Paradise_Jam_tournament

Paradise Jam

The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is a NCAA college basketball tournament that takes place annually in late November. The men's tournament typically takes place the week before Thanksgiving, with the women's tournament occurring during Thanksgiving week. It is held in St. Thomas at the Sports and Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. Colorado State is the defending men's champion. Texas A&M and Arizona are the defending women's champions in the Reef and Island divisions, respectively.

Quick Facts Sport, Founded ...
Game 4 of the 2017 Paradise Jam featured the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Drake Bulldogs. Due to hurricane damage, this particular year was not held in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Format

Paradise Jam began in 2000 as a women's basketball tournament; a men's tournament was added the following year. In its current format, both tournaments feature eight teams that each play three games.

Men's format

The men's tournament was introduced in 2001 with a six-team, three-game group play format. In 2006, the tournament was expanded to eight teams and a bracket format was adopted. All teams play three games in the tournament, with the final day's games determining the tournament standings: a championship game, third-place game, fifth-place game, and seventh-place game are all played.[1]

Women's format

The format of the women's tournament has changed multiple times throughout the existence of Paradise Jam. The first tournament in 2000 featured four teams that played two games each.[2] In 2001, the women's tournament was altered to include three divisions — St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. The following year, the St. Croix division was dropped, and two divisions were used going forward. In 2008, the format was adjusted to its current form, which features the Reef and Island divisions with four teams playing in each division. All teams play three games in the tournament, with the final day's games determining placement in all positions, first through fourth in each division.[3]

Tournament history

View from the University of the Virgin Islands campus
2004 tournament MVP, Arkansas's Ronnie Brewer, with the Chicago Bulls in 2011
2005 tournament champion Wisconsin
2008 tournament MVP, UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, as part of the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers in 2020
2009 tournament MVP, Purdue's E'Twaun Moore
2011 tournament MVP, Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom
2015 tournament MVP, South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell
2017 tournament MVP, Colorado's McKinley Wright IV
Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., hosted the 2020 tournament as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 tournament champion Colorado State

Men's tournament

More information Year, Champion ...

*The 2020 tournament was condensed and played at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Women's tournament

The first ever Paradise Jam champion, the 2000 Texas Tech Lady Raiders
2001 St. John tournament MVP, Arizona State's Amanda Levens, as head coach of Nevada in 2017
2005 St. John tournament MVP, Tennessee's Candace Parker, with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2017
2007 St. Thomas tournament MVP, UConn's Maya Moore, with the Minnesota Lynx in 2012
2009 Island tournament MVP, Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins, with the Dallas Wings in 2017
2012 Island tournament MVP, UConn's Breanna Stewart, with the Seattle Storm in 2017
2014 Reef tournament MVP, Kentucky's Makayla Epps
2015 Island tournament MVP, Rutgers' Kahleah Copper, with the Chicago Sky in 2018
2019 Reef tournament MVP, South Carolina's Aliyah Boston
More information Year, Division ...

Men's tournament appearances

More information Team, Appearances ...

Women's tournament appearances

More information Team, Appearances ...

Tournaments held outside of the Virgin Islands

2017

The 2017 men's and women's tournaments were moved to the U.S. mainland due to heavy damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The tournament organizers decided to solicit hosting bids from all participating teams in both tournaments, with each tournament intended to be hosted by a participating school.[24][25] The substitute venue for the 2017 men's tournament was Vines Center at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.[26] The 2017 women's tournament took place in two different venues, with the Reef division playing at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the Island division at the neutral Titan Field House at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida, presumably after no school in the Island division submitted a bid.[27] The tournament moved back to the Virgin Islands in 2018.[28]

2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 men's tournament was relocated to Washington, D.C., as travel restrictions prevented the tournament from being held in the U.S. Virgin Islands as normal. The tournament took place November 26–28, 2020 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.[29] The tournament was condensed from the typical eight teams to just four teams — Belmont, George Mason, Howard, and Queens (N.C.). Belmont went undefeated, beating the three other teams to win the 2020 men's tournament. The 2020 women's tournament was cancelled.[30]


References

  1. "Men's Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament". Basketball Travelers Inc. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  2. "Paradise Jam Pairings Set; LSU to Face SW Missouri". LSU Athletics. November 6, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  3. "Women's Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament". Basketball Travelers Inc. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. "Monarchs Reign at This Year's Paradise Jam". St. Thomas Source. November 24, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  5. "No. 16 Marquette edges Norfolk St 59-57 to win Jam". The Columbian. November 20, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  6. "New Mexico Holds Off UConn Surge For Paradise Jam Title". Hartford Courant. November 20, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  7. "Seton Hall Holds off Illinois State, Wins Paradise Jam". NJ.com. November 25, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  8. "South Carolina earns 2015 Paradise Jam championship". SB Nation. November 24, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  9. "Buffs Top Mercer For Paradise Jam Title". Colorado Athletics. November 19, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  10. "Wildcats Claim Paradise Jam Title with Win Over Missouri". SB Nation. November 19, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  11. "2020 Paradise Jam Concludes, All-Tournament Team Announced". Basketball Travelers Inc. November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  12. Gardner, James (2016-11-27). "Kansas State, FSU Win Paradise Jam Women's Tourney". St. Croix Source. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  13. "UConn, Kentucky Women Win Paradise Jam Division Championships". St. Thomas Source. November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  14. "2019 Women's Paradise Jam Results". Basketball Travelers Inc. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  15. "Jordan Nixon scores 25, wins Paradise Jam". The Battalion. November 28, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  16. "Storm damage forces Paradise Jam from Virgin Islands; host site to be named next week". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  17. "Paradise Jam Relocated" (Press release). Basketball Travelers, Inc. September 22, 2017. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  18. "Men's 2017 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Relocated to Liberty University" (Press release). Basketball Travelers, Inc. September 29, 2017. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  19. "Women's 2017 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Sites Selected" (Press release). Basketball Travelers, Inc. October 4, 2017. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.

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