The Savannah Invitational is a

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 ...

tournament founded in 2016 that is held at the

Savannah Civic Center The Savannah Civic Center is a multi-purpose facility located in Savannah, Georgia, in Savannah Historic District. Built-in 1974, the facility consists of an arena, theatre, ballroom, and exhibit halls. Throughout the years, the center hosts var ...

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, Georgia. The event includes both a men′s and a women′s tournament.

2016

Men's tournament

The men's tournament took place November 20-26. The eight participating teams were divided into two brackets, a "host" bracket and a "visitors" bracket.Dobbertean, Chris, "2016 Savannah Invitational Primer: Akron Headlines New Tournament," bloggingthebracket.com, August 11, 2016, 3:13 p.m. EDT
/ref>realgm.com 2016-2017 Savannah Invitational Information
/ref> Each of the four "host" teams hosted two of the "visitors" teams in games on their campuses in the first two rounds of the tournament on November 20 and 22. Regardless of the results of those two rounds, the four "host" teams then met one another in a bracketed tournament in Savannah in the third and championship rounds on November 25 and 26. Meanwhile, the four "visitor" teams also met in Savannah on November 25 and 26 to play a non-bracketed round-robin among themselves, with no championship awarded to them.

Campus games

Host bracket

Visitors bracket

Women's tournament

The women's tournament was played November 22–24. The format was a three-round round-robin, with all games played in Savannah.

2017

Men's tournament

In 2017, the men's event was played November 11-26.Dobbertean, Chris, "2017 Savannah Invitational Primer," bloggingthebracket.com, November 10, 2017, 12:00 noon EDT
/ref>realgm.com 2017-2018 Savannah Invitational Information
/ref> As in 2016, the eight participating teams were divided into a "Host" bracket and a "Visitors" bracket. In the first round, held on November 11 and November 19, each of the four "Host" bracket teams played a home game on its campus against one of the four "Visitors" bracket teams. "Visitor" bracket team North Carolina Wesleyan played no further games in the Invitational, and "Host" team

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had a bye in the second round, but the other three "hosts" played another on-campus game against another of the three remaining "visitors" in the second round, held on November 21. Regardless of the results of these two rounds the four "host" teams then met in Savannah to play one another on November 24-25. Unlike in 2016, the "Host" teams met in a two-round round-robin "Hosts' Showcase" event in Savannah rather than in a bracketed tournament, a change made because "Host" bracket team Valparaiso had made a late move from the

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to the Missouri Valley Conference, to which "Host" bracket team Loyola–Chicago also belonged; NCAA regulations prohibited teams from the same conference participating in the same in-season non-conference tournament, and the round-robin "showcase" format allowed the Invitational both to comply with NCAA non-conference tournament regulations and to ensure no meeting between Valparaiso and Loyola-Chicago. As a result of the non-bracketed "showcase" format, no championship was awarded in the "Host" bracket in 2017. Meanwhile, the three remaining "Visitor" bracket teams met at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

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Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, on November 24, 25, and 26 to play one another in the "Visitors Subregional," a non-bracketed round-robin with no championship awarded.

Campus games

Hosts' Showcase

Visitors' Subregional

Women's tournament

The women's tournament was played November 21-23. The format was a three-round round-robin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savannah Invitational 2016 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2017 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball in Georgia (U.S. state) Sports in Savannah, Georgia Sports competitions in Georgia (U.S. state) College basketball competitions College men's basketball competitions in the United States College women's basketball competitions in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 2016 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2017 Women's sports in Georgia (U.S. state)