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March 17, 2015Their loss to Valparaiso in the Horizon League conference tournament semi-finals took them out of the running for the NCAA Tournament, and their resume wasn’t sparkly enough to warrant an invitation to the NIT, but the Cleveland State Vikings (18-14, 11-5 Horizon League) are not done playing basketball yet this season. For the second year in a row, the team has accepted a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, a/k/a the CIT. They will play at Western Michigan in the tournament’s first round on Wednesday, March 18, at 7 p.m.
This is the second year in a row that has seen CSU in the CIT. They opened the tournament on the road at Ohio University last year, where they fell 64-62.
Cleveland State’s game against Western Michigan will be the fifth all-time between the schools, with WMU holding a 3-1 lead. The last meeting came way back in 1974, when current CSU head coach Gary Waters was still playing at Ferris State; the Broncos won 68-59.
Western Michigan (20-13, 10-8 MAC) saw its Big Dance hopes end with a loss to Akron in the second round of the MAC tournament. The Broncos have four players who averaged double figures this year in David Brown (15.5 ppg), Connar Tava (12.4), Tucker Haymond (11.9), and Austin Richie (10.1). They also feature five players who made better than 36 percent of their three-pointers.
The CIT features 32 mid-major teams, and was first held in 2009. The tournament does not use a set NCAA Tournament-style bracket, but rather a system similar to that which the NIT once used in which future opponents are decided after the previous round has been completed.1
It isn’t the sexiest postseason basketball, but it is still postseason basketball. For the soon-to-be departing seniors, each game could be their last. I’d be lying if I said I was going to do a deep dive into the CIT field―though I can tell you that the Incarnate Word Cardinals ranked seventh in the nation in points per game!―but if the Vikes win their first-round game, I’ll be more compelled.
Full list of CIT first-round games (All times Eastern)
March 16
New Hampshire (19-12) @ NJIT (18-11) 7:00
March 17
Eastern Illinois (17-14) @ Oakland (16-16) 7:00
James Madison (19-13) @ USC Upstate (23-11) 7:00
Bowling Green (20-11) @ Saint Francis (16-15) 7:00
Norfolk State (20-13) @ Eastern Kentucky (19-11) 7:00
UL-Lafayette (20-13) @ Incarnate Word (18-10) 8:00
March 18
UMES (18-14) @ High Point (22-9) 7:00
Dartmouth (14-14) @ Canisius (16-14) 7:00
Corpus Christi (19-13) @ Florida Gulf Coast (22-10) 7:00
Cleveland State (18-14) @ Western Michigan (20-13) 7:00
Kent State (21-11) @ Middle Tennessee (19-16) 7:00
IPFW (16-14) @ Evansville (19-12) 7:05
UNC Wilmington (18-13) @ Sam Houston State (25-7) 7:30
Northern Arizona (19-14) @ Grand Canyon (17-14) 8:00
Sacramento State (20-11) @ Portland (17-15) 10:00
March 19
UT Martin (18-12) @ Northwestern State (19-12) 7:30
- I could not suss out exactly how matchups are decided beyond the first round, and that might be the whole point. [↩]