Four 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational schools in postseason

Conway, S.C., March 19, 2019 – Led by reigning national champion Villanova, four of the eight schools participating in the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational will be competing in postseason tournaments this season, including the NCAA men’s tournament and the College Basketball Invitational.

Villanova (25-9, BIG EAST), the three-time national champions, earned a No. 6 seed in the South Regional of the NCAA tournament after capturing its third-straight BIG EAST Championship. Baylor (19-13 season record, Big 12) and Mississippi State (23-10 Southeastern) both earned at-large bids to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the West and No. 5 in the East, respectively.

Coastal Carolina (15-16, Sun Belt), whose HTC Center will host the 2019 MBI, will be competing in the College Basketball Invitational. The Chanticleers host Howard (17-16, Mid-Eastern) Wednesday in the first-round with the winner meeting either West Virginia (14-20, Big 12) or Grand Canyon (20-13, Western Athletic) in the quarter-finals.

Owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational is a bracketed event and will be played November 21, 22 and 24, 2019 at the at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University.

Other schools in the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational are Middle Tennessee (11-21, Conference USA), Ohio (14-17, Mid-American), Tulane (4-27, American Athletic) and Utah (17-14, Pac-12). Tulane is a new addition to the lineup, replacing American Athletic Conference rival Memphis, which deferred its participation in the Myrtle Beach Invitational until November 2020.

UCF 23-8 (American Athletic) captured the inaugural Myrtle Beach Invitational by defeating West Virginia in the November 2018 finale at the HTC Center. UCF is seeded ninth in the NCAA’s East Region and plays VCU (25-7, Atlantic 10) in the first-round Friday in Columbia.

Cal State Fullerton (16-17, Big West) and Western Kentucky (20-14, Conference USA), who also competed in the 2018 Myrtle Beach Invitational, missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships after losing to Cal Irvine and Old Dominion, respectively, in the finals of conference tournaments Saturday.

Cal State Fullerton will compete in the post-season in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament and will hosts CSU Bakersfield (16-15, Western Athletic) Thursday in the first round.