CBI/CIT

[Da Coach]

Marshall University has said they will participate in the CIT and are willing to host games. They have been accepted and will host a first round game March 12-

https://twitter.com/happeninghoops/status/971169941507526656

[Vent]

To each their own opinion. I just feel if you??™re not one of the 100 teams playing in the NCAA or NIT, your season is over. Playing a top 25 team in a preseason exempt tournament is different in my opinion, than a team in a ???pay to play??? tournament. Playing in a post season tournament should be a reward for having a good season or winning your conference tournament. If you come up a little short, that??™s the way it is.

[Da Coach]

Austin Peay (18-14) has accepted a bid to play in the CIT and host a first round game.

[MDCowboy]

To each their own opinion. I just feel if you??™re not one of the 100 teams playing in the NCAA or NIT, your season is over. Playing a top 25 team in a preseason exempt tournament is different in my opinion, than a team in a ???pay to play??? tournament. Playing in a post season tournament should be a reward for having a good season or winning your conference tournament. If you come up a little short, that??™s the way it is.

I appreciate your points Vent and I agree to each their own opinion. My only point is that those who dismiss these tournaments need to acknowledge that the rules have changed in the NIT and some deserving teams that would have been in the NIT in the past will be left out. The fact that power conference teams are NOT the ones who get left out just show how unfair the system is.

So I'm not telling you that you have to watch or care about the other tournaments, but simply dismissing them and hating that teams play in them is not fair either.

[Vent]

I appreciate your points Vent and I agree to each their own opinion. My only point is that those who dismiss these tournaments need to acknowledge that the rules have changed in the NIT and some deserving teams that would have been in the NIT in the past will be left out. The fact that power conference teams are NOT the ones who get left out just show how unfair the system is.

So I'm not telling you that you have to watch or care about the other tournaments, but simply dismissing them and hating that teams play in them is not fair either.

Since the NCAA took over the NIT it has actually become a better post season tournament. Prior to that, invitations were weighted heavily on what type of crowd they??™d draw instead of how good they were. There is a clear difference between the Power Conferences and mid majors. That??™s why they get more teams in. Take Ole Miss, they finished near the bottom of the SEC and beat us pretty handily. I don??™t hate the ???pay to play??? tournaments. It??™s essentially the same thing that has happened with the insignificant Bowl Games.

[BU212121]

Read that this year the CIT will have 4 first round games scheduled nationally on cbs sports network the Monday after Selection sunday.

CBS sports will also televise the semi finals and the championship.

The possibility of having up to 3 out of 5 games televised seems like a deal too hard to pass up.


Lots of people will be watching the games on Monday too as it will coincide with NCAA tournament coverage / discussion.

[Da Coach]

Liberty University has accepted a bid to the CIT, and will host a first round game Monday PM.

[Da Coach]

Abilene Christian accepts a bid to the CIT.

That makes 4 schools we know are in the CIT:
Abilene Christian (Southland)
Liberty (Big South)
Austin Peay (OVC)
Marshall (CUSA)

Several other schools have accepted contingency bids dependent on if they do not make the NIT.

Valparaiso and Illinois State were offered bids and declined. No word from SIU, Drake or Bradley.

[MacabreMob]

...and the officiating is poor due to better officials working in NIT and NCAA.

Not arguing the best officials will be in NCAA and NIT, but I distinctly recall some decent officials in some of the CBI games and maybe even CIT back in '08 and '09.

For sure recall veteran Tommy O'Neill doing a game.

And so with that said - I don't recall the '08 and '09 CBI and CIT games being poorly called.

[BUfan39]

Now that I've had some time to think about the season being over, I've decided that playing in the CIT/CBI at this stage of our rebuild would be nothing but beneficial to us as a program. To counter the financial argument, I'd recommend playing at RC even though I really don't like us playing any games there. DT gets one more ride and several of our other players get to practice more and play in meaningful games. This could go a long way in us competing for a top 3 spot and even a MVC title next year. Plus, who doesn't want a shot to win a championship of any kind possibly even on their home floor? I'm against us playing in these tournaments in the future but this year makes so much sense.

[tornado]

There is a report that despite a sub-.500 record, Northwestern was offered a CBI bid and favorable seeding...
If true, it tells you they are most interested in bigger fan bases, wider appeal, and the potential of more "marquee matchups" - rather than fairness to the other teams...

The CIT however has always had solid midmajors and given them fair chances against other solid midmajors...
That said - there's no doubt in my mind that I would love to see Bradley play more games and I think our fan base will also show strong support just like they did back in 2008 & 2009, when home crowds of 6,000 - 9,000+ watched Bradley play Pacific, Old Dominion, Ohio and Tulsa

[BUfan39]

There is a report that despite a sub-.500 record, Northwestern was offered a CBI bid and favorable seeding...
If true, it tells you they are most interested in bigger fan bases, wider appeal, and the potential of more "marquee matchups" - rather than fairness to the other teams...

The CIT however has always had solid midmajors and given them fair chances against other solid midmajors...
That said - there's no doubt in my mind that I would love to see Bradley play more games and I think our fan base will also show strong support just like they did back in 2008 & 2009, when home crowds of 6,000 - 9,000+ watched Bradley play Pacific, Old Dominion, Ohio and Tulsa

The track record is definitely that the CBI is looking for bigger namesover the years IE Pittsburgh, Oregon, VCU, Cincinnati, and Virginia just to name a few.

[Da Coach]

Niagara accepts a bid to play in the CIT.

[Dub]

I remember having a great time watching the BU game at Virginia in the 2008 CBI with about 60-75 other loud BU fans at the north location of BW3.

[Dub]

I don't think I ever realized we beat Brian Wardle's Green Bay team in the 2013 CIT at Carver Arena.