College basketball: FGCU men join two other conference champs in Germain Arena's Showcase

Gulf Coast Showcase officials unveiled the 2018 eight-team mid-major men's basketball field on Thursday, and for Southwest Florida fans, at least, Florida Gulf Coast University's return is the headliner.

But the Eagles -- who by an NCAA mandate can only play in this Germain Arena event just 3.5 miles from FGCU's Alico Arena once every four years -- will have loads of competition.

Along with defending Atlantic Sun regular-season champion FGCU, the Nov. 19-21 bracket boasts Summit League champ South Dakota State, Sun Belt champ Louisiana and Mid-American West Division champ Toledo. Also in the field are Colorado State, Tulane, UC Irvine and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

“I think it speaks volumes of how this event has grown since 2013 when you have two very recognizable programs such as Tulane and Colorado State, and yet they are not among your four top teams from last season in this field,” said Brooks Downing, whose company, bd Global, manages the annual event. “And to have FGCU back in the event with new coach Michael Fly hands down makes this our best tournament field yet.”

Fly, the longtime Eagles assistant who took over at FGCU when Joe Dooley left for East Carolina after five seasons, said the Showcase has risen from when FGCU beat Marist and San Francisco before losing to Green Bay in the final in 2014.

"It's a really competitive field," said Fly, whose team lost 4.5 starters after a first-round NIT loss at Oklahoma State last season. "Since we played in it four years ago, it's gotten better and better from a competitive standpoint. When we played in it before, there were good teams there. But we also felt like, 'OK, if we play well, we can win several games.'

"I'm not sure there's anybody in the tournament now feels like there's a game they can walk into and just win. It's a really, really good field."

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FGCU will open the tournament, which was won by Towson last year, at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 against Toledo, which went 23-11 last season and lost in the conference tournament final against top-seeded Buffalo. 

South Dakota State went 28-7 last season, notching a program record for wins and its first-ever outright regular-season title. The Jackrabbits, led by third-year coach T.J. Otzelberger, lost to fifth-seeded Ohio State, 81-73, in an NCAA tournament first-rounder.

FGCU is 1-1 against South Dakota State, and the Eagles host the Jackrabbits on Nov. 16. So those strong mid-major teams could meet twice in a very short span.

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Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns, led by 10th-year coach Bob Marlin, were 27-7 and lost to LSU in a first-round NIT matchup last season.

UTSA is a Conference USA program that is coming off a 20-15 season. The Roadrunners beat Lamar then lost to Sam Houston State in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

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The Big West's UC Irvine was 18-17 last season and ninth-year coach Russell Turner has led the Anteaters to six straight winning campaigns. Maybe more important, the Anteaters got some great early experience by going 4-1 against national teams in the Asian Pacific University Challenge in August.

Tulane of the American Conference went 14-17 last season. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the Green Wave is they are led by Mike Dunleavy, the 17-year NBA coach and 12-year NBA player who is in his third season in New Orleans.

Colorado State went 11-21 last season. Former Drake and Furman coach Niko Medved is in his first season with the Mountain West program.

"For us, this is a unique opportunity because obviously our fans can be a part of it with it being right down the street," Fly said. "Also, for our team, we're not young when it comes to years, but we're extremely young when it comes to experience with the system that our staff has put in and with guys who have played together. So for us, I hope there's some comfort level and some cohesiveness that we can develop without having to go on the road.

"I just think it's a great event for us to be a part of."

2018 Men's Gulf Coast Showcase
Who: Florida Gulf Coast, Colorado State, Louisiana, South Dakota State, Toledo, Tulane, UC Irvine, University of Texas at San Antonio
When: Nov. 19-21
Where: Germain Arena, Estero
First-Round Matchups: South Dakota State-Tulane, 11 a.m.; UC Irvine-UTSA, 1:30 p.m.; Louisiana-Colorado State, 5 p.m.; FGCU-Toledo, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Via GermainArena.com and Ticketmaster. All tournament passes -- $74, $99, $149; Single two-game sessions (11 a.m. or 5 p.m.) -- $10 General Admission to $45 Courtside. FGCU has tickets for its designated areas and the Eagles will get a commission on all Showcase tickets sold before Nov. 1. Lower sideline single sessions in FGCU's areas are $30, upper sideline are $20 and general admission are $15. Visit the Alico Arena Ticket Office, call (239) 590-7145 or go to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets