SPRINGBOARD TO BIGGER THINGS - The winners of the first two CollegeInsider.com Tournaments have used that momentum to move on to greater success. Old Dominion won the 2009 CIT and followed that up with a CAA championship and first round NCAA Tournament win over Notre Dame in 2009-10. The winner of the 2010 CIT, Missouri State, had a seven win improvement in Missouri Valley Conference play (15-3) that resulted in a regular season title.

OTHERS BENEFIT FROM 2010 CIT EXPERIENCE AS WELL - Harvard's basketball history had been pretty unremarkable until recently. But last season, the school broke into the postseason with an appearance in the CIT. This season, Tommy Amaker's team captured the school's first ever Ivy League title. Perennial mid-major power George Mason also built on its appearance in last year's CIT. The Patriots won 25 regular season contests en route to winning the 2010-11 CAA regular season title, an improvement of eight wins over the previous campaign. Northern Colorado advanced to the semifinals of last year's CIT before falling to Pacific. This season, the Bears achieved the program's first ever berth in the NCAA Tournament.

MONUMENTAL COMEBACK - Fairfield's 101-96 overtime win over George Mason in the first round of the 2010 CIT was one for the record books. The Stags stormed back from a 27-point second half deficit, making it the biggest comeback during the month of March in Division I history. That surpassed Missouri State's 23-point comeback against Southern Illinois in the 2005 MVC Tournament. Fairfield's victory tied for fourth amongst all second half comebacks in Division I games, with the record being Kentucky's 31-point surge against LSU in 1994 as well as Duke's 31-point comeback against Tulane in 1950.

HISTORY MAKING SHOT - Bradley's Chris Roberts converted a 75-foot heave at the buzzer to give Bradley an improbable 76-75 victory against Oakland in the quarterfinals of the inaugural CIT in 2009. It still stands as the longest game-winning shot in NCAA Division I postseason history.

HIGHLY DECORATED - One of the Missouri Valley Conference's most decorated players is participating in this year's CIT. Northern Iowa senior guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe was named First Team All-MVC in voting conducted by coaches, Sports Information Directors, and a media panel. The same voters tabbed Northern Iowa guard Anthony James as the Team Captain for the league's All-Bench Team.

HISTORIC SEASONS - Furman is experiencing a level of success that the program hasn't enjoyed in nearly a generation. This edition of the Paladins enters the CIT with a 22-10 record, marking the first time in 20 seasons that the program has cleared the 20-win mark. This also represents Furman's highest win total since 1980. Rider is also experiencing a banner season, having recorded 22 regular season wins. That total, and the 23 wins overall to this point, represent program records.

CONTINUING THE TURNAROUND - This year marks Portland's third straight appearance in the CIT, making it the only program that has appeared in every edition of the tournament. Including the current campaign, Portland has fashioned a 60-35 record over the past three seasons. That is in stark contrast to the 29-63 record the program had in the three seasons prior to starting its CIT run.

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY - Three of the participants in this year's CIT field used strong finishes to the regular season to overcome some early adversity. Tennessee Tech stumbled to a 2-5 start while SMU began its campaign with a 1-3 record. San Francisco stood at 4-9 on December 28, but has fashioned a strong 13-5 mark since then.

RECORD SETTER - Quinnipiac's 64-62 loss in the Northeast Conference tournament semifinals was a bitter pill to swallow, but it did have a bright side. Quinnipiac senior forward Justin Rutty grabbed 10 rebounds in the contest and in the process became the NEC’s all-time leader in rebounds with 1,024 and counting.

FILLING IT UP - Three of the nation's top 35 scorers are competing in the 2011 CIT. Northern Arizona guard Cameron Jones enters CIT play as the leading scorer in the field with a 20.2 ppg average, which ranks 20th nationally. Right behind Jones is Oral Roberts forward Dominque Morrison, whose 19.4 average is 33rd nationally. Matching Morrison's average is Santa Clara guard Kevin Foster, who is ranked first nationally in both three-point fields made (117) and three-point field goals per game (3.5).

PROLIFIC DISHER - Junior Scott Machado might be the best point guard in Iona history. He has averaged a MAAC best 7.6 dimes per game, more than one assist better than Iona’s record of 6.5 apg set by Glenn Grant in 1988-89. Machado currently ranks second nationally behind UAB's Aaron Johnson.

20 OR MORE - Once again, the CIT field features many of the winningest teams in the mid-major ranks. In all, ten squads participating in the 2011 CIT had already won 20 or more games coming into tournament play: Rider (23-10), Valparaiso (23-11), Quinnipiac (22-9), Furman (22-10), East Tennessee State (22-11), Iona (22-11), Marshall (22-11), Portland (20-11), Tennessee Tech (20-12) and Western Michigan (20-12).

HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE - The 2011 CIT field includes three teams that lead their own leagues in scoring: Iona tops the MAAC (79.0 ppg, 14th nationally), Tennessee Tech paces the Ohio Valley (74.9 ppg, 40th nationally) and Ohio sets the standard in the MAC (74.7 ppg, 42nd nationally).

POSTSEASON STANDARD - By making the CIT field, Jacksonville has qualified for the postseason for the third straight season. That's happened only one other time (1970-73) in the history of the program.

CONSISTENT REJECTION - Hawaii leads the WAC in blocks, averaging 4.1 per game. In league play, the Rainbow Warriors' average ballooned to 5.0 bpg. Senior forward Bill Amis, who tied his career high with six blocks in an overtime win over Nevada, led the WAC with 2.2 bpg in league games.

HYPER ACCURATE - Several of the nation's best long range bombers are competing in this edition of the CIT. In fact, eight of the top 20 most accurate 3-point shooters are competing, they are Northern Arizona sophomore guard Gabe Rogers (47.3%, 4th), Portland junior guard Nemanja Mitrovic (46.7%, 6th), Idaho senior guard Jeff Ledbetter (46.1%, 7th), Ohio senior guard Tommy Freeman (44.1%, 11th), Rider senior guard Justin Robinson (43.2%, 15th), Portland senior guard Jared Stohl (43.1%, 16th), Hawaii junior guard Zane Johnson (42.1%, tied for 20th) and Buffalo junior guard Zach Filzen (42,1%, tied for 20th)

TOBACCO ROAD REUNION - The CIT appears to be a meeting place for coaches who played their college basketball at North Carolina. East Carolina coach Jeff Lebo (UNC Class of '89) and SMU coach Matt Doherty (UNC Class of '84) are the former Tar Heels leading teams in this year's field. Last year, CIT participant Appalachian State was led by Buzz Peterson (UNC Class of '85).

NFL STARS - NFL superstars Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson, of the San Diego Chargers, have joined the selection committee for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Gates, a six-time Pro Bowler, is one of the most highly decorated tight ends in NFL history. Named to the NFL's All-Decade Team (2000-09), Gates starred in basketball at Kent State (2001-03) where he was an honorable mention AP All-America as senior and led the Golden Flashes to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament and a school-best No. 12 finish in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. In 2003 the San Diego Chargers signed Gates as free agent. In 2010 he was named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Decade Basketball Team. Jackson, who still holds numerous football records at the University of Northern Colorado, led the basketball team in scoring (13.6) in his junior season. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest and was fourth on the team with 24 steals in 2003-04. As a sophomore, he averaged 10.6 points per game for the Bears. Jackson, who was drafted in the second round (61st overall) by the San Diego Chargers in 2006, didn’t play basketball in his final season at UNC to focus on a professional football career. Jackson was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2010. PRESS RELEASE IN PDF