CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO — Canisius’ Jermaine Crumpton has been selected to participate in the inaugural Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship. This ground-breaking new event will pit 32 four-man teams consisting of players from every Division I college basketball conference against each other in a three day, 3-on-3 tournament. These teams, comprised of seniors who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility, will compete for a $100,000 prize pool viewable live on Twitter and ESPN2 from Friday, March 30 through Sunday, April 1, 2018 at St. Mary’s University’s Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. Crumpton is one of four players selected to represent the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
The 2018 MAAC Co-Player of the Year, and an All-MAAC First-Team honoree, Crumpton closed out his career at Canisius tied for sixth in career scoring with 1,587 points. In his senior season, he was good for 17.1 points per game, which ranked fifth-best in the league, and he closed out his career by scoring in double-figures in his final 29 games as a Golden Griffin. Just the eighth player in the program’s 114-year history to play in more than 120-career games, the Niagara Falls, N.Y., native is the fourth player in school history to earn MAAC Player of the Year accolades, and last week, he was named to the NABC All-District I Second Team for his efforts in his senior campaign. Crumpton made 159 career 3-point field goals during his time on Main Street, which ranks seventh in school history and first among front-court players, and his 563 total points in 2017-18 rank fourth-best among all seniors in program history.
Crumpton was a driving force behind the Canisius season that saw the Blue and Gold go 21-12 overall and 15-3 in MAAC play en route to a share of the MAAC regular-season championship, the program’s first since 1993-94. The 21 wins in 2017-18 ties a school record for regular-season victories, and the 15 conference wins set a new school record. Canisius earned a berth into the 2018 College Basketball Invitational, the program’s fifth postseason appearance in the last six years.
“I would like to thank everyone involved with the Canisius athletic department, especially coach Witherspoon and our coaching staff, and the media on the selection committee for choosing me to play in this event,” Crumpton said. “I am proud of what we accomplished during my time at Canisius, and I am certainly proud to represent Canisius and the MAAC on a national stage during Final Four weekend in San Antonio.”
The Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship will begin on Friday, March 30 with 24 pool-play games streamed live on Twitter from 7 p.m.-12:30 a.m. EST and will continue on Saturday, March 31 with another 24 pool-play games streamed live on Twitter from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. EST. The event will conclude on Sunday, April 1, with the quarterfinals broadcast live on Twitter from 1:35-3 p.m. EST, and the semifinals, third-place game and championship game broadcast live on ESPN2 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. EST.
“We are so excited to host these 128 players at this one-of-a-kind event,” said Drew Russell, Intersport’s Vice President of Sports Properties. “For fans, this will be an opportunity to see the nation’s top seniors compete in the rapidly growing and faced-paced nature of 3-on-3 basketball. For players, it will be one last opportunity to showcase their skills on a national stage and give them the chance to earn a significant sum of money. It will also expose them to the 3-on-3 format which may lead to new opportunities as they take the next step in their professional careers.”
Every game of the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship matters as money will be on the line at all times throughout the competition. Participants will compete for a $100,000 prize pool that will be distributed as follows:
- Each pool play win will earn the team $1,000.
- A quarterfinal win will earn the team $1,000.
- A semifinal win will earn the team $1,000.
- The team that wins the third-place game will earn $1,000.
- The team that wins the championship will earn $50,000.
Each team roster will be comprised of four eligible seniors from the same Division I college basketball conference. Teams will be organized into eight pools of four and each team will be guaranteed three pool play games. The Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship Player Selection Committee consists of college basketball experts from a wide range of media outlets including ESPN, CBS Sports, The Athletic, USA Today, NBC Sports, The Ringer, and more. The Committee worked feverishly throughout the season to determine the nation’s top senior college basketball players who have been selected to compete. The complete rosters for each conference will be revealed through a series of studio shows streamed live on Twitter once a day from Monday, March 26 through Thursday, March 29.
Tickets for the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship are on sale now and start at just $15 with multi-day and group packages available.
For more information on the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, including buying tickets, event updates, details and rules, fans are encouraged to follow on Twitter, @3X3UHoops, or visitwww.3X3UHoops.com.
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