College Basketball Invitational Announces Field for Inaugural Tournament

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Gazelle Group is pleased to announce its 16-team field for the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. The tournament will get underway on Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19 with a total of eight Opening Round matchups:

East Regional
March 18th
Richmond at Virginia, 7 p.m. ET
March 18th
Rider at Old Dominion, 7 p.m. ET

Midwest Regional
March 18th
Brown at Ohio, 7 p.m. ET
March 19th
Cincinnati at Bradley, 7 p.m. ET

East Regional
March 18th
Houston at Nevada, 9 p.m. ET
March 19th
Valparaiso at Washington, 9 p.m. ET

South Regional
March 19th
Utah at UTEP, 9 p.m. ET
March 19th
Miami (Ohio) at Tulsa, 8 p.m. ET

Click HERE to view the entire bracket for the tournament.

The College Basketball Invitational is single-elimination, up until the Championship Series, with all games being played at campus sites. Prior to the semifinals, the four remaining teams will be re-seeded. The Championship Series will be a best of three series (home-away-home), in which the higher seed will get the first and last (if necessary) home games.

“I’m excited,” said University of Houston head coach Tom Penders. "This tournament is something a little different. It’s cutting edge. Our program has come a long way during the last four years, and this is a great opportunity to be a part of a prestigious new tournament. Given the choice between the two (the CBI and the NIT), I would much prefer the CBI. They are trying to get the best field they can possibly get. "

“We excited to have a chance to continue to play and that the CBI is giving us this opportunity to continue to play," said University of Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar. "My players have worked very hard and deserve this chance. And despite our record down the stretch, I think our team has been playing some of its best basketball of the year.”

Fox College Sports is the official broadcast home for the CBI, starting Tues., March 18 with the Virginia Cavaliers hosting the Richmond Spiders at 7 p.m. ET and the Nevada Wolf Pack hosting the Houston Cougars at 9 p.m. ET. Two more games will be aired on Wed., March 19 with the Cincinnati Bearcats visiting the Bradley Braves (7 p.m. ET) and the Washington Huskies hosting the Valparaiso Crusaders at 9 p.m. ET.

The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting, based in Princeton, N.J. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic and the Legends Classic. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit www.gazellegroup.com.