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Post by Tipp City Raider on Mar 17, 2008 9:56:46 GMT -5
Again, this isn't just about the money. I think it's FOOLISH for us to turn down a bid to play in a postseason tournament. It would be good exposure for the program, somewhat like advertising. Very dumb move IMO (and Valpo's admins would obviously agree). It's like WSU is pouting that it didn't make the NIT and it's not about to accept a bid to this new CBI. Who are we to turn down this bid? Very bad business practice by the Raiders. Now if this tourney does pick up some steam in a few years, they will remember we dissed them the first year. Very foolish for a program of our standard. We simply aren't in position to be turning down bids. Pay the money and consider it advertising for your program. Exposure. Invite Ray Chambers to a game. I look at this tournament as a complete waste of time and money for WSU. If you want to consider it money spent on advertising, it would be money poorly spent. No one would see us play. It's the third tier tournament that no one will watch or care about. If you want to call it advertising it would be like spending money to advertise on the Lifetime network on super bowl Sunday. No one would see it or care if they did. WSU has limited financial resources. If you want to spend that money wisely, put it in our recruiting budget or give our coaches a raise. That would be money well spent.
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Post by rock70 on Mar 17, 2008 10:03:21 GMT -5
I agree with Blitz on this one. This makes us look like a small time program and what makes it worse is that Valparaiso accepts a bid and are willing to pony up money if necessary. What program has the commitment?
What message does this send to coach Brownell and future recruits? What a shame that our boys go 21-10 and the thank you they get is a "we can't afford it". Does this expose us for who we really are? If we really can not afford the CBI then we have probably hit our ceiling as far as a program goes.
We just spent thousands of dollars on a professional advertising firm this year but yet we are passing up a post season tournament which would have been some of the best advertising we could have asked for. We could have said we've played in the post season two years in a row. How cool would that have been to say to recruits that we are a program on the rise and have been in the post season two year in a row. How cool would of it been to sell our program to the community that we were the ONLY team in town that has played in the post season two years in a row. The PERCEPTION of Wright State basketball would have been at and all time high instead it is now going to be viewed as a low budget program that doesn't have the means to take it to the next level.
This was a bad decision in my mind and we through a great advertising opportunity out the window. Our players could have been rewarded for and outstanding season.
Here are some question to ponder:
Who thinks the players feel good about this decision?
Who thinks the coach's feel good about this decision?
Does this decision help or hurt us in retaining coach Brownell?
Does this make us look like a player in D1 hoops or like a low budget program?
Does this help or hurt our recruiting?
Does this help or hurt our imagine in the community?
Would have back to back post season tournament bids helped or hurt us to build our season ticket base?
Are we at the level were we can turn down post season bids?
Why didn't the Alumni Assc. step up and buy this game out like they have in the past?
Disappointing, very disappointing!
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Post by Glory Days on Mar 17, 2008 10:27:55 GMT -5
I tend to agree with Big D. No one cares about this third tournament but the fans of the teams playing in it. This is march madness. People watch the NCAA tournament. No one even really watches the NIT except the fans of the teams playing in it and no one is going to pay any attention to this third tournament.
If our coaches signed off on not playing, that is good enough for me.
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Post by Tipp City Raider on Mar 17, 2008 10:32:00 GMT -5
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Tide says no to College Basketball InvitationalBy Tim Gayle Mykal Riley's game-winning attempt at the buzzer of Friday's SEC tournament matchup with Mississippi State turned out to be the last shot of his college career. Riley's 3-pointer hit the right inside part of the rim and kicked out, leaving the Bulldogs clinging to a 69-67 victory in what became the final game of the Crimson Tide's worst season in nearly 40 years. The National Invitation Tournament did not include the Tide among its 32-team field on Sunday night and school officials declined an offer to participate in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational tournament. After the loss on Friday, Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said he hoped the Tide's late-season surge would be enough to land the team a spot in the NIT field, or at worst, the new CBI field. The CBI, organized by the Gazelle Group, is starting a 16-team tournament this season for teams that don't qualify for either the NCAA or NIT, but the financial obligations are different for the new tournament and school officials elected not to participate. www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080317/SPORTS/803170336
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Post by Tipp City Raider on Mar 17, 2008 10:36:07 GMT -5
New CBI tournament won't top NIT -- yetDave Curtis | Sentinel Columnist March 16, 2008 When announced in November, the new College Basketball Invitational seemed like a no-harm idea. The tournament would provide a haven for the average, a chance for 16 more also-rans to play in the postseason and help their coaches keep their jobs. There was one quirk, though, something the event organizers at the New Jersey-based Gazelle Group knew might rankle the sport's establishment. The CBI planned to compete for participants with the National Invitation Tournament, an event that stretches back to World War II. So now, here in March, programs locked out of the NCAA Tournament are facing choices. And it seems as though the familiar will win out over the new. "I think you've got to play in the NIT," Auburn Coach Jeff Lebo said. "This event is new. Nobody knows what's going to happen with it." What's known so far isn't super promising. Although the CBI is selling schools on the potential for a better financial package than the NIT, the event is asking any program looking to host a game for a $60,000 guarantee, Lebo said. Each CBI game is scheduled to be played on one team's homecourt. The television isn't much more attractive, with Fox College Sports scoring the exclusive rights (I didn't even know Fox College Sports existed). And with the need for fans and viewers, CBI has considered inviting sub-.500 teams, such as Lebo's Tigers, in lieu of the best non- NCAA squads. Some schools, most notably Missouri, have responded by announcing they're not interested in playing in the event. If other major conference schools follow, the CBI could get stuck with an inaugural field filled with teams like Duquesne, Middle Tennessee State and Old Dominion. We love some of the CBI's ideas -- the final will be a best-of-three series, a creative change from the typical one-and-done format. With time, the event figures to grow more legitimate. For now, the CBI is at best average, an administrative also-ran. www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/orl-colinsider1608mar16,0,6052571.story?track=rss
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Post by Jazzfan on Mar 17, 2008 10:38:10 GMT -5
Cincinnati (13-18, 8-10) is in the CBI tournament. What a joke of a tournament.
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Post by Jazzfan on Mar 17, 2008 11:14:42 GMT -5
Actually, I think it's a good idea to allow teams from major conferences with losing records in the field. It will help the tourney's exposure. It helps expose that tournament as a farce.
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Post by keithfromxenia on Mar 17, 2008 11:32:55 GMT -5
i do not give a crap about the cbi. i do care that we absolutely blew an opportunity to have postseason play by folding down the stretch. GO RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!11
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Post by Raider Alumni on Mar 17, 2008 11:42:28 GMT -5
It is frustrating as hell that we were one conference win away from the NIT. If we beat UWM, UWGB, CSU, Butler, or Valpo either time we played them, we would have had the 2 seed. We would have finished with an RPI in the 60s instead of the 80s and would most likely be playing UD on Wednesday.
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Post by raiderrunt on Mar 17, 2008 12:40:29 GMT -5
I would tend to say play in it, a few more games played is always good. On the other hand if the coaches turned it down they must have a good reason.
How is that for taking a firm stand?
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Post by rock70 on Mar 17, 2008 13:05:32 GMT -5
cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10715015Cincinnati (13-18) part of inaugural College Basketball Invitational field March 17, 2008 CBSSports.com wire reports It's not the NCAA tournament, or even the NIT. But for teams like Virginia and Washington, it's one more chance to keep playing. The Cavaliers and Huskies were among the 16 teams picked for the first College Basketball Invitational, a postseason tournament that hopes to one day challenge the NIT for the best teams left out of the NCAA tournament -- but for now is relegated to No. 3 status. The CBI announced its field early Monday, about five hours after the NIT made its choices and long after the NCAA selection committee trumpeted its bracket, giving a total of 113 teams a reason to return to practice. "Any time you have the opportunity in postseason to continue playing, as a coach that should excite you, as a player that should excite you and as a fan that should excite you," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. The Cavaliers (15-15) will play host to Richmond in an opening-round game Tuesday, with the winner playing either Old Dominion or Rider. Washington (16-16) will welcome Valparaiso on Wednesday, with the winner of that game playing either Nevada or Houston. The other games include UTEP against Utah, with the winner playing either Tulsa or Miami of Ohio, and Bradley playing host to Cincinnati. The winner of that game gets either Ohio or Brown. "If you're not in the 'Big Dance' and you want to keep playing, a tournament like this is great," said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, who didn't expect an NIT bid. The tournament is staged by the Gazelle Group, which runs several early season tournaments. But while spots in those events are coveted for their exposure and the upper echelon of programs they often attract, organizers found it challenging to fill out a third postseason tournament. At least a handful of teams declined to participate, said Gazelle Group president Rick Giles, who had hoped to dangle enough incentives in front of teams like Ohio State and Florida to populate his bracket. "We were surprised that a few teams had given us indications that they wanted to play and wanted to continue playing even if they didn't make the NIT, and when they didn't make the NIT for whatever reason changed their minds," he said. Giles thinks some schools were pressured by the NCAA to play in the NIT, which it has owned since 2005 as part of a settlement that ended a four-year legal fight between the parties. "We're pleased with the field we have," Giles said. "We offer a choice, an option, and everybody makes a certain choice. The NCAA puts tremendous pressure on its schools to pick the NIT versus the CBI, so we're not sure they were able to make a free choice this year." The teams were chosen along the same criteria used by the other tournaments, putting a premium on overall and conference records and late-season play. But it didn't use a committee or secret ballot, instead offering invitations to what the Gazelle Group believed were the most intriguing and deserving teams -- even those with sub-.500 records like Cincinnati. "Obviously we are excited to be playing in the postseason," said Bearcats coach Mick Cronin, whose team finished 13-18 after six straight losses. "Our kids are excited for the opportunity to represent UC again on the floor and will make the most of this experience." The tournament is single elimination at campus sites through the semifinals, where the teams will be re-seeded, with the championship series a best-of-3 affair with the higher seed playing at home in the first game and, if necessary, the third. With the exception of the championship series, every round of the tournament will go head-to-head against games scheduled in the NIT. At least 11 CBI games will be televised by Fox College Sports, and organizers hope the remaining games will be picked up by local affiliates. "Richmond finished fourth in the Atlantic-10 and the teams ahead of them made the NCAA tournament," Giles said. "A team like Ohio has some great wins under their belt. We think we have a good field geographically as well as competitively."
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Post by rock70 on Mar 17, 2008 13:12:11 GMT -5
The tournament is staged by the Gazelle Group, which runs several early season tournaments. But while spots in those events are coveted for their exposure and the upper echelon of programs they often attract, organizers found it challenging to fill out a third postseason tournament. At least a handful of teams declined to participate, said Gazelle Group president Rick Giles, who had hoped to dangle enough incentives in front of teams like Ohio State and Florida to populate his bracket. I do not know what other tournaments the Gazelle Groups runs but is it possible that the hand full of teams that declined the CBI will not be considered for the other tournaments that the Gazelle Group runs? I hope not.
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Post by Admin on Mar 17, 2008 19:55:37 GMT -5
www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2008/03/17/ddn031708wsubbweb.htmlWSU loses out on postseason berth By Marc Katz Staff Writer Monday, March 17, 2008 FAIRBORN — When the College Basketball Invitational failed to call on Wright State late Sunday night-Monday morning, all three postseason NCAA basketball tournaments had passed on the Raiders. Wright State coach Brad Brownell was philosophical. He knew his team was not NCAA-bound, and thought it had only a little chance to make the NIT field. The CBI — in its first season — he knew little about, except the way it chose its 16 teams, including 13-18 Cincinnati. "They're just guys in the back room doing what they want to do," said Brownell, disappointed, but resigned that his 21-10 Horizon League team is staying home. "It may prove to be a very good tournament, and they've got good teams in there. But their goal is to make money and not to be fair to everybody else." While the highly coveted RPI ranking is considered paramount during the season, apparently it didn't carry as much weight for postseason play. Twelve of the 16 teams in the CBI had higher RPI rankings than WSU's 86, including Valparaiso of the Horizon League, which had a worse record at 21-13 (two of the victories were against non-Division I teams) and an RPI of 97, but beat the Raiders three times. Twenty-four of the 32 NIT teams had a lower RPI than WSU, including Cleveland State, which split its two regular-season games with the Raiders and finished with an RPI of 63. "I don't think the RPI or records or any of that counted (for the CBI)," Brownell said. "They needed teams that had money." Recently, WSU was polled by the CBI to measure interest and told the school it would have to guarantee a $60,000 gate to host a game. Wright State said it would be glad to play, but wouldn't host a game. A call to CBI officials was not returned. In addition to CSU and Valparaiso, the Horizon League's regular-season and tournament champion Butler made the NCAA field. During the regular season, WSU and Butler split their two games. Wright State also played two other NCAA teams — Belmont and Cal State-Fullerton — beating them both. Illinois State, which made the NIT field, beat the Raiders. In the CBI field, WSU lost to Bradley and beat Miami. Cleveland State and WSU tied for second in the Horizon League with 12-6 records, but, CSU won the tiebreaker and had to win only one game to make it to the conference championship, which it lost to Butler. Wright State won its first-round game, then lost to Valparaiso in the conference quarterfinals. While the Raiders were 21-10, winning 20 or more games for the second straight season and coming off an NCAA appearance, they followed a school-record 11-game winning streak with three straight losses on the road. Coupled with a 1-1 record in the HL tournament, the Raiders finished losing four of their final five games. An underclassman-dominated team, the Raiders had only two seniors — Jordan Pleiman and Scottie Wilson — and one junior, Will Graham. Vaughn Duggins led the team in scoring with a 14-point average and was the only sophomore to make first-team all-league. Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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Post by bballraider on Mar 17, 2008 22:42:04 GMT -5
I guess Gavin Horne gets another year of eligibilty. Mr. Katz needs to start fact checking his stories better, there seems to be a at least one mistake in most of the articles he writes. I do not have a problem with the DDN coverage, but they could at least do a little homework and fact check their stories. They are embarrassing themselves.
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Post by Jazzfan on Mar 18, 2008 21:41:39 GMT -5
Fuming Western Michigan coach Hawkins: New CBI 'a joke'by Graham Couch Kalamazoo Gazette Tuesday March 18, 2008 KALAMAZOO -- Steve Hawkins isn't so much bothered that he's been left out of the postseason. The "rotten, rotten feeling" eating at Western Michigan University's men's basketball coach is a sadness for his players and a system he sees as flawed and, worse yet, corrupt. Despite a 20-12 record and a Mid-American Conference West Division title, the National Invitation Tournament and inaugural College Basketball Invitational passed on the Broncos Sunday night. Hawkins knew the NIT was a long shot, given the recent reduction of teams from 40 to 32 and the mandatory inclusion of regular-season conference champions that don't win their league tournament. He's not as diplomatic when it comes to the CBI's 16-team field, which includes two other Mid-American Conference teams -- Ohio and Miami-Ohio -- with lesser league resumes, one program with a losing record (Cincinnati), two teams with higher RPIs and five with a worse Sagarin Rating. "It wasn't based on merit and accomplishment," Hawkins said. "So as excited as I was to see another tournament come along, now it's been dampened by the fact that the (Gazelle Group) that's running it is not basing it completely on accomplishment. "What appears to be obvious at this point is they have gone with some teams that have gone with them in the past to some of their (preseason) exempt tournaments. So teams that have spent money on them in the past, they've rewarded again by rewarding them spots in the CBI. "And we've never gone with the Gazelle Group for any of their tournaments, so we're getting punished by not being able to get into postseason play." The Big 12 Conference, and several other programs, refused bids from the CBI, which required a $60,000 guarantee on ticket sales and 60 percent of any additional gate receipts. The CBI claimed that it didn't see a need to take a team with a sub-.500 record with "too many teams out there with good records," Gazelle Group president Rick Giles said in November. And yet, Cincinnati, at 13-18, is in the field. It's believed that the Bearcats, like Ohio -- which finished with 19 wins, three fewer conference victories than WMU and lost a round earlier in the league tourney -- lobbied for a bid, using long-standing financial ties to the Gazelle Group. "Ohio loses their first-round game (at the MAC Tournament) and (league commissioner) Rick Chryst told me after the game that would probably seal Ohio's fate," Hawkins said. "Then (Sunday) night I talk to (MAC director of basketball operations) Rick Boyages and Rick Boyages says, 'Well, we're hearing that Ohio has brokered a deal to get into the CBI.' "I said, 'What do you mean? I didn't know brokering a deal was allowed. Should we have been doing something here? Who should have we been talking to, to broker a deal to get into postseason play? I thought this was all based on merit and accomplishment.' And then we find out that it's really not and here we are. I'm going to walk into our postseason meaning in 20 minutes and say, 'Well, guys, the season's over.'" Hawkins said the MAC office told him the Broncos' No. 119 RPI could be its downfall, though Virginia and Old Dominion both are in the CBI with higher RPIs. If it's wins and losses that matter, he points out, how is Miami-Ohio in the field after a 17-15 season that included an Ohio-like 9-7 league mark and a loss in its only meeting with WMU. "I mean, basically, it's a joke," Hawkins said of the CBI. "There's a team that's 13-18 in postseason play." The CBI, which claimed it would be "100 percent accountable" for the teams it chose, did not return multiple messages left by the Gazette. "I know I'm going to be coaching for another 20, 25 years," Hawkins said. "And so I can get back into more NCAA Tournaments and NIT Tournaments. I hope there's never another CBI tournament. Whatever it is that's out there, I know I'm going to have postseason play in my future. These seniors have no shot. These other players have a limited shot. "You're messing with people's dreams, and in the back of smoke-filled rooms, you've got deals being brokered. Meanwhile you've got kids and their families sitting at home." www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2008/03/fuming_western_michigan_coach.html
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