CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bearcats could meet Duke for the first time in 18 years when they compete in the 2016 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in November.
The annual NCAA men’s exempt tournament features eight schools in two four-team brackets with two campus-round games leading up to a pair of matchups Nov. 19-20 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
UC will play host to Brown (Nov. 11) and Albany (Nov. 14) at Fifth Third Arena before facing Rhode Island (Nov. 19) in Uncasville. The Bearcats would meet either Duke or Penn State in the championship or consolation game on Nov. 20.
The Bearcats haven't played Duke since beating the Blue Devils 77-75 in the championship game of the 1998 Alaska Shootout. The Blue Devils own a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.
Broadcast information and game times will be announced at a later date. General public tickets will go on sale Friday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. ET via all Ticketmaster outlets and the Mohegan Sun Arena box office.
The 2016-17 Bearcats will return three starters among seven lettermen from last season’s team. UC compiled a 22-11 record and made its sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
2016 NAISMITH MEMORIAL HALL OF FAME TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Nov. 11 (Campus Sites)
Grand Canyon at Duke
Marist at Penn State
Brown at Cincinnati
Nov. 12 (Campus Sites)
Albany at Duke
Nov. 14 (Campus Sites)
Albany at Cincinnati
Marist at Rhode Island
Nov. 15 (Campus Sites)
Grand Canyon at Penn State
Nov. 16 (Campus Sites)
Brown at Rhode Island
Saturday, November 19 at Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.)
Naismith Bracket
Duke vs. Penn State
Cincinnati vs. Rhode Island
Springfield Bracket
Marist vs. Brown
Grand Canyon vs. Albany
Sunday, Nov. 20 at Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.)
Naismith Bracket
Consolation Game
Championship Game
Springfield Bracket
Marist vs. Grand Canyon
Brown vs. Albany
