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Vegas 16 will return next year despite playing before sparse crowds

Based on the sparse crowds and social media mockery, the inaugural Vegas 16 certainly won’t be mistaken for March Madness.

But it’s not going anywhere.

“Yes, absolutely,” said former UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood, the tournament committee chairman, on whether the event would return next year. “We’ll take a look at things, like at were these the right days to do it, should we move the week. All those things will be discussed, but the answer to will we be back next year is an absolute yes.”

Pictures of empty sections of seats replaced jokes about the event only featuring eight teams instead of the planned 16 as the comedy du jour on social media during the three days of the tournament at Mandalay Bay.

The actual game play was no laughing matter, though. Old Dominion won the title Wednesday night behind star guards Trey Freeman and Aaron Bacote. The Monarchs were available to play because they fell one possession short of an NCAA Tournament bid with a Conference USA title game loss to Middle Tennessee State, which went on to upset Michigan State in the first round of the NCAAs.

Oakland guard Kay Felder, one of the most dynamic players in the nation, put on a show in the semifinals with a triple-double before the 5-foot-9-inch dynamo’s heroics weren’t enough in the championship game.

East Tennessee State’s Ge’Lawn Guyn scored a career-high 34 points in a first-round game.

There was legitimate basketball played no matter how many people were in the stands.

“Everything worked out,” Livengood said. “We’re not disappointed in attendance. That’s going to happen. We knew that, and the plan was built on that. The most important thing was to have those eight teams have a really great experience, from the players to the coaches to the fans. That’s the thing for next year where the feedback is going to be really important when we’re able to tell a team that’s maybe wondering, ‘Hey, call so-and-so and they’ll tell you about their experience.’

“A lot of people just look at the attendance, and they’d say, ‘Oh, it wasn’t successful.’ That’s not our worry. In future years, obviously that’s going to be very important, but not this year.”

A sampling of the coaches drew overwhelmingly positive support, particularly when compared to the established College Basketball Invitational and CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams, who got the first postseason win of his 18-year career at the school, pointed out the experience of Big West rival UC Irvine, which lost at Columbia in the championship game of the CIT. The Anteaters played at North Dakota, Louisiana-Lafayette and Coastal Carolina to reach the title game on the road in New York.

“We’ve played in those tournaments,” Williams said. “They’re good tournaments and fun experiences, but being in a single site with all the teams here just builds a different atmosphere and ultimately will make this a pretty special tournament.”

Oakland coach Greg Kampe said he would spread the word to other coaches about his team’s experience this week.

“We weren’t sure we wanted to play because we were so devastated,” he said. “We really thought we could get to the NCAA Tournament. This came across us, and we wanted to do this immediately because it’s a destination and everyone’s in the same place. But I didn’t know we were going to get treated unbelievably like this. All the games are on national TV (CBS Sports Network), everyone’s watching. There might not be a lot of people here, but there’s a lot of people watching. It’s been awesome for our team. Our kids have loved this. I have great respect for the Vegas 16 and in gratitude that we were lucky enough to get in.”

Livengood said he fully expects 16 teams to fill next year’s bracket. He hopes the fans will follow.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj

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