, Northern Colorado (twice), Weber State, Montana and Montana State (twice).

Kent State ended their regular season with a record of 23-10 overall and 16-4 in MAC play. They beat Miami (OH) and Ohio in the MAC Tournament before falling to Akron in the title game. Their wins came against Oberlin College, James Madison, George Washington, Point Park, Detroit Mercy, Toledo (twice), Ball State (twice), Akron (twice), Eastern Michigan (twice), Western Michigan, Bowling Green (twice), Miami (OH), Ohio, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois and Buffalo. They had a stretch from January 25 to March 11 where they won 14 straight games. The streak was snapped in the MAC Championship.

Their losses came against Xavier, ETSU, Towson, West Virginia, Southern, Central Michigan, Ohio, Northern Illinois and Buffalo.

Still more basketball to be played in the AFEC 💥

🗞 >> https://t.co/uWoGXodAld#StormTheSky pic.twitter.com/R9XryRw5E7

— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) March 14, 2022

Weber State finished their season with a 21-12 overall record and 13-7 in Big Sky play. They lost to Montana State by three points in the semifinals after beating Montana in the quarterfinals. Their wins during the season came against Western Colorado, Duquesne, UMass, Ball State, Green Bay, Dixie State, Northern Arizona (twice), Portland State, Maine Fort Kent, Montana State, Idaho, Idaho State (twice), Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State (twice), Eastern Washington and Montana (twice).

Their losses came against Washington State, Utah State, BYU, Fresno State, Montana, Montana State, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Northern Colorado, Portland State and Southern Utah.

Utah Valley ended their season with a 20-12 overall record and 10-8 in WAC play. They lost to Abilene Christian in the first round of the WAC Tournament after beating Chicago State in the opening round.

Their wins came against Antelope Valley, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, Idaho, Nicholls State, Denver, BYU, Bethesda, Washington, Tarleton State (twice), Dixie State, UTRGV, Lamar, Chicago State, Sam Houston, New Mexico State, Seattle U and California Baptist.

Their losses came against Boise State, Southern Utah, Wyoming, Abilene Christian, Seattle U, California Baptist, Stephen F. Austin, Grand Canyon (twice), Dixie State and New Mexico State.

About The Basketball Classic

This is the first postseason with The Basketball Classic. It was created in 2022 as the successor to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Basketball Classic will have 32 NCAA Division I teams participate that was not selected to play in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. They will use the old NIT model, which the field and matchups will be set after each round.

The Basketball Classic was founded by CollegeInsider.com to replace the postseason tournament, which was discontinued after the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUU and Kent State will tip-off at 7 p.m. MT on Wednesday, March 16 on ESPN+.

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