CBI- #9 UNC Wilmington vs #1 Drake

[Drakey]

At least nobody saw it. Now that it is done i can admit that nobody in the Valley should participate in these low major post season events.

[BUFanatic]

At least nobody saw it. Now that it is done i can admit that nobody in the Valley should participate in these low major post season events.

THANK YOU! I mean I was rooting for y’all but this trap loss is exactly why I didn’t want anyone in the Valley to take a bid in these tournaments. If you win, you should have. If you lose, it makes the conference look really bad.

The only reason I was on board with Bradley taking CBI/CIT bids is that we were the only program in the NCAA that had been a part of every post season tournament’s inaugural year (until whatever followed the CIT). The only reason we didn’t qualify for whatever that was was because… well… Geno. God love the guy but he was a terrible fit at BU. Great guy but geeze that was the worst period of fandom I’ve had in my 28 years lol.

[BuBrave2006]

At least nobody saw it. Now that it is done i can admit that nobody in the Valley should participate in these low major post season events.

The only reason I was on board with Bradley taking CBI/CIT bids is that we were the only program in the NCAA that had been a part of every post season tournament’s inaugural year (until whatever followed the CIT). The only reason we didn’t qualify for whatever that was was because… well… Geno. God love the guy but he was a terrible fit at BU. Great guy but geeze that was the worst period of fandom I’ve had in my 28 years lol.

These tournaments also didn't used to be awful when they first started. The first year of the CBI, Bradley played Cincinnati, Ohio, Virginia and Tulsa...all profile name teams and all finished in the top 100. For comparison, Drake was the only top 100 team competing in the 16 team CBI field this season.

[BCPanther]

At least nobody saw it. Now that it is done i can admit that nobody in the Valley should participate in these low major post season events.

The only reason I was on board with Bradley taking CBI/CIT bids is that we were the only program in the NCAA that had been a part of every post season tournament’s inaugural year (until whatever followed the CIT). The only reason we didn’t qualify for whatever that was was because… well… Geno. God love the guy but he was a terrible fit at BU. Great guy but geeze that was the worst period of fandom I’ve had in my 28 years lol.

These tournaments also didn't used to be awful when they first started. The first year of the CBI, Bradley played Cincinnati, Ohio, Virginia and Tulsa...all profile name teams and all finished in the top 100. For comparison, Drake was the only top 100 team competing in the 16 team CBI field this season.

Exactly, UNI got games with SMU and a Weber State team that tied for the Big Sky title but lost the tiebreaker to get to the NIT. The novelty has definitely worn off these things.

[Adunk33]

When these third-tier tournaments originally came up, the CBI was designed to give MMs a shot at P5 teams. Lower-level P5s but P5s nonetheless. At the time, the CIT was completely made up of MMs and below. The Birds hosted Texas A&M in the CBI a while back. Star player on that team? Everyone's favorite NBA player, Alex Caruso.

I never saw value in the CIT, but now the CBI has also fell to be a not-worth it tournament. The format was so strange. I can understand having it at one location, but why not put it at a smaller venue in Vegas? Tons of folks are there for that first week of the NCAA tournament, anyway. Could get some casual fans to attend as well as a destination that would attract fans. They tried to do a different Vegas tournament 6 or so years ago that fell apart because it was trying to field teams in addition to the CBI, CIT and NIT. If you get rid of CBI and CIT a 12-16 team tournament over 5 days in Vegas could be fun and competitive.

[squirrel]

When these third-tier tournaments originally came up, the CBI was designed to give MMs a shot at P5 teams. Lower-level P5s but P5s nonetheless. At the time, the CIT was completely made up of MMs and below. The Birds hosted Texas A&M in the CBI a while back. Star player on that team? Everyone's favorite NBA player, Alex Caruso.

I never saw value in the CIT, but now the CBI has also fell to be a not-worth it tournament. The format was so strange. I can understand having it at one location, but why not put it at a smaller venue in Vegas? Tons of folks are there for that first week of the NCAA tournament, anyway. Could get some casual fans to attend as well as a destination that would attract fans. They tried to do a different Vegas tournament 6 or so years ago that fell apart because it was trying to field teams in addition to the CBI, CIT and NIT. If you get rid of CBI and CIT a 12-16 team tournament over 5 days in Vegas could be fun and competitive.

It was also just to give successful teams a chance at the postseason, as the NIT had become more selective under NCAA management. But the biggest motivator at the time was the when the NCAA took over the NIT, they immediately moved to phase out the NIT toward a 96-team expansion, which caused bigger backlash than anticipated. These tournaments largely sprouted out to capitalize on the void of the NIT going away by trying to be the main consolation tournament.

[Bulldog2323]

Several are calling for the NIT to expand to 64 teams (matching the WNIT) and eliminate The Basketball Tournament (the new CIT) and CBI. I agree.

Drake's Spring Break ended Sunday. Monday was the first day back. They had a very good crowd and student section for the WNIT game at the Knapp Center. I think hosting the tournament exclusively in Daytona is a mistake as well.