Bracket for 2016 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Revealed

The 2015 Puerto Rico Tip-Off placed five of its eight participants in the NCAA Championship field, led by champion Miami (No. 3, South) and runner-up Utah (No. 3, Midwest). They are joined in the tournament by Texas Tech (No. 8, Midwest), Butler (No. 9, Midwest) and Temple (No 10, South). Texas Tech and Butler will matchup in a first-round game on Thursday, March 17.

The Puerto Rico Tip-Off is one of nine worldwide early season men’s college basketball events owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN. Twenty-nine of this season’s 56 participants across these events were selected to the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship field.

The Charlotte, N.C., based group manages six multiple-team events consisting of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Gildan Charleston Classic, DIRECTV Wooden Legacy, AdvoCare Invitational, NIT Season Tip-Off and Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The multi-day, destination events staged from Charleston, S.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico, Orange County, Calif., Orlando, Brooklyn and Honolulu, respectively, are all bracket-format tournaments.

In addition to the multiple-team tournaments, ESPN Events also manages three neutral men’s basketball events including the Armed Forces Classic, State Farm Champions Classic and Jimmy V Classic presented by Corona.

Each 2015 event featured at least two participants who earned a selection to the NCAA Championship. The AdvoCare Invitational led the way with all eight participating teams selected to play in the postseason, including six in the NCAA Championship and two in the NIT. The entire fields from the Armed Forces Classic, State Farm Champions Classic and Jimmy V Classic presented by Corona were also selected.

All six ESPN Events multiple-team event 2015 champions earned NCAA bids: Virginia from the Gildan Charleston Classic (No. 1 seed, Midwest Region), Miami from the Puerto Rico Tip-Off (No. 3, South), Michigan State from the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (No. 2, Midwest), Xavier from the AdvoCare Invitational (No. 2, East), Villanova from the NIT Season Tip-Off (No. 2, South) and Oklahoma from the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (No. 2, West).

The 2016 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature three schools who advanced to the NCAA Championship: Oklahoma, Xavier and Northern Iowa. They will be joined by NIT invitee Davidson as well as Arizona State, Clemson, Missouri and Tulane. The tournament will be played Nov. 17, 18 and 20 at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, P.R.