Crossover Classic

The Crossover Classic (branded as the Crossover Classic presented by Mammoth Sports Construction for sponsorship reasons) is an early-season college basketball tournament that first took place November 25–30, 2020, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Crossover Classic

Sport	College basketball
Founded	2020 (men and women)
Founder	Sanford Health
No. of teams	4
Country	United States
Venue(s)	Sanford Pentagon Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Broadcaster(s)	ESPN
Related competitions	Battle 4 Atlantis
Official website	Crossover Classic

The tournament was originally established in 2020, intending to be a de facto substitute for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament following its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic; organizers invited all of the teams that had been invited to participate that year, but due to withdrawals only two of the originally-invited teams participated. The tournament returned for 2021, this time as a four-team round robin event.

Background

The Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Nassau, Bahamas was cancelled due to logistical issues tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the decision, a representative of the event was contacted by one of the teams' coaches, suggesting that an event could be held at the Pentagon.^[1] Attempts were made to invite all of the teams who had originally been slated to compete at the 2020 edition of the Battle 4 Atlantis, with only Duke declining. South Dakota had among the highest rates of new COVID-19 cases per-capita nationwide, but the tournament and venue's association with the local Sanford Health system was stated by organizers as allowing them to "put together a plan to make this a safe environment for all the teams that have committed to playing here."^[1]

Creighton, Dayton, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Utah dropped out of the tournament prior to the event. The day before the tournament was scheduled to begin, Wichita State withdrew due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team, leaving only two of the originally-invited teams left.^[2] It was originally planning to admit a limited number of spectators per-game, but on November 23 it was announced that the tournament would be played behind closed doors with no spectators admitted.^[3]

The tournament returned for 2021, switching to a round-robin format with four invited teams.^[4]

Tournament history

Tournament champions

Year	Winner	Score	Opponent(s)	Tournament MVP
2020	West Virginia	70-64	Western Kentucky	Derek Culver
2021	Nevada	South Dakota State 102-75 (L), George Mason 88-69 (W), Washington 81-62 (W)	South Dakota State, George Mason, Washington	Grant Sherfield

Brackets

2020

	5th Place Game November 27					Consolation 2nd Round November 26					First Round November 25					Semifinals November 26					Championship November 27
											Memphis		73
											Saint Mary's		56
						Saint Mary's		66								Memphis		69
						Northern Iowa		64								Western Kentucky		75
											Northern Iowa		87
											Western Kentucky		93
	Saint Mary's		72																		Western Kentucky		64
	South Dakota State		59																		West Virginia		70
												South Dakota State	71
											15	West Virginia	79
	7th Place Game					South Dakota State		83								15	West Virginia	78			3rd Place Game
						Utah State		59									VCU	66
	Northern Iowa		71								Utah State		69								Memphis		59
	Utah State		82								VCU		85								VCU		70

2021

The 2021 edition of the Crossover Classic was a round-robin tournament held from November 22-24, played between South Dakota State, Washington, Nevada and George Mason.^[5][6]

First Round November 22 South Dakota State 102 Nevada 75

First Round George Mason 74 Washington 77

Second Round November 23 Nevada 88 George Mason 69

Second Round Washington 87 South Dakota State 76

Third Round November 24 Washington 62 Nevada 81

Third Round George Mason 76 South Dakota State 80