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Paradise Jam

NCAA college basketball tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paradise Jam
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The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is an 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 at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands in Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands. Liberty is the defending men's champion. Kansas and Florida State are the defending women's champions in the Island and Reef divisions, respectively.

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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
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Format

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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] In 2025, Women’s Tournaments Dates: November 27-29, 2025 There are three women’s tournaments: the Reef Tournament, the Island Tournament, and the Water Tournament. Each tournament includes four teams, and each team will play two games.

Reef Tournament: Teams to be announced soon

Island Tournament: Teams to be announced soon

Water Tournament: Teams to be announced soon

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Tournament history

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

Men's tournament

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* 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

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

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Women's tournament appearances

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Tournaments held outside of the Virgin Islands

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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]

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References

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