Hempstead, NY (March 14) - The Hofstra Men's Basketball team received a postseason bid to the 2010 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and will host IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) in the opening round on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. the Mack Sports Complex.
The CBI is in its third year of existence and features 16 teams from around the country playing at campus sites. The eight opening round winners will meet in the quarterfinals on Monday, March 22, with the semifinals taking place two days later on Wednesday, March 24. The two finalists then play a best two-out-of-three series for the championship, beginning on Monday, March 29, with the third game being held, if necessary, on Friday April 2.
The Hofstra-IUPUI winner would face the winner of the opening round game between Princeton and Duquesne on Monday. The four quarterfinalist winners are then re-seeded following Monday's games, with the semifinalists then matched up for Wednesday night contests at campus sites. The other opening round games include Boston University at Oregon State, Colorado State at Morehead State, VCU at George Washington, Charleston at Eastern Kentucky, Indiana State at St. Louis and Green Bay at Akron.
The inaugural CBI took place in 2008 with Tulsa defeating Bradley two games to one in the final round, while last year, Oregon State defeated UTEP in three games. The CBI has featured one CAA team in each of its first two tournaments, with Old Dominion participating in 2008 (defeating Rider at home and losing at Virginia) and Northeastern taking part last year (defeating Wyoming and falling to UTEP, both on the road).
Hofstra enters the postseason with a 19-14 record, needing one win to tally its fifth 20-win season in the last six years. The Pride will also be participating in its ninth postseason event at the NCAA Division I level. It has played in the NCAA Tournament four times (1976, 1977, 2000, 2001) and the NIT four times (1999, 2005, 2006, 2007), with the 2006 team picking up a pair of NIT wins (over Nebraska and Saint Joseph's) and reaching the quarterfinals.
IUPUI is 24-10 and was the runner-up in the Summit League to Oakland. It will be the first meeting between the schools.
Ticket information on the opening round of the 2010 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) coming soon. Please contniue to check GoHofstra.com for the lastest information.
