Around the Horn mention CBI/BU

[Anthony Parker is my Hero]

Although the verdict on the CBI was negative from Around the Horn...they at least mentioned Bradley as one of the four mentioned in the tournament on the show. So we got on ESPN somehow.

[Bradleyguy10]

yeah i just saw that..i instantly thought someone is going to post something about it on this website haha. We did get attention..but it was negative attention..and i got a little angry when they said they were rewarding teams that are below .500, the only team that is below .500 is cincinnati..so maybe they should rethink what they say. I dont know I was worried about this tournament...I just really am a strong believer that sometimes things like this hurt you rather than help you..I hope this tournament doesnt become something that can be used against us, and potentially be embarrassing....

[Bradleyguy10]

as i type this... PTI is now talking about the CBI..they just mentioned cincinnati as 13 and 18...and another .500 team washington...mention that there are some 22 win teams in this thing...dang

[BradleyBrave]

Seriously - Did you really expect ESPN, the TV partner with the NIT, to say anything good about a tournament that's directly competing with them? They won't even read the scores of the CBI games during halftime of their NIT games. Kind of petty, don't you think?

Anyone looking at this thing objectively will realize this - This is the inaugural year of the tournament. No tournament in it's first year was by any means a finished product. Way back when the NCAA was an inferior tournament to the NIT in quality and prestige. The times have changed quite a bit. Who knows, in 10, 20, or 30 years there could be no NIT and only a 70-80 team NCAA field. With there clearly being a need and a market for postseason basketball for more than just those teams, the CBI could end up being a great postseason tournament.

[dogsrus]

Seriously - Did you really expect ESPN, the TV partner with the NIT, to say anything good about a tournament that's directly competing with them? They won't even read the scores of the CBI games during halftime of their NIT games. Kind of petty, don't you think?

Anyone looking at this thing objectively will realize this - This is the inaugural year of the tournament. No tournament in it's first year was by any means a finished product. Way back when the NCAA was an inferior tournament to the NIT in quality and prestige. The times have changed quite a bit. Who knows, in 10, 20, or 30 years there could be no NIT and only a 70-80 team NCAA field. With there clearly being a need and a market for postseason basketball for more than just those teams, the CBI could end up being a great postseason tournament.

EXACTLY......

[Scouter]

Seriously - Did you really expect ESPN, the TV partner with the NIT, to say anything good about a tournament that's directly competing with them? They won't even read the scores of the CBI games during halftime of their NIT games. Kind of petty, don't you think?

Anyone looking at this thing objectively will realize this - This is the inaugural year of the tournament. No tournament in it's first year was by any means a finished product. Way back when the NCAA was an inferior tournament to the NIT in quality and prestige. The times have changed quite a bit. Who knows, in 10, 20, or 30 years there could be no NIT and only a 70-80 team NCAA field. With there clearly being a need and a market for postseason basketball for more than just those teams, the CBI could end up being a great postseason tournament.

Considering the NCAA owns the NIT, I think he's highly unlikely that the NIT is going anywhere anytime soon.

Maybe the CBI will end up being quite successful (I doubt it), but based on its initial (read: bad) response from a number of schools and conferences, I don't see it becoming a big-time event in the near future.

And I don't think ESPN is shunning the CBI because of its partnership with the NIT. It's probably because it's not a very legitimate tournament -- at this point.

[IlliBraves]

One thing the CBI could do to up its prestige is ditch some of the undeserving major schools and invite all the 18-20 win mid-majors who got snubbed by both tourneys. For example, why no teams like IUPUI? IUPUI didn't get into the NIT or CBI. Also, I think the CBI would be more attractive if it offered a neutral site for the "Final Four" like the NIT offers with Madison Square Garden.

[BradleyBrave]

Considering the NCAA owns the NIT, I think he's highly unlikely that the NIT is going anywhere anytime soon.

Maybe the CBI will end up being quite successful (I doubt it), but based on its initial (read: bad) response from a number of schools and conferences, I don't see it becoming a big-time event in the near future.

And I don't think ESPN is shunning the CBI because of its partnership with the NIT. It's probably because it's not a very legitimate tournament -- at this point.

The NCAA purchased the NIT to eventually phase it out and expand the tournament (read: dollar signs).

ESPN not shunning something because of it's own vested interests? That would be a first for that network. Have you ever watched College Gamenight?

How is the CBI not legitimate? It's being put on by a group that has a reputation of running successful events, it has major sponsors, and it has a TV contract with a major nationwide distributor in it's inaugural season. Aside from the history of the old NIT, it's as legitimate TV-wise as the NIT was just a couple of years ago.

The NIT has said publicly that it will not limit its field to teams with .500 or better records just like the CBI did. Plenty of teams have turned down NIT bids in the past as well. Does that not make it legitimate anymore? Aside from Cincinnati being in the field (of which I strongly disagree with), what makes the CBI 'not legitimate'?

[Bradleyguy10]

My thoughts also..thats why I was so angry with ESPN for not mentioning the majority of the teams having above .500 records and a good portion of them having 20 or more wins. This tournament is a lot more legit than the NIT was 5 years ago. It's time someone has realized that there are teams that are getting screwed over by the selection committee for the NCAA and the NIT, and the CBI is trying to remedy that by offering those teams an off-season...give us a break once in a while.

In response to why didn't IUPUI get a bid since they got rejected from the NCAA and NIT tournament...they got offered but turned it down I believe, can anyone else confirm that?

[TheAsianSensation]

You forget about ESPN. Notice what happened to hockey highlights and coverage when they lost rights.

The NIT? Look how many of their games they're broadcasting. Le duh, of course they're going to pay attention to it. The CBI simply doesn't qualify towards being on their radar because ESPN gets no benefit by featuring it.

I still suspect the semis and finals will be mentioned and covered somehow. Not these games though.

[BradleyBrave]

You forget about ESPN. Notice what happened to hockey highlights and coverage when they lost rights.

The NIT? Look how many of their games they're broadcasting. Le duh, of course they're going to pay attention to it. The CBI simply doesn't qualify towards being on their radar because ESPN gets no benefit by featuring it.

I still suspect the semis and finals will be mentioned and covered somehow. Not these games though.

Great point. Look at their treatment of the MVC after they pulled their title game and put it on CBS. ESPN now goes out of its way to belittle the MVC and its teams. Thinking that ESPN isn't paying attention to the CBI because it 'isn't legitimate' is just naive.

[Scouter]

The NIT has said publicly that it will not limit its field to teams with .500 or better records just like the CBI did. Plenty of teams have turned down NIT bids in the past as well. Does that not make it legitimate anymore? Aside from Cincinnati being in the field (of which I strongly disagree with), what makes the CBI 'not legitimate'?

How many of these teams were actually on the NIT bubble? Bradley certainly wasn't, and it's a 1 seed. Maybe that has more to do with money, I'm not sure.

Ask anyone outside of the participating schools what they think of this tournament. I doubt you'll hear good things about it. If BU was in the NIT, I doubt we'd be speaking so highly of the CBI. And I guess we'll see tomorrow how many fans actually want to see this tournament (note: I will be there because I enjoy watching Bradley play). I know there are logistical reasons that attendance will be down, but how many people will really be excited about this tournament?

ESPN now goes out of its way to belittle the MVC and its teams.

How do you figure that?

[BUBraves2006]

Scouter, when did you get so jaded? This isn't the same guy I remember when I was at BU! Maybe hanging out with Kirk Wessler a little too much ...

Actually on topic, I agree with Scouter. I don't think ESPN goes out of it's way to belittle anyone. They simply just don't care enough to do accurate journalism. (See, Peoria, IN for example). They have an agenda to promote what they have their brand name on. Everything else just doesn't matter as much to them. I guess it's more about promoting their stuff than cutting the other news down.

[Scouter]

[quote=BUBraves2006;72552]Scouter, when did you get so jaded? This isn't the same guy I remember when I was at BU! Maybe hanging out with Kirk Wessler a little too much ... [quote]

No, no. I've just eased up on the Kool-Aid since you were around. I still love BU, but I'm not so quick to see puppies and rainbows all the time. I just think this tournament is a bit silly, especially since it apparently had to invite a sub-.500 team just to fill it out. Maybe 50 years from now it'll be a big deal. I guess I'll have to eat my words then.

[ph]

How many of these teams were actually on the NIT bubble? Bradley certainly wasn't, and it's a 1 seed. Maybe that has more to do with money, I'm not sure.

Ask anyone outside of the participating schools what they think of this tournament. I doubt you'll hear good things about it. If BU was in the NIT, I doubt we'd be speaking so highly of the CBI. And I guess we'll see tomorrow how many fans actually want to see this tournament (note: I will be there because I enjoy watching Bradley play). I know there are logistical reasons that attendance will be down, but how many people will really be excited about this tournament?



How do you figure that?

Ever tried to catch a MVC score on the ESPN news scroll. If the MVC team is not ranked or playing a ranked opponent, or playing on an ESPN network, you are lucky to see the MVC score 1 out of 3 go-arounds, while scores from smaller conferences are shown more frequently.