Tulsa Wins Inaugural CBI

Last night, Tulsa beat visiting Bradley 70-64 to win the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Championship.

It wasn't an easy win for Tulsa. Bradley jumped out to a 16-2 lead to start the game. The score at halftime was Bradley 34-28.

But Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik switched his team's defensive scheme from man to man defense to a 1-3-1 zone defense.

And it payed off -- especially in the 2nd half, when Bradley's shot 29 percent:

"Their zone over the long haul caused us enough problems to keep us down," said (Bradley guard Jeremy) Crouch, who finished 1-of-14 shooting from the field. "They left (Jordan) around the basket and did a great job of matching up."

"We didn't know whether to run our zone stuff or man stuff and went back and forth. Then when we got some good looks, we missed them."

As the Tulsa World notes, once Tulsa cut away at Bradley's lead, the game was a mad dash to the finish:

"The lead changed on 10 straight possessions, with TU grabbing a 57-55 on an (Ben) Uzoh 3-pointer with 6:30 left. After back-to-back buckets from the (Bradley) Braves' Sam Maniscalco and (Daniel) Ruffin, (Rod) Earls hit the trey to give the Hurricane the lead for good."

"A few minutes later, a victory celebration unfurled at the Reynolds Center."

More about Tulsa's CBI Championship, and the program's turnaround here.

Bradley Beats Tulsa, Evens CBI Championship Series 1-1

By Trashtalk Superstar

Last night, Bradley beat visiting Tulsa 83-74 in game two of the Championship Series of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

More here.

With last night's win, Bradley pulled even in the Championship Series 1-1. The third, and deciding game will be played at Tulsa on Friday night.

Senior guard Jeremy Crouch led Bradley with 20 points, most of which came from beyond the three point arc. But it was Crouch's back court running mate, senior point guard Daniel Ruffin, who set the tone for Bradley by applying constant pressure on Tulsa's ball handlers and by dishing out 8 assists (to go along with his 12 points).

Bradley also got a stellar performance from 7 foot center David Collins. Collins played 20 minutes, scored 8 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. But Collins' most valuable contribution to the Braves' winning effort came from his constant challenging of Tulsa's shots in the paint and from his neutralizing of Tulsa's 7-1 center, Jerome Jordan.

Bradley took control of the game in the opening minutes and never relinquished the lead. Tulsa made a mini run midway through the second half, thanks to Brett McDade's hot hand from the three point stripe. But the Hurricane were never able to erase Bradley's sizable lead.

McDade was the bright spot for Tulsa. He didn't have many opportunities to score in the first half, which he spent playing the point guard position. But in the second half, Tulsa Coach Doug Wojcik moved McDade off the ball to the shooting guard position. That's when McDade went off for 24 points and sparked Tulsa's mini-run.

But it wasn't enough to get Tulsa back in the game. As Wojcik told the Tulsa World:

"They (Bradley) played a great game. They pretty much controlled the game after we won the opening tip and scored."

Last night's game was the final home game for Bradley seniors Crouch, Ruffin and Matt Salley. Crouch and Ruffin have enjoyed particularly stellar careers at Bradley, and both played key roles in Bradley's 2006 march to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen. 9,014 boisterous fans attended Bradley's win and bid farewell to Crouch, Ruffin and Salley at the Peoria (IL) Civic Center's Carver Arena.

Game 3 of the CBI will begin at 7:00 PM (Central Time) on Friday night in Tulsa, OK.

The Chicago Tribune has more coverage of last night's game.

Tulsa Beats Bradley, Takes 1-0 Lead in CBI Championship Series

Tulsa beat visiting Bradley 73-68 in the first game of a best of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational's three championship series.

Game two will take place on Wednesday night at Bradley's home court in Peoria, IL.

Game three, if necessary, will be played in Tulsa on Friday night.

CBI Finds Success, Despite Being Ignored by National Media

Despite being largely ignored by the national media, the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) has enjoyed a successful inaugural run. Bradley visits Tulsa tonight in the first game of a best of three CBI championship series. John Klein describes the somewhat surprising success of the CBI in today's Tulsa World:

"The CBI has been virtually ignored on the national scene, completely overshadowed by the NCAA Tournament and the National Invitation Tournament.

However, in the small pockets of the country where the CBI has kept the basketball season alive, it has been successful."

And Klein speculates about the larger implications of the CBI's success:

"The CBI opens up postseason slots for many of the teams from the mid-majors. Three teams from Conference USA played in the CBI. C-USA landed just one team in the NCAA and one in the NIT.

The power conferences pretty much ignored the CBI.

However, any college athletic administrator is likely to notice the success of the tournament.

If there is money to be made, by expanding the postseason to more teams, it'll probably happen.

Several coaches have said they expect a handful of these postseason tournaments like the CBI to start as early as next season."

Klein continues:

"(T)here's a good chance that the CBI could help usher in the expanded NCAA Tournament.

There is much talk about adding one round to the NCAA Tournament. Instead of 65 teams, the NCAA's would become a 128-team tournament.

The first round NCAA games (64 of them) would be played at home sites.

Here's what would happen. There would be sellouts all across the country, a big step up from the usual half-empty arenas in the current first round, and the top seeds would almost all win.

Still, twice as many coaches could claim they made the NCAA Tournament.

CBI Semifinals

Four teams remainin in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (CBI) field. Tonight, Virginia hosts Bradley and Houston visits Tulsa in the CBI semifinals.

Tonight's winners will face each other in a best of three series to determine the CBI championship.

The Peoria Journal Star previews tonight's face off between Bradley and Virginia.