ESPN Events Reveals Field for 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational
The field for the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational is set and will feature three schools that participated in the 2024 National Invitational Tournament – Bradley (Missouri Valley), Princeton (Ivy), and South Florida (American Athletic).
Middle Tennessee (Conference USA), Ohio (Mid-American), Portland (West Coast), Texas State (Sun Belt), and Wright State (Horizon League) will also be competing in the sixth annual event.
The 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational will be played November 21, 22 and 24 at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. All games will be presented across the ESPN platforms.
Bradley has posted nine 20-plus win seasons this century, with current coach Brian Wardle responsible for five of those teams during the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 seasons. Wardle led the Braves to back-to-back Missouri Valley post-season titles in 2019 and 2020.
Princeton captured the 2024 Ivy League regular-season crown and has competed in the post-season the past three campaigns highlighted by a NCAA “Sweet 16” appearance where the Tigers eliminated Arizona and Missouri before losing to Creighton in the regionals.
South Florida set a school record for wins in a season as first-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim led the Bulls to a 25-8 record and the 2024 American Athletic Conference regular-season title. USF advanced to the second-round of the NIT with a first-round win over in-state rival UCF.
Middle Tennessee has advanced to the semi-finals in the last three Conference USA post-season tournaments where the Blue Raiders have lost to eventual champions UAB, Florida Athletic and Western Kentucky, respectively. Middle Tennessee will be appearing in its second Myrtle Beach Invitational after placing seventh in 2019.
Ohio has posted a 98-60 record the past five seasons under coach Jeff Boals. The Bobcats have advanced to the post-season twice under Boals with an NCAA appearance in 2021 after winning the Mid-American title. Ohio placed seventh in the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational by defeating Middle Tennessee 75-63.
Portland advanced to the second round of the 2024 West Coast post-season tournament before being eliminated by San Francisco. The Pilots won their previous two games before the USF setback by defeating Santa Clara in the regular-season finale and Loyola Marymount in the first round of the post season.
Texas State is coached by Terrence Johnson, who in four seasons has guided the Bobcats to 72 wins, two Sun Belt regular-season titles and a 2022 NIT berth. Texas State finished the 2023-2024 campaign by winning six of its last seven games with the setback being in the Sun Belt post-season semi-finals where the Bobcats dropped a 73-68 decision to eventual champions James Madison.
Wright State finished the season with an 18-14 record as coach Scott Nagy left for Southern Illinois and associate head coach Clint Sargent took over the program leaders. Despite losing in the quarterfinals of the Horizon post-season tourney, The Raiders rebounded from a 6-8 start to win 12 of their last 18 games highlighted by a 21-point win (96-75) over conference champions Oakland.
Owned and operated by ESPN Events, the Myrtle Beach Invitational will offer tickets for purchase later this summer after the complete tournament schedule is announced. In the meantime, fans can sign up for first access to tickets at http://www.myrtlebeachinvite.com.
Past Myrtle Beach Invitational champions include UCF (2018), Baylor (2019), Utah State (2021), UMass (2022), and Liberty (2023). Two schools in the 2023 Myrtle Beach Invitational competed in the post-season, with the College of Charleston and Vermont advancing to the NCAAs. Both Charleston and Vermont won 2024 conference regular- and post-season titles.
