CIT and CBI Bracketology Number 6 3-11-18 9:00 PM Eastern

This is what I believe to be the first ever CIT and CBI brackatology. Now it is quite common to see bracket predictions for the NCAA tournament, and there are even a few who predict NIT brackets like nycbuckets.com however I do not believe there is anyone who attempts to predict the teams in the other two tournaments. This is because there are so many moving parts associated with predicting who will be in them.
The teams that get invited to these postseason tournaments are ones that failed to make the NCAA or NIT, and sometimes we do not know who is in and out of those tournaments until later in championship week. Also, teams must pay entry and hosting fees which deters some teams. Furthermore, in the CIT you are required a .500 record, and be a mid-major. Some coaches view these tournaments as good building blocks for their programs, and others do not, so that might lead one program to be more likely to turn down or accept a bid. Geography must also be factored into selection (you don’t want to have three teams on the west coast and all the rest on the east coast).
So with attempting to factor all of that information into this I will try to tell you who I think will be heading to the CIT and CBI this year. I also factor in which teams have accepted bids in the past to one or both of the tournaments because that would indicate (assuming they meet the selection committee criteria) they are more likely to return. If they have long postseason droughts because this might make a team more likely to accept a bid to one of these tournaments. I will not consider teams that are leading their league at the time of this because they would be heading to the NCAA or NIT tournament (however we all know standings change often). Lastly, any inside information I hear about programs expressing interest in participating will be factored into these.

p- currently still playing and alive for NCAA or NIT bids
v- have accepted a bid to one of the two, but haven’t specified which one
x – have expressed interest in one of the tournaments
y- accepted a bid to this tournament
h- indicates a team will host a first round game
Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament (26 Teams)
-Tennessee State 15-15 (10-8) OVC
– (y) (h) Liberty 20-14 (9-9) Big South
– (y) (h) Austin Peay 18-14 (12-6) OVC
– (y) Abilene Christian 16-15 (8-10) Southland
– (y) Niagara 19-13 (12-4) MAAC
– (y) (h) Drake 16-16 (10-8) MVC
– (v) (p) Grand Canyon 21-10 (9-5) WAC
– (y) (h) Fort Wayne 18-14 (7-7) Summit
– (y) Central Michigan 19-14 (7-11) MAC
– (x) Idaho 22-9 (14-4) Big Sky
– Fairfield 17-16 (9-9) MAAC
– Eastern Michigan 21-12 (11-7) MAC
– (y) (h) San Diego 18-13 (9-9) WCC
– Northern Colorado 22-11 (11-7) Big Sky
– (x) UTSA 19-14 (11-7) CUSA
– UC Irvine 18-16 (11-5) Big West
– (x) William and Mary 19-12 (11-7) CAA
– (y) North Carolina A&T 20-13 (11-5) MEAC
– Mercer 18-14 (11-7) SoCon
– Louisiana Monroe 16-14 (9-9) Sun Belt
– Bowling Green 16-16 (7-11) MAC
– (y) Saint Francis PA 18-12 (12-6) NEC
– Colgate 19-13 (12-6) Patriot
– Wofford 21-12 (11-7) SoCon
– (y) Hartford 19-13 (11-5) America East
– UCSB 23-8 (11-5) Big West
College Basketball Invitational (16 Teams)
– Eastern Washington 20-13 (13-5) Big Sky
– (y) (h) Seattle 20-12 (8-6) WAC
– (v) UIC 17-15 (12-6) Horizon
– (x) Denver 15-15 (9-6) Summit
– (x) Utah Valley 22-9 (10-4) WAC
– (x) Central Arkansas 17-16 (10-8) Southland
– Canisius 21-11 (15-3) MAAC
– (x) San Francisco 18-15 (9-9) WCC
– (x) Utah State 17-16 (8-10) Mountain West
– Fresno State 21-11 (11-7) Mountain West
– Saint Louis 17-15 (9-9) A10
– Memphis 21-12 (10-8) American
– Boston 15-16 (10-8) Patriot
– Prairie View A&M 16-17 (12-6) SWAC

– (y) (h) Campbell 16-15 (10-8) Big South

-(v) Miami 16-17 (8-10) MAC

By: Ethan Hennessy