college basketball invitational is a big, fat disgrace.

When you hear the term "invitational" invoked for a basketball tournament, you can rest assured it means the best teams will not always get chosen. In the case of the College Basketball Invitational, it didn't matter who was best or even most deserving. In fact, I'm not really sure how the decision makers behind the CBI arrived at their pairings.

The 16 teams selected in the wee hours--after the NCAA and NIT fields were set--all have one thing in common: NONE HAVE A HIGHER RPI THAN IUPUI.

The upcoming games:
Tuesday, March 18
Richmond at Virginia - 7 p.m.
Houston at Nevada - 9 p.m.
Brown at Ohio - TBA
Rider at Old Dominion - TBA

Wednesday, March 19
Cincinnati at Bradley - 7 p.m.
Valparaiso at Washington - 9 p.m.
Miami (Ohio) at Tulsa - TBA
Utah at UTEP - TBA

Ron Hunter's IUPUI Jaguars were screwed not once, but twice today. The CBI proved itself to be a joke, a sham and a fraud. It was developed to reward deserving teams who were passed over by the bigger tournaments.

Well, they left one of the best mid-major teams standing out in the cold.

Without even playing a single game, the CBI already is dead to me.

How is a team that goes 26-7, has an RPI of 71, is ranked 14th on the Mid Major Top 25 gets left out?

Especially when you consider this about the current CBI field:
* Only two teams have less than 10 losses
* Only five teams have 20+ wins
* Four teams are only two games above .500
* Two teams are .500
* One team--Cincinnati--is FIVE GAMES BELOW .500!

This is an insult. The CBI clearly gave up on its mission before it even left the station.

What a shame for IUPUI. What a shame for George Hill. It was bad enough to be left out by the NIT. Being passed over in favor of mediocre and sub-par teams is nearly criminal.

Ron Hunter is right. There is no justice in the NCAA, and the Gazelle Group is guilty of the very crimes it set out to correct. They ignored the best of what's left in favor of...hell, you figure it out, because it makes no sense to me.

What a disgrace.