20081121 Manny Harris shoots Free Throws at 2K Sports Classic

The Empire Classic, formerly known as the 2K Sports Classic, is an annual

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

event played in November at the beginning of the season and televised by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Originally known as the Atlantic City Shootout and produced by the Gazelle Group, Inc., the event was first played in 1995. The following year, it became the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic as a collaboration between the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

and the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

in an effort to raise funds for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

research. In 2012, the tournament beneficiary became

Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following September 11, 2001. It operates as a nonprofit ...

, resulting in the tournament being renamed the 2K Sports Classic. A new annual college basketball tournament benefiting cancer research, also called the

Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic was an annual college basketball tournament event benefiting cancer research held from 2012 to 2014. The event was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and televised by truTV. The tournament replaced t ...

and hosted by the

Barclays Center Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, was held from 2012 to 2014. In 2019, the event was renamed the 2K Empire Classic Benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, commonly referred to as the "Empire Classic." Over its history, the Empire Classic has been played both as a showcase event and as a tournament. It most recently was played as a tournament in 2020. Villanova is the reigning Empire Classic champion, having defeated

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

83–74 in the championship game on November 26, 2020. It became a showcase event in 2021.

History

The first two events were doubleheader showcases held at the Atlantic City Convention Center (now

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlanti ...

). From 1997 through 2001, the event was played as a tournament.

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

won the first tournament in 1997, which took place at

Continental Airlines Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

in the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of N ...

. In 1998, the event moved to

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where it remained through 2019. In both 2002 and 2003, it was played as a showcase doubleheader. In 2004, it became a tournament again, with a new format as a 16-team event with teams from 16 separate conferences. Four predetermined regional round hosts played two games at home and the winners play in the semifinals and finals at Madison Square Garden.

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

won the first tournament played in this format, beating

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, 77–62, in 2004. In 2007, Gardner-Webb unexpectedly won at

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, 84–68, and advanced to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden, preventing one of the tournament's marquee teams from playing there. To ensure that the marquee teams would play in the semifinals in the 2008 tournament, the semifinalists were predetermined, regardless of the results of the regional rounds. Beginning in 2009, the format was revised to a 12-team field and each team was guaranteed four games in the tournament, with the semifinalists advancing to

and the remaining eight teams being split into two subregional tournaments played at predetermined campus sites. In 2014, the tournament format changed again, with eight teams from eight separate conferences invited to the tournament. Two games were held at four different regional sites selected before the tournament. The semifinals and finals were held at Madison Square Garden and the remaining four teams played in a tournament format at a predetermined on-campus site. This format persisted through 2019. With the COVID-19 pandemic raging in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020 and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. Season ...

, the Empire Classic was one of the very few multiteam events held during the fall of 2020.Freeman, Tristan, "NCAA Basketball: Biggest takeaways from 2020 2K Empire Classic," bustingbrackets.com, November 27, 2020 Accessed March 11, 2021
/ref> With no fans permitted to attend, it took place behind closed doors at

Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...

Uncasville Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Only four teams participated. Baylor withdrew from it after head coach

Scott Drew Scott Homer Drew (born October 23, 1970) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Baylor Bears, a position he has held since 2003. Drew began his coaching career as an assistant for Valparaiso under his father Home ...

tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

;

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

replaced Baylor. In 2021, the tournament format was dropped, and the Empire Classic took place as a showcase event at

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...

on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Four teams participated, and the event consisted of two doubleheaders played over the course of two days,

Yearly champions, runners-up, and MVPs

Most appearances

Participants and brackets

* – Denotes overtime period

1995

:Showcase Format – No Tournament

1996

:Showcase Format – No Tournament

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

:Showcase Format – No Tournament

2003

:Showcase Format – No Tournament

2004

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Alabama A&M Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshal ...

* Belmont * Birmingham-Southern * Bucknell * Fairfield *

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...

* IPFW *

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

Savannah State ) , established = , closed = , type = Public historically black university , parent = University System of Georgia , academic_affiliation = Space-grant , endowment ...

* Saint Mary's *

UC-Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

2005

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

* Wake Forest *

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

* Albany * Bethune-Cookman *

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

Mississippi Valley State Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi.Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

* St. Francis (Pennsylvania) * St. Peter's *

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

2006

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

* St. John's *

Alcorn State Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

Chicago State Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

* Loyola Maryland *

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

* St. Bonaventure *

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

2007

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

* Buffalo *

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

* East Central (Oklahoma) * Gardner-Webb *

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

* Morgan State *

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinoi ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

* Tennessee-Martin

2008

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

* Arkansas-Monticello *

California University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, California (commonly known as PennWest California) is a public university campus in California, Pennsylvania and one of three campuses of Pennsylvania Western University, part of the Pennsylvania State System o ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

* IUPUI *

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

* Miami (OH) *

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

* Northeastern Huskies men's basketball, Northeastern * Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View A&M * Presbyterian Blue Hose men's basketball, Presbyterian * Weber State Wildcats men's basketball, Weber State

2009

* 2009-10 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Syracuse * 2009-10 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team, North Carolina * 2009-10 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team, Ohio State * 2009–10 California Golden Bears men's basketball team, California * Albany *

* Detroit Titans men's basketball, Detroit * FIU Golden Panthers, Florida International * 2009–10 Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball team, Robert Morris * James Madison Dukes men's basketball, James Madison * 2009–10 Murray State Racers men's basketball team, Murray State * North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball, North Carolina Central

2010

* 2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team, Pittsburgh * 2010–11 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team, Illinois * 2010–11 Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team, Maryland * 2010–11 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team, Texas * Charleston Golden Eagles, Charleston * UIC Flames men's basketball, UIC * 2010–11 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team, Louisiana Tech *

* Rhode Island Rams men's basketball, Rhode Island * Seattle Redhawks men's basketball, Seattle * Toledo Rockets men's basketball, Toledo *

2011

* 2011–12 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team, Mississippi State * 2011–12 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team, Arizona * 2011–12 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team, St. John's * 2011–12 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team, Texas A&M * 2011–12 Akron Zips men's basketball team, Akron * Duquesne Dukes men's basketball, Duquesne * Eastern Kentucky Colonels basketball, Eastern Kentucky * Hiram College, Hiram * Indiana University Kokomo, IU Kokomo * 2011–12 Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's basketball team, Lehigh * Liberty Flames basketball, Liberty * University of the District of Columbia, UDC * 2011–12 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team, Valparaiso * 2011–12 William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team, William & Mary

2012

* 2012–13 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team, Alabama * 2012–13 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team, Villanova * 2012–13 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team, Purdue * 2012–13 Oregon State Beavers men's basketball team, Oregon State * 2012–13 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team, Bucknell * 2012–13 Hofstra Pride men's basketball team, Hofstra * 2012–13 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team, Marshall * 2012–13 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team, New Mexico State * 2012–13 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team, Niagara * Northern New Mexico College, Northern New Mexico * 2012–13 South Dakota State Jackrabbits men's basketball team, South Dakota State * University of the District of Columbia, UDC * West Alabama Tigers, West Alabama

2013

* 2013–14 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team, Connecticut * 2013–14 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team, Indiana * 2013–14 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team, Boston College * 2013–14 Washington Huskies men's basketball team, Washington * 2013–14 Boston University Terriers men's basketball team, Boston University * 2013–14 Detroit Titans men's basketball team, Detroit * 2013–14 Eastern Washington Eagles men's basketball team, Eastern Washington * 2013–14 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team, Florida Atlantic * 2013–14 LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball team, LIU Brooklyn * 2013–14 Stony Brook Seawolves men's basketball team, Stony Brook * 2013–14 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team, Toledo * 2013–14 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team, UC Irvine

2014

* 2014–15 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team, Texas * 2014–15 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Syracuse * 2014–15 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team, Iowa * 2014–15 California Golden Bears men's basketball team, California * 2014–15 Alcorn State Braves basketball team, Alcorn State * 2014–15 Hampton Pirates men's basketball team, Hampton * 2014–15 Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team, Kennesaw State * 2014–15 North Dakota State Bison men's basketball team, North Dakota State

2015

* 2015–16 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, Duke * 2015–16 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team, Georgetown * 2015–16 VCU Rams men's basketball team, VCU * 2015–16 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team, Wisconsin * 2015–16 Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team, Bryant * 2015–16 Prairie View A&M Panthers men's basketball team, Prairie View A&M * 2015–16 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team, Radford * 2015–16 Siena Saints men's basketball team, Siena

2016

* 2016-17 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team, Michigan * 2016–17 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team, SMU * 2016–17 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team, Pittsburgh * 2016-17 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team, Marquette * 2016-17 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team, Eastern Michigan * 2016-17 Howard Bison basketball team, Howard * 2016-17 IUPUI Jaguars men's basketball team, IUPUI * 2016-17 Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team, Gardner-Webb

2017

2018

2019

2020

The 2020 tournament was held November 25–26 behind closed doors at

in Uncasville, Connecticut as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions.

2021

The top two teams in the country, Gonzaga and UCLA, headlined the 27th annual Empire Classic, held at

on the

, on November 22 and 23. Joining them were Central Michigan and Bellarmine. The format reverted to a showcase event. :Showcase Format – No Tournament

2022

The tournament took place at

in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York on November 21 and 22, 2022. ''Game recaps:'' * – Denotes overtime period

References

External links

Official website
{{NCAA men's college basketball showcases navbox College men's basketball competitions in the United States College basketball competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1995